IMO this is antiquated thinking that has it's roots from prior to the 1970's when children's rights weren't yet in place. I certainly don't want children's rights to be abolished. I am beginning to believe that the abolishment of the SOR movement is also an anti-children's rights movement. To me this is sad. My response to this commenter was to long so I had to do a blog post on it. My response to this commenter is below the comment.Law enforcement and CPC today is not the answer.
I wanted to start my response by showing information on US mandated reporters here is the page http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf. That said I'm going to post who are mandated reporters in Ohio, Texas and Iowa.
Mandated reports in Ohio:
Professionals Required to Report
Rev. Code § 2151.421
Mandatory reporters include:
Attorneys•
Physicians, interns, residents, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, or other health-care professionals•
Licensed psychologists, school psychologists, or marriage and family therapists•
Speech pathologists or audiologists•
Coroners •
Administrators or employees of child daycare centers, residential camps, child day camps, certified child care • agencies, or other public or private children services agencies
Teachers, school employees, or school authorities•
Persons engaged in social work or the practice of professional counseling•
Agents of county humane societies•
Persons, other than clerics, rendering spiritual treatment through prayer in accordance with the tenets of a well-• recognized religion
Superintendents, board members, or employees of county boards of mental retardation; investigative agents • contracted with by a county board of mental retardation; employees of the Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; employees of a facility or home that provides respite care; employees of a home health agency; employees of an entity that provides homemaker services
Persons performing the duties of an assessor or third party employed by a public children services agency to assist • in providing child or family-related services
Reporting by Other Persons
Rev. Code § 2151.421
Any other person who suspects that a child has suffered or faces a threat of suffering from abuse or neglect may report.
Standards for Making a Report
Rev. Code § 2151.421
A report is required when a mandated person is acting in an official or professional capacity and knows or suspects that a child has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child.
Mandated reporters in Texas:
Professionals Required to Report
Fam. Code § 261.101
Persons required to report include:
A professional, for purposes of the reporting laws, who is licensed or certified by the State or who is an employee • of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the State and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for which a license or certification is required, has direct contact with children.
Professionals include: •
Teachers or daycare employees » »
Nurses, doctors, or employees of a clinic or health-care facility that provides reproductive services » »
Juvenile probation officers or juvenile detention or correctional officers » »
Reporting by Other Persons
Fam. Code § 261.101
A person who has cause to believe that a child has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect shall immediately make a report.
Standards for Making a Report
Fam. Code § 261.101
A report is required when a person has cause to believe that a child has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect.
Professionals Required to Report
Rev. Code § 2151.421
Mandatory reporters include:
Attorneys•
Physicians, interns, residents, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, or other health-care professionals•
Licensed psychologists, school psychologists, or marriage and family therapists•
Speech pathologists or audiologists•
Coroners •
Administrators or employees of child daycare centers, residential camps, child day camps, certified child care • agencies, or other public or private children services agencies
Teachers, school employees, or school authorities•
Persons engaged in social work or the practice of professional counseling•
Agents of county humane societies•
Persons, other than clerics, rendering spiritual treatment through prayer in accordance with the tenets of a well-• recognized religion
Superintendents, board members, or employees of county boards of mental retardation; investigative agents • contracted with by a county board of mental retardation; employees of the Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; employees of a facility or home that provides respite care; employees of a home health agency; employees of an entity that provides homemaker services
Persons performing the duties of an assessor or third party employed by a public children services agency to assist • in providing child or family-related services
Reporting by Other Persons
Rev. Code § 2151.421
Any other person who suspects that a child has suffered or faces a threat of suffering from abuse or neglect may report.
Standards for Making a Report
Rev. Code § 2151.421
A report is required when a mandated person is acting in an official or professional capacity and knows or suspects that a child has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child.
Mandated reporters in Texas:
Professionals Required to Report
Fam. Code § 261.101
Persons required to report include:
A professional, for purposes of the reporting laws, who is licensed or certified by the State or who is an employee • of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the State and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for which a license or certification is required, has direct contact with children.
Professionals include: •
Teachers or daycare employees » »
Nurses, doctors, or employees of a clinic or health-care facility that provides reproductive services » »
Juvenile probation officers or juvenile detention or correctional officers » »
Reporting by Other Persons
Fam. Code § 261.101
A person who has cause to believe that a child has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect shall immediately make a report.
Standards for Making a Report
Fam. Code § 261.101
A report is required when a person has cause to believe that a child has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect.
Mandated reports in Iowa:
Professionals Required to Report
Ann. Stat. §§ 232.69; 728.14
The following persons are required to report:
Health practitioners •
Social workers or psychologists•
School employees, certified paraeducators, coaches, or instructors employed by community colleges
Employees or operators of health-care facilities, child care centers, Head Start programs, family development and • self-sufficiency grant programs, substance abuse programs or facilities, juvenile detention or juvenile shelter care facilities, foster care facilities, or mental health centers
Employees of Department of Human Services institutions •
Peace officers, counselors, or mental health professionals •
Commercial film and photographic print processors •
Reporting by Other Persons
Ann. Stat. § 232.69
Any other person who believes that a child has been abused may report.
Standards for Making a Report
Ann. Stat. §§ 232.69; 728.14
A report is required when:
A reporter, in the scope of his or her professional practice or employment responsibilities, reasonably believes that • a child has been abused.
A commercial film and photographic print processor has knowledge of or observes a film, photograph, videotape, • negative, or slide that depicts a minor engaged in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of a prohibited sexual act.
It really amazes me in the abolishment of the SOR movement, rights of children become ignored. What you talk of about loss of income shouldn't be a reason to not report a child being abused. I had to go on Welfare to get out of an abusive marriage. Getting out and creating a life where my children and I could be safe was better then staying and being abused. This type of thinking can also set back women's right's issues. I made the choice to work my ass of and change my life. Why? So I, as a responsible adult could take care of my children. I got myself into intensive therapy, my children in intensive therapy and I took parenting classes. I went to college got an undergrad and graduate degree. So, I could teach them that education was the way to achieve financial stability. So I could teach them that being in an environment where there was abuse was no way for a child to have to live. So that I could help prevent them from being in an abusive relationship with they grew up. IMO this is what a responsible parent does. They look at what is best for their children and do what is right by them. My being with a man who was abusing me was my choice not my children's. If the State of Connecticut had taken my kids away from me because I was making the choice to be in a violent relationship they would have been right in doing so. What would I have done if this happened? Worked my ass off to get my children back.
Children only get one childhood and the long term effects of abuse of any kind is horrendous to the surviving child. Child sexual abuse is a life sentence. If one child abuses another at the least there should be psychiatric interventions. If a child has the tendency to sexually abuse their sibling they may be a predator and interventions should be put in place to prevent that. In my family incestuous pedophilia went back 4 generations. All of Ruth (my birth mother's) and her sisters were all sexually abused by their brothers. Ruth's mother E. was sexually abused by her brothers, E's father my great grandfather H. sexually abused my great-aunt M. and went to jail for it in 1913 which was unheard of at the time. So what he did must have been horrendous. This type of environment for children is unacceptable. So if ANYONE is aware that a child is being sexually abused and does nothing they are breaking the mandated reporter law. And should be dealt with accordingly. This is the truth of the matter. Rosie
Perhaps you know better than victims groups such as the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and the Texas and Iowa Coalitions Against Sexual Abuse. These organization find families are not reporting incest because our criminal justice system for fear of loosing the bread winner to decades of incarceration followed by a lifetime on the registry. These victim advocates are opposed to the sex offender registry and have filed friend of the court briefs on behalf of sex offenders.
Should familiar sexual abuse go unnoticed? No, but our current system drives reporting down, not up. I would not report a family member to law enforcement because I know the offender will not get help, my family may end up in poverty and I will know years of shame.
Last, you have not considered the awful plight many mothers face when they find one child has abused another. Does she report that child. I say no. Both your children will suffer. No one will get better and the abuse cycle will continue. Law enforcement and CPC today is not the answer. This is the hard truth Ms. Gilmore was exposing.