Required generally by the federal Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act (CAPTA) with the specifics delegated to state discretion, a mandated reporter is an individual who is required by law to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities. In most jurisdictions, mandated reporters are professionals such as educational professionals, mental health professionals, social workers, law enforcement and healthcare providers. However, some states also require any resident who suspects child abuse or neglect to make a report- regardless of their occupation.
The rationale behind mandated reporting is that child abuse and neglect are often hidden crimes, and that victims may be reluctant or unable to come forward on their own- especially pre-verbal children. By legally mandating certain individuals to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect and imposing consequences for failure to do so, the hope was that more victims will be identified and helped. Unfortunately, the increased identification of legitimate victims has been dwarfed by the enormous amount of unsubstantiated reports that might not otherwise have any Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement to begin with.
There are some drawbacks to mandated reporting, however. First, it can place a heavy burden on those who are required to report, as many circumstances in which a mandated reporter may have to make a report to CPS could also have multiple innocent explanations. Mandated reporters constitute the majority of reports made to child abuse hotlines across the US, which is in part responsible for the high prevalence of CPS involvement. When a report is accepted by CPS, a full investigation is required by law to be conducted. Even if the case is unsubstantiated, the ordeal can still be traumatic- and it often is. Because such reports are usually made in good faith, they are legal and families have little to no recourse. If a family refuses to let the investigation proceed, CPS will eventually seek a court order to force compliance with its mandate and this order is almost always granted by the courts. While there are some reports made in bad faith by mandated reporters, they are less common than bad faith reports made anonymously or by other non-mandated reporters.
If a mandated reporter fails to report child abuse or neglect and a child is injured or dies, they can lose their job, their license and in some cases, they may be prosecuted. This is why mandated reporters may act quickly to report very minor concerns not highly likely to be abuse or neglect or concerns that have multiple possible innocent explanations- putting many families through CPS investigations unnecessarily. In states where all residents are considered mandated reporters, this applies to everyone. However, it is more difficult to prosecute reporters who are not licensed professionals acting in their professional capacity for failing to report. If, for example, a child died of abuse or neglect, it would be very difficult to prove a neighbor knew about it and could’ve reported it, but chose not to. This is why most states limit mandated reporters to certain licensed professionals operating in their professional capacity and strongly encouraging all others to report in good faith if they see signs of possible child abuse or neglect, instead of making all residents mandated reporters.
If a teacher sees that a child hasn’t been eating lunch over the past three days or comes to school with what appear to be dirty clothes, this could be a sign of inadequate food, clothing or shelter. As teachers are mandated reporters, they would be required by law to report this to CPS. However, this could also be explained by a medical condition or an autistic child who refuses to wear anything else without having a meltdown. If a doctor or nurse sees marks or bruises that may not easily be explained by a medical condition, they would likely report this to CPS, as they’re also mandated reporters. However, there are numerous medical conditions that can mimic child abuse. If police respond to a domestic violence report and there are child(ren) in the home, they are also highly likely to report this- as they’re mandated reporters, too. However, the child(ren) may not have even been around the incident or been listening to music in another room. It may not have affected them at all.
It’s important to keep in mind that reporters of child abuse and neglect are not determining whether or not abuse or neglect has occurred before reporting; that’s the responsibility of CPS and is based on what they find in the resulting investigation. While there are many mandated reporters who will individually do their due diligence, sometimes, schools, doctor’s offices or police departments, for example, may have policies with a standard that allows for little discretion and therefore, many cases with innocent explanations get caught in that web. When the consequences of failure to report are high and the consequences of reporting a minor concern not highly likely to be child abuse or neglect are none (or in cases of excessive reporting, very minor), many individuals and institutions may choose to err on the side of caution. At CPSprotect Consulting Services, we recommend you keep a journal of the activities of yourself and your child(ren) with dates and times to ensure you have an accurate record and obtain supporting documentation when you need it. This can reduce the amount of information left up to interpretation. In addition, service providers with whom you have frequent communication and a good relationship may be more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt than those you don’t- so make sure you choose service providers you can trust.
Mandated reporting is generally seen as a positive step in the fight against child abuse and neglect. However, mandated reporting and other efforts have failed to get society to zero child abuse and neglect, while significantly increasing reports and potential trauma. In the United States, child abuse and neglect are culturally frowned upon and condemned. Therefore, it would be expected that most mandated reporters would report reasonable circumstances if needed without the mandate. The individuals who are mandated typically work in professions that expose them to children more and may be the first to see signs of child abuse and neglect that occur. That leaves one question: is the limited benefit mandated reporting laws bring worth the collateral damage of the unsubstantiated reports made solely out of fear of job or license loss?