Family Law: The Aspect of Child Abuse - Research Paper Example

Family Law Family Law Introduction Family law encompasses a body of statutes as well as case precedents that oversee the legal responsibilities between people who share domestic connection. The cases typically involve parties related either by marriage or blood. However, family laws can also affect casual or distant relationships as well. As a result of emotionally-charged nature of the biggest proportion of family laws, the litigants are advised to maintain legal counsel. Most of the family law proceedings come as a result of termination of romantic or marriage relationship. The family law attorneys usually help their clients to file for alimony, divorce or separation and child custody which are most of the significant family laws proceedings. Prevention against emotional, sexual as well as physical abuse is another aspect encompassed in the family law. This entails abuse over adults as well as children. However, children are more vulnerable in terms of abuse as a result of their defenselessness. In every nation across the globe any sort of abuse is never taken lightly. Child abuse is a very sensitive aspect that is encompassed in the family law. It can be subcategorized into four different types namely sexual, neglect, psychological as well as physical. The aspect of child abuse is highly condemned in the whole of America. However, the approach towards handling the issue varies from one state to other. The document below analyzes the current status of the child abuse laws in Texas in terms of responsibilities, authority and limitations. Recommendations on the essential changes to these laws are also analyzed in the document (Eekelaar et al, 2000). Discussion Responsibility Child abuse is a real issue in the world today. Texas State has developed laws and statutes that are used by its law enforcers to charge the perpetrators. The Texas laws and regulations have divided clearly highlighted responsibilities of all the stakeholders so as to deal with child abuse issue effectively. The stakeholders who have been defined to have a responsibility in dealing with the child abuse include the professionals such as child care workers, medical professionals, and teachers as well as other school staff. Other parties that have an obligation of detecting any form of child abuse on a child include relatives, parents and neighbors. In general every citizen of Texas has a responsibility of detecting any form of child abuse and hence taking it to the relevant authorities (Eekelaar et al, 2000). Child abuse encompasses children of any race, economic class or social background. The government of Texas insists that irrespective of the relationship that is available between a particular citizen of Texas and an abused child the responses, actions and attitudes of one could be vital in the eventual healing and may be survival of that child. However, the government of Texas does not require the members of the society to carry out the investigations of child abuse. However, it states that everyone has an obligation of assisting an abused child. The first responsibility the public is obliged with is reporting suspicions of and kind of abuse on a child (Walsh et al, 2010). The members of the society in Texas are expected to look at any suspicious bruise or mark on a child. However, this should only be done under the permission of the child especially if he or she is attempting to hide it. After detecting a suspicious bruise on the body of a child, it is essential for that individual in accordance to Texas directive to ask the kid a few questions so as to find out the explanation for these suspicious-looking injuries or marks. However, as an ordinary citizen or professional it is not his responsibility to investigate that matter rather it is only listening and reporting the issue to the authorities. People are however, advised to ask the child open-ended questions which are age-appropriate in terms of both meaning and vocabulary. People are only advised to get hints on any sort of abuse on the child and if one finds it, it is enough to inform the authorities. It is, therefore, not allowed for the citizens to prompt children for answers if he or she does not want to answer; it is advisable to leave the child alone (Doak & Information Plus 2009). The investigation role is usually performed by qualified professionals. However, the members of the public are advised to make notes on the observations they make of possible neglect or abuse on a child. The government of Texas also recommends one to write down the time, date, events and place that caused him or her to become suspicious. If the details of the child are hard to obtain, people are advised to acquire any sort of information that can help the investigators to find the perpetrators. The information includes parent’s physical address, car’s registration number and the likes. It is also essential for one to write down anything that was said by the information as well as any comments of person who is close to this child. These notes, however, should be factual and should not contain conclusions and judgments. These notes, however, need to be secure and confidential. The notes taken may be summoned by a judge in a legal proceeding as far the Texas directive is concerned (Walsh et al, 2010). The responsibility of reporting cases of child abuse is mandatory in accordance to the Texas laws and regulations. Every person with a cause to believe that a child has been mentally or physically abused must report this case immediately to any law enforcement agency or the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. This is under the Texas Family Code’s chapter 261. Failure to report any form of suspected child neglect or abuse is termed as a class B misdemeanor. These people are punishable by an imprisonment of up to 180 days or/and a fine of up to 2000 USD (Statsky, 2012). Authority After any person around the child has detected any form of abuse on the child he or she is expected to report to the necessary authority which is a mandatory. Reporting is expected to be made to any of the local or state law enforcement agency. These agencies have the power and authority to investigate the matter and take the appropriate legal steps on the perpetrators if the child abuse allegations may be found to be available. Alternatively any person can report any case of child abuse to CPS (child protective services). This is a department encompassed in the Texas Department of protective and Regulatory Services (TDFPS). The Texas Department of protective and Regulatory Services has initiated a 24-hour toll-free service. This is to enhance reporting of all forms of child abuse any time of the day. The toll-free number is also attributed to saving the lives of the children who may be subjected to abuse (Statsky, 2012). In case a child seems to be in an immediate danger of being harmed seriously, the members of the public are advised to call 911 or the sheriff’s department or the nearest police station. These agencies have mandate to respond to this issue promptly thus ensuring fastest possible reaction time of child protection. The person reporting need to provide essential information that will help authorities locate the child easily such as license plates, address, age and child’s name. It is essential for such cases to be promptly reported since the more time elapses between the occurrence of the incident and reporting, the more it becomes difficult for investigating it (Doak & Information Plus, 2009) The authority to investigate cases of child is vested on CPS (child protective services) which is a department of TDFPS. They usually perform a civil investigation of whether the case is a child abuse as the Texas Family Code’s chapter 261 defines it. The law enforcement agencies, on the other hand, conduct the criminal investigations if it appears that a person need to be charged with sexual assault, assault or any form of other form of criminal misconduct against a child. CPS is also obligated in determining the civil action that need to be taken on behalf of the abused children. For example, they can propose the child to be removed from their homes to a protective custody hence terminating the parental rights. The law enforcement agency investigating the case is obliged to refer the case for criminal prosecution if it is appropriate (Mallon & Hess, 2014). Limitation The child abuse laws in Texas are however limited in a number of ways. One of the limitations is that it does not clearly define the extent to which disciplining a child should reach so as to be termed as a corporal punishment. It is evident that children need to be disciplined for a healthy society to be achieved. However, the laws need to define the manner in which children should be disciplined. The laws on child labor should be categorical on what disciplining entails and corporal punishment entails. The other limitation is that the investigation of child abuse case is usually done by a government body that does not bring the perpetrators to book. The handing over of responsibilities can easily give room for breaching of law (May, 2011). Question three There are a number of changes that need to be changed in terms of responsibility, authority of the child abuse laws in Texas. This will in return help to make the laws effective thus bridging the limitations of these laws at hand. In terms, of responsibility, it is the high chance of the regulations dealing with child abuse to impose heavy charges to every adult who was aware that there was child abuse that was being executed and ignored. It should be well understood that every citizen has an obligation in handling the child abuse issue. In case, the child dies out of abuse, these people should also be charged with murder. The government should also initiate an agency that has power to detect, investigate and even charge the perpetrators of child abuse so as to enhance efficiency (Statsky, 2014). The authorities dealing with child abuse have revealed a sense of failure. This is in accordance to a survey by Gardner Selby entitled “Missed signs, fatal consequences; new facts on child abuse in Texas” that revealed that most of deaths that took place between 2010 to 2014 out of child abuse were on the hands of CPS (Gardner, 2015). Irrespective of numerous meetings of CPS with the families no fruits were born out of the meetings. As a government agency established to handle cases of child abuse, it reveals a total failure because they did nothing to save the lives of these young children. The department need to be restructured or disbanded and an active agency be established. An agency that will be able to handle the child abuse case from the beginning to the charging the perpetrators are highly recommendable. In terms of limitations, the government need to come out clearly on the way disciplining should be done as well as the manner they will be referring to corporal punishment worth facing the rule of law. This will help the parents and guardians to discipline children in accordance to the law requirements. So as to close all the routes that can easily give room to breaching of laws and statues dealing with child abuse, establishment of an independent organ is essential. The organization need to be self-sustained in handling the child abuse issues from beginning to the end (Myers, 2010). Question four Cases There have been cases on child abuse that have been carried out in a court of law and determined. A perfect case is one of an NFL player who was charged with abusing his child physically. It was thus termed as a corporal punishment. The Lubbock County’s assistant district attorney indicated that corporal punishment boils down to the standards of the community. He however indicated that injuring a child is generally a third-degree felony. In Texas, the third-degree felonies are punishable with a fine of up to 10000 USD or a prison sentence of between two to ten years. According to slack, there does not exist a definition that can helping determining reasonable discipline and no specific examples of punishment forms which are acceptable (Myers, 2010). According to Sgt. Jason Lewis, the officers who carried out the investigation found that the abuse looked severe especially putting into consideration the child’s age and the possible action that was carried out. Lewis indicated that an acct is described as a domestic violence when a spouse makes use of excessive force. He also indicated that they only consider the evident sign that could show an evidence of abuse. He also indicated that officers are limited in options unless if there are abuse’s clear signs. Paul Zimmerman who works with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also offered sentiments on this case indicated that the CPS policy does not regard reasonable corporal punishment as abuse. However, if the punishment leads to harm on the child, it is then termed as a crime. Based on CPS policy, the substantial harms include cuts, bone fractures, wounds, burns, welts and concussions. Zimmerman indicated that CPS considers the effects of punishment on the child and whether the child was threatened or harmed physically by the discipline he or she was subjected to. When it, however, comes to prosecution as a result of possible abuse it tends to be an unclear cut. According to slack it is like a case by case deal. The case of Adrian Peterson, the NFL player sparked debate on the corporal punishment use. The Montgomery county grand jury had indicted Minnesota Vikings back in September 11. The court records indicate that his bond was set as 15000USD. Peterson who is 29 years of age has an accusation of hitting his child using a tree branch. According to the records of the court, the case’s pretrial hearing has set as 8th of October (Mallon & Hess, 2014). The example above acts as an indicator that the cases against child abuse are still in existence and executed. According to the Frenship ISD officials, the board policy was dropped from its board policy of the corporal punishment use in the year 2003. The Frenship ISD spokesperson highlighted that teachers are not allowed by the law in Texas to use corporal punishment. Slack indicated that sometimes it calls for collaboration of the CPS and police in ensuring children are safe in Texas. A perfect example is that CPS has mandate of removing a child from an abusive environment prior to charging of the responsible person with abuse (Myers, 2010). Statues and regulations The statues and regulations that govern the child abuse aspect in Texas are contained in chapter 261 of the Texas state’s statues. This is under the family code section. Section 261.001 gives the general guideline of the actions that can be termed as child abuse. For example part A of this section indicates that “(mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the childs growth, development, or psychological functioning;” is one of the actions that can be categorized as child abuse alongside other actions as indicated in section 001 of chapter 261. The entire chapter 261 of the Texas statues gives a detailed structure of how the child abused is determined and dealt with in the legal proceedings (Texas statues, 2005). Articles There are numerous articles that have been written by numerous scholars addressing the issue of child abuse in Texas State. An article by Gardner Selby entitled “Missed signs, fatal consequences; new facts on child abuse in Texas” is among the articles written that addresses the issue of child abuse in Texas State. It offers shocking statistics of how great numbers of child abuse goes unrevealed. He indicates that texas is failing to report publicly hundreds of neglect and abuse related child deaths every year. Between the years 2010 and 2014 the department of family as well as protective services failed to report publicly 655 child abuse-related mortalities. The departments had, however, confirmed the children were mistreated prior to their deaths (Gardner, 2015). The article also reveals an inconsistency in the child protective service department. It is indicated in the article that almost a half of the children who passed on were on the radar of CPS. Out of the 380 mortalities, 144 families had been investigated at least thrice. Out of 12 instances, CPS had met the family ten times or more. CPS also had a contact with a certain family for over 20 times before the death of the child. The effective of the system is hence questionable (Gardner, 2015). Conclusion Child abuse is a real issue that calls for the entire society to offer a helping hand. The society also needs to be educated on the right way of bringing up children. Some of the parents could be subjecting their children to corporal punishment out of ignorance. They hence need to be educated. They also need to be educated on their roles towards fighting the issue of child abuse. Finally the government needs to equip the agencies dealing with child abuse with necessary parameters for efficiency purposes. These agencies however, need to be effective. By so doing, the fight against child abuse will be effective. References Doak, M. J., & Information Plus (Firm : Wylie, Tex.). (2009). Child abuse and domestic violence. Detroit, MI: Gale Cengage. Eekelaar, J., Katz, S. N., & Maclean, M. (2000). Cross currents: Family law and policy in the United States and England. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford University Press. Gardner S. (2015). Missed signs, fatal consequences; new facts on child abuse in Texas. Retrieved From: http://www.politifact.com/texas/article/2015/jan/13/calling-all-texas-legislators/ Mallon, G. P., & Hess, P. M. C. (2014). Child welfare for the twenty-first century: A handbook of practices, policies, and programs. New York: Columbia University Press Myers, J. E. B. (2010). The history of child protection in America. Sacramento, Calif.: University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. May, J. C., & Texas. (2011). The Texas state constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Statsky, W. (2012). Family Law. New York: ProQuest. Statsky, W. (2014). Family Law: the essentials. London: Cengage. Texas statues. (2005). Chapter 261. investigation of report of child abuse or neglect. Retrieved From: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm Walsh, J., Kemerer, F. and Maniotis, L. (2010). The Educators Guide to Texas School Law: Seventh Edition. Texas: University of Texas Press. Read More