Between 1963 and 1967 nearly all States enacted laws requiring certain individuals -- doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, law enforcement officers -- to report all suspected cases of child abuse or neglect that came to their attention. Later, Congress enacted the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 and the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974. Requirements of the Federal child abuse law enabled States to broaden and strengthen their child abuse acts. Analysis of the legislative histories and regulations of the Federal acts yield findings which dispute the assertion of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that Federal law preempts State law on the issue of child abuse reporting. The DHHS asserts that no State law may compel a disclosure of records involving a substance abuse patient even if that patient is committing child abuse and reasons that Federal laws preempt all State laws requiring disclosures, including State child abuse reporting laws. The constitutional doctrine offers no basis for concluding that State child abuse reporting laws are preempted by the Federal substance abuse laws. In addition, there are strong policy reasons for child abuse reporting laws to take precedence over all nondisclosure requirements. 332 footnotes.