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Mandatory Reporting Laws and the Identification of Severe Child Abuse and Neglect pp 61–75Cite as

An Inter-reporter Analysis of Mandated Child Maltreatment Reporting in the USA

Part of the Child Maltreatment book series (MALT,volume 4)

Abstract

Mandatory reporting requires certain professionals, who have contact with children in their work, to report to child protective services when they have a reasonable suspicion that maltreatment has occurred. Despite these laws, there is a lack of consistency in reporting by mandated reporters. The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the reporting data of five mandated reporting groups across the USA. Data from the 2010 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) were utilized for the analysis of reporting practices of mandated reporters. Results indicated some unique differences among specific mandated reporters as a function of how and when they interact with children.

Keywords

  • Child Maltreatment
  • Mandated Reporters
  • National Child Abuse And Neglect Data System (NCANDS)
  • Social Service Personnel
  • NCANDS Data

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Child File data were provided by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at Cornell University and have been used with permission. The data were originally collected under the auspices of the Children’s Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services. The collector of the original data, the funder, NDACAN, Cornell University, and the agents or employees of these institutions bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. The information and opinions expressed reflect solely the opinions of the authors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Days necessary to investigate were determined by the elapsed time, in days, between the date of CPS initial investigation and report disposition.

  2. 2.

    Current estimates from the US Census Bureau (2012) of the racial makeup of children 0–17 in the USA are White, 73 %; African American, 15 %; Asian, 5 %; and others, 7 %. Hispanic origin is an ethnicity not a race. Children of Hispanic origin could be any race: 24 %.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, College of Education, Georgia State University, 3987, Atlanta, Georgia, 30302-3987

    John E. Kesner Ph.D.

  2. Department of Education and Human Services, College of Education, Lehigh University, 111 Research Drive, A318 Iacocca Hall, Bethlehem, PA, 18055, USA

    Bridget V. Dever Ph.D.

Authors
  1. John E. Kesner Ph.D.
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  2. Bridget V. Dever Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Kesner Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Ben Mathews

  2. Program in Pediatric Law, Policy and Ethics, Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Donald C. Bross

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Kesner, J.E., Dever, B.V. (2015). An Inter-reporter Analysis of Mandated Child Maltreatment Reporting in the USA. In: Mathews, B., Bross, D. (eds) Mandatory Reporting Laws and the Identification of Severe Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Maltreatment, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9685-9_4

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