Child abuse includes physical and mental harm, neglect, and sexual abuse of a minor. All states treat child abuse allegations seriously. The crime typically plays out in the legal system through assault and battery or child endangerment charges. These cases can result in the termination of parental rights and/or incarceration.
Here you can find state and federal child abuse laws, including state-specific summaries of relevant laws; an overview of mandatory reporting requirements for teachers, doctors, and others who may have close access to children; an overview of child abuse cases; and a historical background of child abuse laws in the United States.
Investigation of Child Abuse
An investigation begins when a child protection worker assesses a report and believes that a youth or child may need protection. Investigations of abuse and/or neglect may involve the police, depending on the circumstances.
It takes various interviews to get a thorough picture of what might be going on behind a report of child abuse. Authorities (law enforcement and/or child protective agencies) could want to talk with the following subjects in order to determine the truth and the next best steps:
- Child/children at center of the report
- Parents
- Siblings
- Anyone else who lives in the home with the child
- Teachers
- Family doctor
A medical exam can also be valuable in a child abuse investigation. If the child protection worker has reasonable grounds to believe the child or youth needs protection and is in immediate danger, they might remove the child from their living circumstances.
Mandated Reporters
All States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have laws identifying people who are required to report suspected child maltreatment to an appropriate agency. A proper agency might be child protective services, a law enforcement agency, or a state's toll-free child abuse reporting hotline.
Mandated reporters are required to report child abuse and maltreatment (or cause a report to be made) when they are presented with reasons to suspect child abuse or neglect in a kid's life. Their status as mandated reporters is generally based on their professions and their consistent interaction with children.
Examples of mandated reporters include the following:
- Social workers
- Teachers
- Principals
- Other school personnel
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Other health-care workers
- Counselors
- Therapists
- Other mental health professionals
- Child care providers
- Medical examiners or coroners
- Law enforcement officers
Mandated reporter laws vary by state. In Texas and about 17 other states, for example, anyone with a reasonable cause to believe that abuse has occurred could be criminally liable if they fail to report it. This essentially means everyone in that state is a mandated reporter regarding suspected child abuse.
Child Abuse in the United States Today
Child abuse is more common than most care to believe. Agencies receive more than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States each year. The number of kids involved, sadly, is even greater.
Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Yearly, referrals to state child protective services involve 6.3 million children, and around 3 million of those children are subject to an investigated report.
How a Family Law Attorney Can Help You
Child abuse and neglect cause lifelong damage. At worst, child abuse ends in death. Society must always make protecting its children a priority. Someone who suspects a problem should report it.
Laws related to accusations of child abuse and neglect are complicated. But if you or someone you know has any sense that a child is being abused, don't let legal confusion or intimidation stop you from reporting your concerns. You can seek help from proper authorities and through speaking to a family law attorney in your area.
