NCJ Number
183188
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2000 Pages: 190-196
Editor(s)
Mark Chaffin
Date Published
2000
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article indicates that confusion exists among professionals as to the circumstances in which a mandatory child abuse reporter must file a report and that professionals sometimes feel obligated to make reports even though they do not suspect abuse actually occurred.
Abstract
For example, some individuals believe they must report abuse allegations made by other individuals even if the mandatory reporter does not suspect abuse. Mandatory reporting statutes of 49 States and the District of Columbia do not require reports unless the reporter has a suspicion of abuse; New York may be an exception. The authors conclude that mandatory reports generally are not required to report abuse allegations if they do not suspect abuse. In addition, the authors encourage mandatory reports to report abuse as required by the law but not to make unnecessary reports out of confusion or misinformation, as over-reporting of child abuse allegations increases the load on an already overburdened child protection system. Recommendations are offered to guide mandatory reporters who receive allegations of child abuse from third parties. 27 references