Reasonable Suspicion of Child abuse: Finding a Common Language

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See Gaudiosi , supra note 6; Wyatt G. E. Loeb T. B. Solis B. Carmona J. V. , “The Prevalence and Circumstances of Child Sexual Abuse: Changes across a Decade,” Child Abuse & Neglect 23, no. 1 (1999): 45–60.

See Warner Hansen , supra note 2; Gaudiosi , supra note 6; Drake B. Zuravin A. , “Bias in Child Maltreatment Reporting: Revisiting the Myth of Classlessness,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 68, no. 2 (1998): 295–304; Finkelhor D. Jones L. , “Why Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined?” Journal of Social Issues 62, no. 4 (2006): 685–716; Mersky J. P. Berger L. M. Reynolds A. J. Gromoske A. N. , “Risk Factors for Child and Adolescent Maltreatment A Longitudinal Investigation of a Cohort of Inner-City Youth,” Child Maltreatment 14, no. 1 (2009): 73–88.

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See Melton , supra note 4; Flaherty E. G. Sege R. , “Barriers to Physician Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse,” Pediatric Annals 34, no. 5 (2005): 349–356; Renke W. N. , “The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse under the Child Welfare Act,” Health Law Journal 7, (1999): 91–140.

See Gaudiosi , supra note 6.

Gateway Child Welfare Information, Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008.

Saul Ornelas and Ismael Ornelas-Ledesma v. United States , 517 US 690 (1996); Myers J. E. B. , “Medicolegal Aspects of Suspected Child Abuse,” in Reece R. M. Ludwig S. , eds., Child Abuse: Medical Diagnosis and Treatment (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, 2001): At 545–563.

See Applebaum , supra note 4; Levi , supra note 5; Deisz R. Doueck H. George N. , “Reasonable Cause: A Qualitative Study of Mandated Reporting,” Child Abuse & Neglect 20, no. 4 (1996): 275–287; Kalichman S. C. , Mandated Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse: Ethics, Law, & Policy, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1999).

Levi B. H. Brown G. , “Reasonable Suspicion: A Study of Pennsylvania Pediatricians Regarding Child Abuse,” Pediatrics 116, no. 1 (2005): E5-e12.

Levi B. H. Crowell K. , “Child Abuse Experts Disagree about the Threshold for Mandated Reporting,” Clinical Pediatrics (published online December 6, 2010).

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Though many states also stipulate that known abuse requires reporting, in all such instances the state statute identifies an additional threshold considerably lower than knowledge. As such, it is the lower threshold that defines mandated reporting.

See Levi , supra note 5.

See Myers , supra note 16.

Id.

State of Minnesota v. Curtis Lowell Grover , 437 N.W.2d 60, 63 (MN S. Ct. 1989); Carl E. Gray v. State of Florida, 520 So2d 584 (FL S. Ct. 1988); People of the State of Michigan v. Alfred Cavaiani, 432 N.W.2d 409, 413 (MI App. Ct. 1988).

State of Missouri v. Leslie A. Brown, 140 SW3d 51 (MO S. Ct. 2004).

See Kalichmann , supra note 17

See Levi , supra note 5.

See Levi , supra notes 18 and 20.

Connally v. General Construction Company , 269 U.S. 385, 391(S. Ct. 1926).

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1; 88 (S. Ct. 1968). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Benjamin R. Reppert. 383 A.2d (PA Super 2001).

Of course, one might argue that reports of suspected abuse are different in that they merely initiate investigations, not prosecutions. As such, due process is not violated because (as for law enforcement) rigorous standards do exist for scrutinizing the actions of child protection services officials. What this argument ignores, however, is that child abuse investigations are not only invasive, they are often accusational, typically disruptive, and almost always very stressful. The constitutional protections contained in the fourth and fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution recognize the significant hardships that can arise from unreasonable searches and indictments, even if no conviction ensues. In this regard, mandated reporters' apprehensions parallel those of police officers. The crucial difference is that police officers can be held accountable for their exercise of judgment, while mandated reporters enjoy almost unassailable immunity.

See Renke , supra note 13; Wexler R. , Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse (New York: Prometheus Books, 1995).

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See Levi , supra note 5; White A. R. , “Suspicion,” in Canfield J. V. , ed., Wittgenstein's Intentions (Hamden: Garland, 1993): At 81–85.

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Id. (Giardino).

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See Deisz , supra note 17

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See Applebaum , supra note 4; Melton , supra note 4; Wexler , supra note 34; Richman , supra note 35; Coleman , supra note 35; Singley S. J. , “Failure to Report Suspect Child Abuse: Civil Liability of Mandated Reporters,” Journal of Juvenile Law 19 (1998): 236–271.

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See Blacker , supra note 44; Flieger C. L. , Reporting Child Physical Abuse: The Effects of Varying Legal Definitions of Reasonable Suspicion on Psychologists' Child Abuse Reporting [Doctoral], Berkeley/Alameda, The California School of Professional Psychology, 1998.

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See Levi , supra notes 18, 19, and 20; Blacker , supra note 44; and Flieger , supra 50.