Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect: Mandatory Reporting Facts

All 50 states have requirements for the mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect. The following section outlines the guidelines from The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 1996).

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What Counts as Child Abuse?

Minimum definitions for child abuse and neglect are any recent act or failure to act:

a. Resulting in imminent risk of serious harm, death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation

b. Of a child (under 18 years)

c. By a caretaker (teacher, babysitter, etc.) or parent who is responsible for the child’s welfare

Minimum definitions for sexual abuse are:

a. Employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct; or

b. Rape, and in cases of caretaker or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or any other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest of children.

Minimum definitions for emotional abuse are:

A sustained, repetitive pattern of behavior that demonstrably impairs a child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth. This can include constant criticism, threats, rejection or confinement, as well as withholding love, support or guidance.

Minimum definition for neglect is the failure to provide for a child’s basic needs:

a. Physical neglect, such as the lack of appropriate supervision or the failure to provide necessary food, shelter or medical care.

b. Educational neglect, such as the failure to educate a child or attend to his/her special education needs.

c. Emotional neglect, such as the inattention to a child’s emotional needs or the exposure of a child to domestic violence.

d. Excessive corporal punishment also is legally considered a form of neglect.

I Suspect Abuse But I Don’t Have Proof. Should I report?

All states require teachers and school personnel to report suspected child abuse. There are even some states that require any person to report. Usually a reasonable suspicion, or a reasonable cause to believe is enough to require a teacher to report according to the law. As a rule, when in doubt, report. Reporting is anonymous and an investigation will take place. Failure to report can result in a criminal or civil liability.

What do I do Before I Make a Report?

• Tell your administrator. Make sure they are aware of your suspicion and that you are required by law to report your suspicion.

• Document as much factual information as possible. Bruises, comments, disturbing or sexual writing or journaling, sexual themes in play, how often the child comes in hungry to school, etc.

• Interview the student you suspect is being abused. Or have an administrator, nurse, or school psychologist conduct an interview. Ask open questions about what you’ve observed, but do not ask leading questions to the child.

DO ask open questions (Ex., So tell me how you got these bruises.)

DO NOT ask leading question (Ex., So your Dad is abusing you, right?)

Let the child disclose to you what is happening. Be aware that they may not tell you the truth, and you should still disclose if you suspect they are hiding abuse.

How do I Report Abuse?

Every state has a hotline for reporting child abuse. Click here to locate the hotline for your state.

Eleven men ‘plied girls of 13 with drink and drugs to use them for sex’

• One girl claimed her phone number was passed around the men who then exploited her for sex
• One girl, 13, became pregnant and had to have the child aborted
• Another said she was raped by two men while she was so drunk she vomited over the side of the bed
• A 16-year-old girl is alleged to have ‘recruited’ the girls for the men
• The men all knew each other from a takeaway and a taxi service

PHOENIX –An Iraqi mother is back behind bars accused of beating her daughter, and she’s not the only one in her family facing charges. Nineteen-year-old Aiya Altameemi got in trouble last Thursday for talking to a boy. Her mother was arrested for allegedly assaulting her, and now her father and sister have also been arrested. Officer James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department says the arrests are related to two instances of alleged abuse. The first actually took place last November, involving the girl’s mother and her 18-year-old sister. They “held this young lady down while mom took a hot spoon and burned her on the face and on the chest,” says Holmes. READ MORE HERE

Mother angry after daughter vaccinated without her permission

DETROIT, MI – Sighle Kinney is fuming after her 14-year-old daughter was given four shots by the school nurse at Marcus Garvey Academy without her permission. The daughter says she was called out of class by the school nurse back on January 30th and sent to the school’s clinic, which is operated by St. John’s medical. While there she was given four vaccinations, including the one for HPV. It was the shot for HPV really touched a nerve.  READ MORE HERE

14 Cases of Measles Reported Since Super Bowl

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Officials with the Indiana State Department of Health have confirmed another case of measles in Central Indiana Monday. The total number of confirmed cases has increased to 14. Health officials said the most recent case was reported on February 17 by the City of Noblesville. The current outbreak may have started with Super Bowl Village visitor. Two weeks ago the Indiana State Department of Health first identified 4 cases of measles including a man who visited Super Bowl Village the Friday before the big game.  READ MORE HERE

SEATTLE—A former pediatric intensive care nurse from Washougal has been arrested on charges of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. Bryan W. Corbitt, 43, was arrested Wednesday night, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement. She said that last November, a federal agent working online in an undercover capacity identified a suspect with the screen name “Kidluver” sharing files of child pornography through peer-to-peer software. Further investigation traced the screen name and online activity to Corbitt’s Washougal home, she said.  READ MORE HERE

LINDEN, CA — A Sacramento bounty hunter says the sole surviving member of the so-called ‘Speed Freak’ killers, Wesley Shermantine, has revealed the location of a third burial ground. Shermantine, who is on death row, has been providing maps and information leading to the burial grounds of 10 or more victims of the drug fuel killing spree in the 1980’s and 90’s. His partner, Loren Herzog, served 14 years on a plea deal and was paroled in 2010. READ MORE HERE

SUSPECT IS A LEVEL 3 CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER

VAN BUREN, AK– An autopsy Tuesday identified a body found in a barrel as that of missing 16-year-old Angela Allen of Arkansas, according to authorities in Sebastian County. The barrel was found buried in a shallow grave Friday on property belonging to relatives of convicted rapist Lloyd Jones, according to a Sebastian County Sherriff’s Dept. press release. Allen was last seen wearing about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 when she left her grandmother’s Van Buren home for a walk around the neighborhood and never returned. READ MORE HERE

Lorna Valle, 32, Is Now Responsible for Killing Both Her Children

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — A 5-year old girl who survived a drowning attack that killed her baby sister will be taken off life-support, her father said. Lorna Valle, 32, is accused of drowned her one-year-old daughter, Lindsay and attempting to drown her 5-year-old daughter, Marian, by shoving their faces into a small tub. Marian’s father, Jose Lopez, said Monday that he has made the heart-breaking decision to remove his daughter from life support and donate her organs to help save other children. READ MORE HERE

11 Children, Some Tied to Beds, Removed From Sex Offender’s Home

DAYTON, Texas — Eleven children, some of whom were found tied to their beds, have been removed from the home of a registered sex offender. In all, authorities say 10 adults and 11 children, ranging in age from 5 months to 11-years-old, were living in the 1,700-square-foot home outside Houston. Court documents show authorities found two 2-year-old children tied to a bed when Child Services raided the home in January.  READ MORE HERE

LOS ANGELES, CA — Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nearly two dozen counts of lewd acts against children. In addition to entering the plea, the attorney for 61-year-old Mark Berndt voiced concerns about his client’s safety at the L.A. County Jail. Victor Acevedo, an attorney with the L.A. County public defender’s office, says Berndt is being harassed at Twin Towers by deputies who staff the jail. READ MORE HERE

Kids Found In Trailer Littered With Trash, Infested With Roaches, No Water

A 46-year-old man and his two adult step-daughters have been jailed for child neglect after they were founding living in a filthy trailer home with nine children. Police investigating a car break-in discovered 14 people living in the three-bedroom Orange County, Florida trailer, littered with trash, infested with roaches and with no running water. Felix Frano, 46, and his wife’s daughter’s Kelly Frano, 39, and Blake Frano, 20, were taken into custody. The children were temporarily placed with their paternal uncle. As local WTFV reports, authorities discovered the children living in the home on Friday and arrested the Franos. READ MORE HERE

CANNABIS FOOD Used To Maintain Mother’s Illegal Marijuana Crop

A toddler died in agony 11-days after drinking plant food that his mother was using to feed her cannabis crop that she kept in his bedroom, a court heard today. Aaron Booth, two, found the bottle of liquid in his hunt for food and drink whilst his mother slept in bed with her boyfriend until lunchtime. Lauren Booth, 23, had cleared Aaron’s bedroom in Almondbury, West Yorkshire, and turned it into a cannabis growing factory to ‘make some money’, a jury heard. But the dehydrated toddler had not had a drink since the previous day and mistook her plant feed for a Fruit Shoot squash drink.  READ MORE HERE