Questionnaires were sent to public nursery schools and family day care centers. Teachers and child care providers were asked about suspected child abuse cases in their child groups during 1990. Of the 112 suspected child abuse cases, only 37 percent were reported to child protective agencies (CPA's). Further, interviews with nursery school directors revealed considerable delay in reporting child abuse suspicions to CPA's. A followup study conducted approximately 5 years after suspicions were first identified found that 43 percent of suspected children were still unknown to CPA's. Data also indicated that a possible reason for the low degree of child abuse reporting was the way in which reports were processed by CPA's. Findings strongly indicate that enhanced collaboration is needed between child care institutions and CPA's, that child care personnel should be aware of their legal obligation to report suspected child abuse, and that additional research should focus on interactive influences between child abuse reporters and social workers in CPA's. 32 references and 2 tables