Child Neglect & Abuse

Child Neglect & Abuse



Child Neglect & Abuse

1. What Law Requires Mandatory Reporting? (And, what are the Provisions and/or Aspects of the Mandatory Reporting Law?)

The Law

The Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act - 1974 has made it mandatory to report any occurrence of child neglect or child abuse (Grapes, 2001).

The Provisions of the Mandatory Reporting Law

The States receive assistance for the identification of child abuse and neglect and it also helps the States to develop programs for prevention of such incidents.

The government is authorized to conduct limited research for the purpose of prevention of such incidents and the treatment of victim children.

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare formed a National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) within its jurisprudence to:

Advise and manage the grants allocations

Point out the key areas which require research and projects to be carried out with a special attention

Work as a center of all the activities regarding information handling, programs improvement, materials distribution, and demonstration of best practices to be carried out at the localities and the States

National Clearing house on Child Abuse and Neglect Information was formed.

For supporting the invitation of innovative programs for the prevention and treatment of maltreatment of children, and for the training and development of professionals for this purpose, a Basic State Grants and Demonstration Grants was established.

The Key Aspects of the Mandatory Reporting Law

Every of the fifty states in the U.S, has made it mandatory to report the incidence of child neglect and abuse, in one form or another. This is majorly because a State that observes such Law, qualifies for receiving funds under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)(1996), 42 U.S.C. 5101, et seq. It is the amended version of the 1974 Act.

After the initiation of the Model Child Protection Act, a great number of states have conformed to the modeling suggested in this Act (Fontes, 2005). 

To facilitate the reporting, there is a hotline for every state to report any incident of child maltreatment.

It is the duty of various kinds of professionals as well as institutions to report if the suspect the incidence of child maltreatment. The professionals who are required to report may include healthcare professionals, mental health specialists, teachers and the school staff, social workers, professionals related to day care services or even police personnel. In many states, the film developers are required to report if they notice any evidence of suspected child abuse activity.

There is even a wide scope of statutes in many states, where “any person” who suspects a child abuse activity has a duty to report the incident.

It however varies from state to state, up to what degree of information implies a duty of reporting an incident. According to certain statutes, just a logical reason to believe is enough to imply the duty to report. While, other statutes ascertain that there must be a clear suspicion or a confirmation of such incidence, to be required to report.

If an individual fails to report, it results ...