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>>More often than not, this (failure
to report) is because they believe that the report will bring a response
that is more likely to do harm than good. Thus, declining to
report is often not a matter of ignorance or negligence, but rather a
thoughtful decision to risk consequences in behalf of what a professional
considers the child's best interest. This problem will not be solved by
more penalties or stricter enforcement.......
I used to be the County of Santa Barbara's Victim Witness
Coordinator. I believe that folks WILL report when they have a better
sense that they will not be doing harm to the victim, and that, in turn,
requires the criminal justice support services folks to work closely with
mandated reporting trainers and with the reporters themselves, as they are
required to do with the victims, to give them a good understanding of the
protections available at each stage of the case, and not least, the fervent
DESIRE of those in charge of processing the case to do what best serves the
interests of the victim AND society, for the long run in the victim's
life.
As one example, typically, while publicly funded mental health services
will be available to a child victim in foster care, when that child becomes an
adult, that former child victim (who may have issues related to the abuse at
each life stage forward) will NOT qualify for Medicaid-funded mental health
services as a single adult. Filing a Victim of Violent Crime application
for services (in California and other states) will safeguard that former child's
right to supportive services through adulthood through victim services
funds. That is why many Child Welfare Services agencies throughout
California regard this (checKing VVC eligibility) as an essential checklist item
for part of the planning for adulthood that must take place within a reasonable
time of the child's stabilization after victimization. Many perpetrators
have a compulsive sense of "ownership" of their victims, and long after the
first intervenor is absent from the victim's life, will return to re-establish
the victimizing relationship when there is no longer effective protection
available to the victim.
Many adult victims are people who did not have access to the supportive
services they needed at the times they needed it, and I believe this contributes
to the intergenerational cycle of victimization in some families.
Freya Schultz
Santa Barbara County Social Services
Freya Schultz
Staff Analyst Santa Barbara County Social Services 234 Camino del Remedio Santa Barbara, CA 93110 (805) 681-4626 <freya@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> >>> ron@xxxxxxxxx 10/08/02 12:35PM >>> Criminal penalties have at times been enforced in CA and any professional
who fails to report risks her/his license. These laws have been in effect
for decades. Professionals are required to take continuing education
courses that include mandated reporting. Yet, studies show that many
mandated reporters still do not always report. More often than not,
this is because they believe that the report will bring a response that is more
likely to do harm than good. Thus, declining to report is often
not a matter of ignorance or negligence, but rather a thoughtful decision
to risk consequences in behalf of what a professional considers the child's best
interest. This problem will not be solved by more penalties or stricter
enforcement. Only vast improvements in assessment, kinder approaches
and more effective services leading to better case outcomes will convince
committed professionals that it is always in a child's best interest to report
reasonable suspicion of abuse.
*************************************************************************** >From ???@??? Wed Oct 09 09:50:16 2002 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from elist02.mail.cornell.edu (elist02.mail.cornell.edu [132.236.56.15]) by postoffice.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA22893; Wed, 9 Oct 2002 09:48:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by elist02.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) id JAA28658; Wed, 9 Oct 2002 09:48:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from elist02.mail.cornell.edu (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by elist02.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id JAA28550; Wed, 9 Oct 2002 09:47:11 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mailhub3.mail.cornell.edu (mailhub3.mail.cornell.edu [132.236.56.24]) by elist02.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA09877 for X-PH: V4.1@elist02 (Cornell Modified) From: GTooman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mailhub3.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA23243 for CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Tue, 8 Oct 2002 19:59:30 -0400 (EDT) Received: from exch.americanhumane.org (static-209-150-220-107.dsl.priorlake.integramn.net [209.150.220.107] (may be forged)) by mailhub3.mail.cornell.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA23214 for X-PH: V4.1@mailhub3 Received: by exch.americanhumane.org with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) id Message-ID: To: Child Maltreatment Researchers Subject: RE: Knowledge Survey Questions Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2002 17:59:03 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Message-Tag: 5341 Reply-To: CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@xxxxxxxxxxx Sender: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@xxxxxxxxxxx X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.2.09.cu.02/011115/14:19 -- ListProc(tm) by CREN If you ask people to "rate their knowledge," you're likely to create a "demand characteristic." That is, respondents will invariably rate their knowledge as higher than it is -- not necessarily to obfuscate, but to maintain their own self-confidence (self-esteem) in this area. Instead, you might actually ask them some questions that put to the test their knowledge of the link between animal abuse and other forms of family violence. The American Humane Association's "National Resource Center on the Link Between Violence to People and Animals" may be of help in determining what questions to ask. A cursory view of our resource center suggests the following questions may be useful: - what is the average age of pets living in abusive households? - what age do children who abuse animals generally begin? - what are some of the reasons adults may abuse animals, likewise, what are some of the reasons children may abuse animals? - what are some differences between exploratory/curious animal abuse and pathological or delinquent animal abuse? - which group is more likely to report child animal abuse, the abuser/child or a parent/guardian? You may also wish to ask the respondents to rate the level of confidence they have in each of their answers, to determine the depth of knowledge they have of the issue. Other possible questions: - What are your county/city/state definitions of animal abuse? - What are common signs of animal abuse/trauma/neglect? - What are environmental/health concerns for neglected animals? Asking these questions might show social workers' knowledge of what to look for in an abused animal when making a home visit, as well as create an acknowledgement that they should be aware of these things. The web resource center is located at: http://www.americanhumane.org/link You can also email our link resource manager at: link@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or call toll-free: 1-877-546-5222 or 303-792-9900 x461 Gregory Tooman Research Associate Children's Services American Humane Association 63 Inverness Drive East Englewood, CO 80112 (303) 925-9471 http://www.americanhumane.org "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Ben Franklin |
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