Running head: MANDATORY REPORTING 1

Amanda Welch

Mandated Reporting

Wilmington University
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Child abuse and neglect happens everywhere and can happen to anyone. There are many families

and children that suffer from child abuse and neglect and in some cases, no one will ever know. This is

why there are laws and policies in place to help recognize and help with stopping the abuse and neglect.

In the New Direction in Child Abuse and Neglect Research article, there were many policies and laws

related to the investigation of child abuse and neglect but I believe that the most meaningful law is the

law of mandatory reporting. This law has not only saved many lives but has also, gave children a voice

that could not speak for themselves.

This law, mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect started in the United States and was

first drafted in the 1960’s. [ CITATION Nat14 \l 1033 ] In every state, there were designated professions that

were mandated to report any and all child abuse or they made a universal mandate, requiring for

everyone to report any abuse or neglect. Some of the professions that are mandated reporter are teachers

and other school personals, social workers, doctors and nurses and other medical professionals. Other

states also include animal control officers, sports coaches, counselors, any adults working with youth

programs and law enforcement personnel. By law, if they hear, see, or notice something that can be

considered abuse or neglect they must report it to the correct agency.

This law is very important for many reasons. The main reason is that most abuse cases do not get

reported. Families often keep it a secret or look the other way because they don’t want to admit or think

that abuse could even happen to one of their family members. Also, the victims of the abuse are taught

or told not to tell anyone and that no one is allowed to know. Furthermore, the victims of the abuse feel

that it is there fault. I have worked with many young girls in my profession and they normally feel that

in some way they did something to deserve the abuse or that it is their fault.

The teachers, doctors and police, as just a few examples, are the professions we teach children to

trust and be able to confine in. They are trained to not only know what to look for when a child is a
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victim of abuse but they are also taught how to handle those situations. When situations at home change

and abuse or neglect is taking place, there is often a noticeable change in behavior. They become more

introverted and start drawing away from their friend and people they were once close to[ CITATION

Chi19 \l 1033 ]. They can also become over sensitive and/or start acting out. The way they dress could

change to. When the parent or guardian starts neglecting the child, he/she could be noticed wearing the

same outfits for multiple days and their hygiene could be affected as well. You could notice a child not

caring about the things that were once important to them and spending more time alone.

Abuse and neglect cases go unreported all the time and if it wasn’t for the mandatory reporters

doing their job, even more children would be suffering. Teachers, for example, are with children for at

least six hours a day, five days a week. They are one of the first professions to notice a change in a child

and it is important that they report it. If they were not mandated to report it, then many cases of abuse

would never be reported or even stopped. Having mandated reports not only gives the children someone

they can trust but also they hold the parents and the guardian responsible for the care of the child.

Mandated reporters are very important and they save children’s lives every day. This makes mandatory

reporting the most meaningful law in the new direction of child abuse and neglect.
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References
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). child welfare. Retrieved from
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/manda/

National Academy of Science . (2014). Child Abuse and Neglect Policy. New Direction in Child Abuse and
Neglect Research , 1-27.