NCJ Number
153321
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1995) Pages: 63-69
Date Published
1995
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Professionals who are legally required to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect to a child abuse hotline often do not do so because they may need to be better trained in child abuse identification and reporting.
Abstract
In 1988, the New York State Legislature passed a law requiring professionals to take a 2-hour course on child abuse identification and reporting as a prerequisite for licensure. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) has provided this training to more than 2,500 physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, teachers, and other professionals. Even so, a question affecting training content and quality, as well as policy decisions by child welfare professionals, remains: whether failure to report is founded in professionals' ignorance of the law and procedures involved in reporting or their inability to recognize indicators of child abuse. The NYSPCC conducted a survey of 1,368 course participants to determine the extent to which course information was new to them. Of all child abuse cases recognized by professionals, 69 percent were not reported to child protective services. Most of these cases came from the police, hospitals, and mental health agencies. Many professionals were not aware of abuse indicators. Nonetheless, all professionals were more knowledgeable about abuse than about legal obligations and reporting procedures. A surprising finding was that teachers were no more knowledgeable about indicators of child abuse than other professionals, even though most abused children are of school age. Mental health professionals were better informed than other professionals required to report child abuse. Survey results support the need to train professionals about indicators of child abuse and how to report abuse. 12 references and 1 figure