A plethora of professionals have discussed the issue of civil liability of child protection workers resulting from severe injuries or death to children (Alexander, 1993; Besharov, 1986; Blount, 1988; Brieland & Lemmon, 1985; Clarke, 1991; Garfinkel & Goldsmith, 1989; Krawcheck, 1990; Ryan, 1990; Sailer, 1991; Schroeder, 1982). However, little attention has been given to criminal liability of child protection workers (Albert, 1986; Saltzman & Proch, 1990). As Saltzman and Proch stated, criminal prosecution of child protection workers is rare but possible. However, criminal prosecution of caseworkers has become more prevalent since Saltzman and Proch's research. This article fills the gap in the literature by discussing in detail several cases involving child protection workers who were prosecuted by the state after the death of a child. State Legislation Children's rights proponents, desiring to provide the most protection to abused children, achieved one of their most laudable advances by lobbying states to pass mandatory reporting laws. The enactment of mandatory reporting laws represents the greatest intrusion into child rearing in American history. Parents no longer can discipline their children physically with impunity. Typically, these laws require that professionals such as psychiatrists, teachers, nurses, licensed child care workers, pediatricians, and social workers report to their respective child protection agency any reasonable suspicions of child abuse or neglect. These laws usurp privileged communication between clients and counselors; abuse that is learned about within a counseling relationship must be reported. Furthermore, the reporters are immune from lawsuits as long as they are acting without malice and refraining from intentional false reporting (Guyer, 1990). To force compliance with the law, both civil and criminal sanctions against violators of mandatory reporting laws were provided within the statutes. A mandated reporter who fails to report is civilly liable, and a victim or a legal guardian of the victim may collect money damages. Additionally, the state may seek criminal penalties. For example, the Michigan Child Protection Law mandates that a physician, coroner, dentist, medical examiner, nurse, licensed emergency medical technician, audiologist, psychologist, family therapist, certified social worker, social work technician, school administrator, school counselor or teacher, law enforcement officer, or regulated child care provider who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect must immediately report such abuse to the Department of Social Services. The penalty for knowingly failing to report is a misdemeanor (Michigan Compiled Laws, 1993; Michigan Statutes Annotated, 1993). An early test of the Michigan law was provided by a therapist who was told of sexual abuse by a child and failed to report it. Michigan mandatory reporting law makes failure to report a misdemeanor, and the therapist was charged with this offense. Several attempts to persuade the Michigan courts that the law was unconstitutional failed (People v. Cavaiani, 1988), and the therapist was eventually tried. The therapist was acquitted based on the defense that no reasonable suspicion existed in this particular case (Guyer, 1990). This Michigan case involved a therapist in private practice and an abusive situation that did not result in death. However, some social workers in child protection agencies have had to face a hostile public and a vengeful state after a child has been killed by an abusive parent. State Prosecutions of Social Workers One of the earliest cases of criminal prosecution involved Diane Henton, a social worker who was prosecuted in 1990 following the death of a child in 1986. At the time of the child's death, Henton was employed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and had investigated an allegation of abuse eight days earlier. …