Child Abuse Mandatory - Essay Example

Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting Official of the Laws Within the US, almost all governments have established statutes to ensure that child abuse cases are reported in seeking to manage the process. There are professional groups and institutions which have been identified and handed the responsibility to legally report incidents of child abuse within the various states. It, therefore, becomes an obligation of the selected organisations to ensure the laws are enforced, through ensuring that all the cases are reported as stipulated within the law. Within the state of California the following state statutes are utilised in the mandatory child abuse reporting. While these has been many debates on the mandatory child reporting since the first enactment of such law in 1963, the current issues are contained in The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA)i which was enacted in 1980 (Frenso State, 2015). It continues to be amended in order to provide specific details like the persons required to report, the procedures and many other elements of the reporting. Health Care Organizations Obligations to meet Patients Legal Rights The CANRA statute identifies and defines the obligations held by individuals who have been mandated to report incidents of child abuse. One of the main legal obligations bestowed upon the reporting entity is the need to provide a report of what is being reported. This report can only be filed when a reporting authority observes or makes suspicion of a child being abused within their profession, or even personal capacity (Higgins & McCabe, 2001). The person must be able to produce facts about the suspicion or the observations of an abuse being directed towards child. While the emphasis might not be so much on the capacity for the individuals to provide facts, it emphasises on the need to report any suspicions which one might have. Another legal obligation that is required of the reporting agencies is the ability to support any reported incidents. When an individual completes the mandated report form, and they present a report they should be able to sign as a way of confirming knowledge or understanding the information contained within the context of the report provided (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2014). The mandated reporters are obliged by the law to sign statements which they acclaim to ensure that they comply with the provisions of the CANRA regulations. This statement becomes the document that is utilised in providing authority to individuals to be able to provide reports on child abuse with the required authority. Consequences for Non-Compliance It remains critically important for the mandated reporters to be able to provide factual and concrete information pertaining to the report being provided and which is supported with evidence. Failure to oblige to this provision could result in legal actions being initiated upon the individuals who present the false informationii. Organisations are required to have within their regulations elements which support this legal provision. The state government conducts audits to determine the level of compliance to these requirements within the various mandated institutions. In seeking to comply with the reporting requirements established under the provisions of CANRA. All public universities within California have their own local policy procedures which are in line with CANRA. Another legal obligation that is contained within the context of the regulations regards the aspects of ensuring that there is provision of supporting evidence. The reports that are provided by the mandated reporters must be ascertained by the institutions or individuals who present them. This involves ensuring that the individuals are able to sign statements as mandated reporters, which are used in initiating legal proceedings against the perpetrators (Carlifornia, 1980). As a matter of fact, all mandated reporters must make external reports of the case aimed at validating the information which has been provided. Thee external reports are important to the authorities as they form the basis upon which investigations can be undertaken. They also ensure that the reporter is well known in order to provide them with the necessary protections since the authorities are mandated to protect the identity of reportersiii. Health Service Organization Management Actions to meet Legal Obligations for Patients’ Rights Within the context of healthcare institutions that are mandated to report cases of child abuse there are various managerial actions which would be initiated in seeking to increase compliance with the regulations within the organisation. One of the approaches that would be effective would be training employees on the elements of reports and ways of identifying instances of child abuse. This would equip employees with the necessary knowledge to increase the reporting. Information would empower the employees within the institutions and will consequently increase the reporting. The creation of an online platform upon which reporting can be conducted would be critical in ensuring improvement of the process. This will be undertaken by availing the reporting forms within the website of the organisation in order to ensure that the employees can easily execute their roles as reporters on behalf of the organisation. The availability of the forms as well as information on the reporting procedures will increase the support of the employees of the child abuse reporting. Providing a reward scheme to the individuals who report these cases in seeking to ensure there is increased reporting capability within the organisation. The reward scheme would become an incentive for encouraging people to report even the slightest forms of abuse that might be suspected within the society. Conclusion Different laws and regulations have been enacted within various jurisdictions seeking to implement requirements for reporting cases of child abuse within the society. As increased sensitisation occurs within the social setting, these jurisdictions have implemented amendments which define different elements of the reporting process. This has included clearly stating what constitutes the crime of abuse as well as define the mandated reporters in seeking to make the obligation of reporting mandatory to some identified institutions. This has played a fundamental role in ensuring that many cases are reported since there is a proper prosecution procedure which is followed whenever cases are reported. References Carlifornia, S. of. The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (1980). United States of America. Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2014). Mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/manda.pdf Frenso State. (2015). Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.fresnostate.edu/adminserv/hr/compliance/childreport.html Higgins, D. J., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). Multiple forms of child abuse and neglect: Adult retrospective reports. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6(6), 547–578.  Read More