Children and Youth Services Review 50 (2015) 96–100

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Children and Youth Services Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth

Comparing reports of suspected child maltreatment in states with and

without Universal Mandated Reporting
Kathryn S. Krase a,⁎, Tobi A. DeLong-Hamilton b,1
a
LIU Brooklyn, Department of Social Work, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States
b
University of Utah, 201 Presidents Circle, Room 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Every state has a statute through which certain individuals are required to report suspicions of child maltreat-
Received 24 September 2014 ment to Child Protective Services. Some states require all adults to report suspicions of child maltreatment
Received in revised form 13 January 2015 (Universal Mandated Reporting); other states only require certain professionals to make such reports. In
Accepted 14 January 2015
response to high profile child sexual abuse cases, many states have considered moving to Universal Mandated
Available online 22 January 2015
Reporting. This study compares characteristics and outcomes of reports from states with and without Universal
Keywords:
Mandated Reporting. Analysis found no differences in the rate of report or report disposition. Reports from edu-
Child abuse cational personnel in states with universal reporting made up a smaller proportion of reports than in states where
Child Protective Services only a delineated list of professionals are required to report. Additionally, states with Universal Mandated
Child abuse reporting Reporting had more reports involving neglect as compared to other states. These findings are important to inform
State policy any movement to expand Universal Mandated Reporting.
Federal policy © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction individuals are required to report suspicions of child maltreatment to

Child Protective Services.
In 2011, Penn State Assistant Football Coach, Jerry Sandusky, was Some states require all adults to report suspicions of child maltreat-
indicted on 52 counts of child molestation (Ganim, 2011). Findings in ment (Universal Mandated Reporting); other states only require certain
his criminal trial indicated that college officials missed opportunities professionals to make such reports (McElroy, 2012). In most states, cat-
to report suspected abuse to Child Protective Services (Moulton, egories of professionals who regularly work with children and families
2014). The Sandusky case pushed state and national lawmakers, child are selected to be mandated. Professionals listed as mandated reporters
welfare workers and community members to reexamine mandated by a given state often include: social workers, educational personnel,
reporting laws. health care workers, mental health professionals, child care providers,
medical examiners, and law enforcement. Eighteen (18) states are
Universal Mandated Reporting Law (UMRL) states (see shaded states
1.1. Mandated reporting in Fig. 1). The other 32 states (not shaded) delegate mandated reporting
to professionals generally involved with children (Lau, Krase & Morse,
Most suspicions of child maltreatment that are reported to Child 2008). Hawaii and Alaska (not pictured) are not Universal Mandated
Protective Services (CPS) are made by professionals (United States Reporting states.
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children,
Youth & Families, 2013). Most professionals who make reports to CPS
are mandated by the law in their state to do so. The policy of mandating 1.2. Factors that impact reporting behavior
professionals to make a report when they suspect child abuse and ne-
glect (“mandated reporting”) developed in the mid-twentieth century High profile allegations of child sexual abuse at Penn State highlight-
in the United States and has since evolved to the complex system of fed- ed one of the perennial concerns of the child protection system: under-
eral, state and local mandates that exists across the country today (Lau, reporting of suspected child abuse in the United States. Research consis-
Krase & Morse, 2008). Every state has a statute through which certain tently shows that professionals fail to report more than half of their
suspicions of child maltreatment to the proper authorities (Delaronde,
King, Bendel, & Reece, 2000; Kenny, 2001b; Kesner & Robinson, 2002).
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 718 780 6544.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (K.S. Krase), [email protected]
Different characteristics and attitudes of the reporter and demographics
(T.A. DeLong-Hamilton). of the alleged victim and perpetrator have been found to impact the
1
Tel.: +1 801 581 7151. likelihood of reporting suspicions to CPS.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.01.015
0190-7409/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K.S. Krase, T.A. DeLong-Hamilton / Children and Youth Services Review 50 (2015) 96–100 97

Fig. 1. Mandated reporter requirements by state.

Derived from data from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau (2013).

The type of reporter was found to impact the likelihood of reporting 1.3. Responsive policy efforts
suspicions to CPS (King, Reece, Bendel, & Patel, 1998). From a group of
randomly selected pediatricians, master's level social workers In response to the Penn State case, efforts have been made at the fed-
(MSWs), and physicians' assistants (PAs), pediatricians were found to eral, state and local levels of government to encourage reports of child
report the greatest proportion of their suspicions, followed by MSWs maltreatment. In 2011, a bill was offered, but not passed, in the United
(King et al., 1998). Multivariate analysis revealed that the strongest pre- States Senate that would have encouraged states who have yet to do
dictors of reporting were case-related attitudes, process concerns, insti- so to pass laws requiring all adults to report suspected child abuse and
tutional setting, and the amount of training the professional received neglect. Such a requirement would be attached to certain federal
(King et al., 1998). funding streams (United States Senate Bill 1887, 2011). Numerous
Variations in the likelihood to report child maltreatment by family governors and state legislators have expanded the list of mandated
therapists were found to be dependent on years of practice and primary reporters in their states in response to the Sandusky case (Louisiana
professional identity (Brown & Strozier, 2004). Perhaps contrary to Executive Order, 11/16/11; Wisconsin Executive Order #54, 2011;
expectations, therapists with less practice experience were more likely New York State Assembly Bill 8901, 2011; Virginia House Bill A3, 2011).
to report suspicions to CPS than therapists with more than 10 years of
experience. Additionally, therapists who were social workers reported
more often, than marriage and family therapists, and counselors 1.4. Prior examination of Universal Mandated Reporting
(Brown & Strozier, 2004).
Attitudes and beliefs of mandated reporters impact their likelihood While policymakers respond to news items, prior research consis-
to report. Professionals often do not feel adequately prepared to deal tently calls for more empirical evidence examining mandated reporting
with child abuse and neglect (Levin, 1983). They report not knowing as an effective intervention for child abuse (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2008;
the signs of abuse and neglect (Hazzard, 1984; Kenny, 2004; Levin, Krase, 2010; Krase, 2013a; Krase, 2013b; Brown & Strozier, 2004).
1983). They have difficulty differentiating “parental excesses from Very little research has examined the effects of mandated reporting
‘normal’ parental disciplines” (Levin, 1983, p. 18). Often, professionals law on reporting behavior, or that suggest alternative ways of
assume that someone else will report the child abuse or neglect responding to child maltreatment from a systemic perspective.
(Crenshaw, Crenshaw, & Lichtenberg, 1995). Mandated reporters fear Interviews with CPS administrators in 8 states with UMRL found dif-
legal ramifications for logging reports that are unfounded (Abrahams, ferent opinions about the utility of such laws. Most administrators be-
Casey, & Daro, 1992; Kenny, 2001a). They express concern for losing lieved that UMRL increased reports from well-meaning family
rapport with a family if they report them to CPS (Abrahams et al., members and friends, who would probably neglect to make a report,
1992; Zellman, 1990a). Other professionals do not make reports be- if not for the law requiring to do so. However, other administrators be-
cause they fear disrupting the functioning of families and sparking con- lieved that some reporters in UMRL states, specifically professionals, are
flict with families by reporting (Kenny, 2001a; Levin, 1983). Some probably less likely to report, because they figure that someone else will
reporters choose not to make reports to CPS because they feel that do it. One of the administrators conceded that their particular state was
CPS does not actually help maltreated children and their families considered abolishing the UMRL (McElroy, 2012).
(Kenny, 2001b; Zellman, 1990b). One previous study specifically examined the impact of UMRL on
Race of the alleged child victim and/or perpetrator may also impact reporting behavior. Analysis of county-level report data from 2000
the likelihood of a professional to report suspicions to CPS. When con- found higher rates of reports, and higher substantiation rates,
trolling for other social and demographic factors, African-American in counties with Universal Mandated Reporting Laws (Palusci &
families are more likely to be reported to CPS by certain professionals, Vandervort, 2014). This study was conducted with data from a time
including medical personnel (Hampton & Newberger, 1985; Jenny, period when half as many states had UMRL. Additionally, data from
Hymel, Ritzen, Reinert, & Hay, 1999; Lane, Rubin, Monteith, & only 18 total states were used for this study. Palusci and Vandervort
Christian, 2002; Lu et al., 2004; Newberger, 1983). urged further analysis with more recent and complete data before
98 K.S. Krase, T.A. DeLong-Hamilton / Children and Youth Services Review 50 (2015) 96–100

policymakers made any conclusions on the utility of expanding UMRL. proportion of reports in a state that included neglect allegation ex-
The current study is responsive to that call. clusively, physical abuse allegation exclusively, sexual abuse allega-
tion exclusively, emotional maltreatment allegation exclusively,
1.5. Study rationale medical neglect allegation exclusively, or allegations of multiple
types of maltreatment.
The current study sought to find differences in report characteristics e) Report disposition: This dichotomous variable reports whether the
and outcomes, if any, between states with, and without, Universal Man- child was determined, upon investigation, to be a victim of child
dated Reporting Laws. This research examined characteristics of reports maltreatment, or not. The percentage of reports in which a child
that have yet to be explored; most notably, report source. The findings was found to be a victim after investigation was calculated for each
from this research will more completely inform responsive policy state. In addition, disposition rates were calculated across the
efforts than previous research. type(s) of maltreatment alleged in the report for each state.

2. Methods

2.1. Study design 2.3. Analysis plan

Secondary analysis of data from the National Child Abuse and Descriptive analysis was conducted on all reports to better under-
Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Child File FFY 2010, aggregated to the stand the population of reports of suspected child maltreatment across
state level, was used for this research. NCANDS has become the primary the country. Variables were then calculated at the state level. Bivariate
source of information on reports of abused and neglected children in the analyses (Independent Samples t-tests) were conducted on each of 27
United States (NDACAN, 2012). NCANDS provides detail on every report calculated state-level variables.
of suspected child abuse or neglect submitted by participating states.
Report details include demographic characteristics of the alleged victim, 3. Findings
as well as the type of maltreatment alleged, among other variables. The
NCANDS is administered annually (NDACAN, 2012). Data for the 3.1. General report characteristics
NCANDS is collected through case reviews at the state level. States
that agree to provide data for the given year of the study are given a Of the nearly 3.5 million reports included in NCANDS, 2010, almost
list of variables to extract from their own data systems. This analysis in- 3/5 were made by professional reporters. More than 16% of reports
cludes information on every report of alleged child abuse or maltreat- were logged by law enforcement, and almost 16% from educational per-
ment, including allegations that were later unsubstantiated. sonnel. An even amount of girls and boys were alleged victims in these
NCANDS for 2010 provides data on reports of suspected child abuse reports. The average age of alleged victims reported was 8 years old.
and neglect that reached a disposition during the 2010 fiscal year Nearly 50% of reports exclusively involved neglect allegations.
(October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010). The NCANDS Child Almost 30% of reports included multiple forms of maltreatment. Just
File FFY 2010 includes 3.5 million reports from 49 states, the District under 13% of reports exclusively included suspicions of physical abuse.
of Columbia and Puerto Rico (NDACAN, 2012). Twenty-six percent (26%) of all reports were substantiated, indicated,
For the purposes of this study, NCANDS Child File Data were aggre- or the child was determined to be a victim, after investigation.
gated to the state level, and used to calculate the variables required of
this study. As a result, 52 cases (all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District
3.2. Comparing states with and without Universal Mandated Reporting
of Columbia) were examined in this study.
3.2.1. Rate of report
2.2. Measures
There were no significant differences in the rate of report for states
with Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 7.9, S.D. = 8.58), as com-
a) Rate of reports: This variable was calculated by dividing the total
pared to those without (M = 6.1., S.D. = 9.44; t(49) = −0.66, p = .51).
number of reports made to CPS by the total number of children in
the state.
b) Report source: NCANDS identifies the report source of each report. 3.2.2. Report source
There are thirteen categories of report source offered through one Reports from educational personnel made up a smaller proportion of
NCANDS variable: Social Services Personnel; Medical Personnel; total reports in states with Universal Mandated Reporting (M = .14,
Mental Health Personnel; Legal, Law Enforcement, or Criminal S.D. = 0.05), as compared to those in states without Universal Mandat-
Justice; Education Personnel; Child Day Care Provider; Substitute ed Reporting (M = .18, S.D. = 0.04; t(48) = 3.08, p = .003). There were
Care Provider; Alleged Victim; Parent; Other Relative; Friends/ no statistically significant differences found for any other report source.
Neighbor; Alleged Perpetrator; and Anonymous Reporter. In this There were also no statistically significant differences in the proportion
study, 13 discreet variables were calculated for each state that in- of reports that came from professional sources, or non-professional
formed the proportion of total reports in the state that originated sources when comparing states with and without Universal Mandated
from each of the 13 report sources. Reporting.
c) Professional/non-professional reporter: Two additional categories re-
lated to report source were calculated for each state: for the propor- 3.2.3. Type of maltreatment
tion of total reports in a state coming from professional sources, and When comparing states with and without Universal Mandated
the proportion of total reports coming from non-professional Reporting, there were no significant differences in the rate at which a
sources. report included allegations of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse,
d) Types of maltreatment: NCANDS identifies up to 4 types of child mal- emotional maltreatment, medical neglect, or multiple allegations.
treatment involved in a given report. For the purposes of this study, Reports including an allegation of neglect do, however, make up a larger
variables were calculated for each state to represent the rate and proportion of total reports made in states with Universal Mandated
proportion of reports that included allegations of neglect, physical Reporting (M = 0.68, S.D. = 0.15), as compared to states without
abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment and medical neglect, Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 0.55, S.D. = 0.25; t(48) = −2.40,
respectively. Additional variables were calculated to determine the p = 0.02).
 K.S. Krase, T.A. DeLong-Hamilton / Children and Youth Services Review 50 (2015) 96–100 99

When looking at reports that exclusively include neglect allegations see a smaller proportion of reports that include multiple types of child
(and no other type of maltreatment alleged), a similar pattern is found. maltreatment in the allegation.
Reports that only include an allegation of neglect make up a larger pro- Any change in a state's reporting laws would hopefully improve the
portion of total reports made in states with Universal Mandated validity of reports to CPS. Ideally, such changes would result in more ac-
Reporting (M = 0.57, S.D. = 0.16), as compared to states without curate reporting. Conversely, one would hope that such changes would
Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 0.43, S.D. = 0.20; t(48) = −2.56, not increase unnecessary reports. Interestingly, the findings from this
p = 0.01). study show that when looking at all reports there is no difference in dis-
Reports involving allegations of multiple types of maltreatment position between states with, and without, Universal Mandated
make up a smaller proportion of reports in states with Universal Reporting.
Mandated Reporting (M = 0.17, S.D. = 0.12), as compared to states The only difference in report disposition found here relates to
without Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 0.29, S.D. = 0.20; reports of medical neglect. Investigation of medical neglect allegations
t(48) = 2.28, p = 0.03). in states with Universal Mandated Reporting is less likely to find a
child to be a victim, than such reports in other states. Interpretation of
3.2.4. Report disposition this finding should be done carefully. In general, medical neglect reports
There were no significant differences in the proportion of reports are most likely to come from medical professionals. However, it is
where a child was determined, upon investigation, to be a victim for possible that in Universal Mandated Reporting states, reports of medical
states with Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 0.19, S.D. = 0.04), as neglect are more likely to come from non-professional report sources,
compared to those without (M = 0.23, S.D. = 0.10; t(48) = 1.349, and therefore may be less likely to be accurate. Alternatively, this find-
p = .184). ing may relate to the fact that the definition of neglect, and derivatively
Reports exclusively involving allegations of medical neglect were medical neglect, varies across states (Krase, 2013b). Or perhaps, this
less likely to result in a child determined to be a victim, upon investiga- finding speaks to the complexities of neglect cases in general (Krase,
tion, if the report was made in a state with Universal Mandated 2013b). Additionally, reports of medical neglect make up a small pro-
Reporting (M = 0.10, S.D. = 0.08), as compared to states without portion of a state's reports (almost always fewer than 5%). Therefore,
Universal Mandated Reporting (M = 0.22, S.D. = 0.20; t(37) = 2.11, small differences may be found to be statistically significant, but not
p = 0.04). There were no significant differences between states with, meaningful. Further examination of this finding in future research is
and without, Universal Mandated Reporting, in report disposition warranted.
involving allegations of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or emo-
tional maltreatment. 4.2. Policy & practice implications

4. Discussion The findings from this research suggest, at best, that Universal
Mandated Reporting Laws do not result in anticipated outcomes
4.1. Differences between Universal Mandated Reporting states and others policymakers envision during consideration of adoption. Focus on
Universal Mandated Reporting Laws as a panacea for child abuse may,
Over the past few years, policy makers have touted the expansion of in fact, detract from more constructive changes to the reporting system.
Universal Mandated Reporting Laws as the most important response to Alternatives to current policy should be considered. One such alter-
concerns for under-reporting of suspected child maltreatment. The native policy suggests that all mandated reporters immediately report
findings from this study do not necessarily support this assertion. to CPS only certain types of suspected maltreatment (i.e., sexual
Universal Mandated Reporting Laws would purport to increase re- abuse, serious physical abuse, or maltreatment which places the child
ports of suspected child maltreatment. However, states with Universal in imminent danger) to Child Protective Services (CPS) to be followed
Mandated Reporting Laws do not have higher rates of reporting than within 72 h by a written report. In less severe cases of suspected mal-
other states. This finding contradicts a finding in a previous study treatment (i.e., minor physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, or at
(Palusci & Vandervort, 2014). However, that prior research did not risk situations), the mandated reporter may report the suspected case
include an examination of all state report data, and involved analysis to CPS or consult a Critical Intervention Specialist which would operate
of data collected in 2000. independently from CPS. The Critical Intervention Specialist and man-
Universal Mandated Reporting Laws require all persons, regardless dated reporter would work together to determine a strategy to deal
of professional role, to make reports of suspected child maltreatment. with the case and decide if it should be reported to CPS. Research
States with such laws would theoretically see greater proportions of re- finds support for such an alternative from various professional report
ports coming from non-professional sources. However, this study did sources (Delaronde et al., 2000).
not find such differences. The only difference found between states Efforts to increase, or alternatively decrease, Universal Mandated
with and without Universal Mandated Reporting was related to reports Reporting will be difficult to see through fruition due to limited state
from educational personnel. In states with Universal Mandated budgets, and the current political climate. However, state and federal
Reporting, reports from educational personnel made up a smaller pro- efforts to increase and improve training could result in anticipated out-
portion of reports than in other states. This finding might suggest that comes. The vast majority of states have no requirements for training for
educational personnel are less inclined to make reports in these states, most professional reports (Krase, 2013a). With the exception of educa-
because they now share the burden of reporting with many other peo- tional personnel, very few mandated reporters are required by law to
ple. Or, this finding might simply be related to statistically insignificant receive training on their legal responsibilities. In states with Universal
increases in the proportion of reports made by other sources that, Mandated Reporting, public awareness campaigns often focus on in-
together, significantly decrease the proportion of reports coming from creasing reports, but fail to target improvement of reporting. Training
educational personnel. and awareness campaigns that harness social media and professional
Most of the high profile coverage of child maltreatment that resulted continuing education requirements should be explored at the local,
in calls for the expansion of Universal Mandated Reporting involved al- state and federal levels.
legations of sexual abuse. However, there were no differences in the
proportion of reports that involved sexual abuse in states with Universal 4.3. Limitations
Mandated Reporting compared to other states. States with Universal
Mandated Reporting see a larger proportion of their reports including There are two significant limitations to the NCANDS data: its age and
allegations of neglect, or exclusively include neglect. These states also missing data. NCANDS data is not provided for independent analyses
100 K.S. Krase, T.A. DeLong-Hamilton / Children and Youth Services Review 50 (2015) 96–100

until the annual publication Child Maltreatment is published. As a result, References

there is a time lag of more than a year before the data is made available
Abrahams, N., Casey, K., & Daro, D. (1992). Teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs
to outside researchers. Not all states contribute data to NCANDS, though about child abuse and its prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 229–238.
the number of states that do has rapidly increased over the past ten Brown, R., & Strozier, M. (2004). Resisting abuse at what cost? The impact of mandated
years. In NCANDS, 2010, Oregon was the only state that did not supply reporting laws on the process and content of therapy. Contemporary Family
Therapy, 26(1), 45–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:COFT.0000016911.48414.7d.
data to NCANDS. Crenshaw, W.B., Crenshaw, L.M., & Lichtenberg, J.W. (1995). When educators confront
An additional limitation in this particular study is the comparison of child abuse: Analysis of the decision to report. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(9),
administrative data across states. For instance, report disposition is a lo- 1095–1113.
Delaronde, S., King, G., Bendel, R., & Reece, R. (2000). Opinions among mandated
cally determined event that the researchers in the present study did not reporters toward child maltreatment reporting policies. Child Abuse & Neglect,
have control over. It is possible, and even plausible, that a comparison of 24(7), 901–910 (http://dx.doi.org/0145-1234/00).
what seems to be similar reports across states will not be comparable if Ganim, S. (2011, November 17). Exclusive: Jerry Sandusky interview prompts long-ago
victims to contact lawyer. The Patriot News.
more carefully analyzed. A report categorized as including an allegation Hampton, R.L., & Newberger, E.H. (1985). Child abuse incidence and reporting by hospi-
of neglect in one state might be categorized as emotional maltreatment tals: Significance of severity, class and race. American Journal of Public Health, 75(1),
in another state. Therefore it is possible, and even likely, that dissonance 56–60.
Hazzard, A. (1984). Training teachers to identify and intervene with abused children.
between actual and observe racial categorization occurs. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 13(3), 288–293.
In terms of report disposition, there are different burdens of proof Jenny, C., Hymel, K.P., Ritzen, A., Reinert, E., & Hay, T.C. (1999). Analysis of missed cases of
required for different levels of report disposition across states, ranging abusive head trauma. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282(7), 621–625.
Kenny, M.C. (2001a). Compliance with mandated child abuse reporting: Comparing
from the low level of reasonable suspicion to the high level of clear
physicians and teachers. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34(1), 9–23.
and convincing evidence. Even states with the same burden of proof Kenny, M.C. (2001b). Child abuse reporting: Teachers' perceived deterrents. Child Abuse &
may categorize similar cases differently. Neglect, 25, 81–92.
Most importantly, the design of this study does not allow inference Kenny, M.C. (2004). Teachers' attitudes toward and knowledge of child maltreatment.
Child Abuse and Neglect, 28, 1311–1319.
to causality. Therefore, it is impossible to say that Universal Mandated Kesner, J.E., & Robinson, M. (2002). Teachers as mandated reporters of child maltreat-
Reporting Laws impact reporting behavior based on the results of this ment: Comparison with legal, medical, and social services reporters. Children &
study. However, the findings from the research can be used to inform Schools, 24(4), 222.
King, G., Reece, R., Bendel, R., & Patel, V. (1998). The effects of sociodemographic variables,
further exploration. training, and attitudes on the lifetime reporting practices of mandated reporters.
Child Maltreatment, 3, 276–283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077559598003003007.
Krase, K.S. (2010). Exploring unsubstantiated reports by educational personnel of
suspected child maltreatment in New York State using geographic information sys-
4.4. Future research tem technology: Is there a disproportionate impact on African-American children?
Dissertation Abstracts International Proquest.
Due to the research design of the current study, the impact of Uni- Krase, K.S. (2013a). Differences in racially disproportionate reporting of child maltreat-
ment across report sources. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 7(4), 351–369. http://dx.
versal Mandated Reporting cannot be extrapolated from the findings re-
doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2013.
ported here. However, future research can explore such impact if Krase, K.S. (2013b). Educational personnel as reporters of suspected child maltreatment.
conducted in jurisdictions that consider and implement a change to or Children and Schools, 35(3), 147–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdt008.
Lane, W.G., Rubin, D.M., Monteith, R., & Christian, C.W. (2002). Racial differences in the
from Universal Mandated Reporting. Quasi-experimental research
evaluation of pediatric fractures for physical abuse. Journal of the American Medical
could be conducted in such an instance to capture any actual changes Association, 288(13), 1603–1609.
in reporting behavior or quality. Lau, K.J., Krase, K.S., & Morse, R. (2008). Mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect: A
Other research in this area should focus on quantitative and qualita- practical guide for social workers. New York: Springer.
Levin, P.G. (1983). Teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and reporting of child abuse/neglect.
tive exploration of the knowledge, thoughts and feelings of professional Child Welfare, 62(1), 14–20.
and non-professional reporters in, and out of, states with Universal Lu, Y.E., Landsverk, J., Ellis-Macleod, E., Newton, R., Ganger, W., & Johnson, I. (2004). Race,
Mandated Reporting Laws. At the individual level, it is important to un- ethnicity, and case outcomes in child protective services. Children and Youth Services
Review, 26, 447–461.
derstand if professional and non-professional reporters understand McIntyre, T. (1990). The teacher's role in cases of suspected child abuse. Education
their role as mandated reporters. Additionally, such research could and Urban Society, 22(3), 300–306.
explore the factors that impact the decision of both types of reporters McElroy, R. (2012). An analysis of state laws regarding mandated reporting of child maltreat-
ment. Washington, D.C.: First Focus State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center.
to make reports of suspected child maltreatment to CPS. Moulton, H.G., Jr. (2014). Report to the Attorney General on the investigation of Gerald A.
Sandusky. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General May 30, 2014.
National Data Archive for Child Abuse and Neglect (2012). National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System, 2010: Codebook. Ithaca: Cornell University.
5. Conclusion Newberger, E.H. (1983). The helping hand strikes again: Unintended consequences of
child abuse reporting. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 12(3), 307–311.
When reports of suspected child maltreatment are not made, chil- Palusci, V.J., & Vandervort, F.E. (2014). Universal reporting laws and child maltreatment
report rates in large U.S. counties. Children and Youth Services Review, 38(2014),
dren and families are denied access to services to protect their health
20–28.
and safety. All potential reporters, whether mandated to report or not, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau (2013). Mandatory
need knowledge and support to make appropriate reports of suspected reporters of child abuse and neglect. Retrieved August 16, 2014 from https://www.
child abuse and neglect (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2008). Only when knowl- childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children,
edge and support are adequately provided to reporters, both profession- Youth and Families (2013). Child maltreatment 2012. Washington, DC: U.S. Govern-
al and non-professional, will we as a society be able to ensure that ment Printing Office.
children and families suffering from child maltreatment are protected, Zellman, G.L. (1990a). Linking schools and social services: The case of child abuse
reporting. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 12(1), 41–55.
and children and families at risk are provided services to minimize Zellman, G.L. (1990b). Report decision-making patterns among mandated child abuse
such risk. reporters. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 325–336.