Professionals should be well-trained to ensure that mandated reporting laws are followed, and child welfare agencies should widely publicize information on how to report
suspected child abuse or neglect. I don't think a law that mandates all citizens to report, however, is effective.
MORE than 80 reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect are made every day, figures revealed yesterday.
receive more than 50,000 reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect. Available data, as of 2002, indicates over two and a half million reports were made concerning the welfare of approximately 4.5 million children.
Shocking as it may sound, child welfare officials with the Oregon Department of Human Services in Lane County received 4,687 reports of
suspected child abuse or neglect in 2009.
The same mandatory minimum sentence applies if the victim is under 12 and the defendant is more than 5 years older, or if the defendant is a mandated reporter of
suspected child abuse or neglect.
Penalties for failing to report
suspected child abuse or neglect also would be increased.
Federal confidentiality laws allow you to comply with state laws that require reporting of
suspected child abuse or neglect. You can make a hotline report when required, but confidentiality laws still apply to client records.
1879), which includes heavier provisions for states, requiring them to enact laws that enforce criminal status on individuals who fail to report
suspected child abuse or neglect. The legislation would require states to enact laws that create a felony offense with a minimum penalty of one-year imprisonment for any person failing to report suspected abuse or neglect of a child.