Mandated Child Abuse Reporting in a Multicultural Environment

The abuse and neglect of children has been linked to their cognitive, academic, psychological, and behavioral demise. As a result of the deleterious effects that abuse can have on children’s development and well-being, all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, have enacted child abuse reporting laws for mental health professionals. These laws typically require a mandated child abuse report when child maltreatment has been reasonably suspected. Although mandated child abuse reporting laws appear straight-forward, mandated reporting often entails complex and nuanced decision-making, particularly when a child is from a diverse cultural background. Thus, this article offers a discussion for mental health professionals (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers) regarding mandated child abuse reporting within a multicultural environment.

Using Case Studies to Investigate Cetacean Bycatch/Interaction Under-Reporting in Countries With Reporting Legislation

Accurate reporting of cetacean bycatch in/interaction with fishing gear in fisher logbooks would be of immense scientific value; however, despite some countries having mandatory reporting laws, logbook reporting is widely considered unreliable and cetacean catches are thought to be under-reported. Despite this widespread notion of logbook unreliability, under-reporting has rarely been quantified. For this study, initially we compiled the first comprehensive legislation summary for countries which have cetacean bycatch/interaction reporting laws. We then used data provided by government and research agencies in three case study countries (New Zealand, United States, and Iceland) to test for differences between logbook and observer reported cetacean bycatch. Comparisons were made using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon tests with a set alpha of 0.05. Overall, cetacean bycatch recorded by observers was higher than that from fisher logbooks by an average of 774% in trawls, 7348% in nets, and 1725% in hook and line gears. When combining all years of data available, fisher logbook cetacean catch per unit efforts or average number of individuals caught were significantly less than those from observer data for all gear types that could be examined in all countries, except for lining in New Zealand. Overall, there was significant under-reporting in the case study countries despite differences in geographic location, cetacean species and density and EEZ size, suggesting these results would likely be similar in many countries with comparable, well-developed fishing industries. Under-reporting in logbooks, despite laws, was clearly quantified and it is known that fishers have little incentive to report and have concerns over negative repercussions to the industry over bycatch issues. If logbook reporting is to continue in some fisheries, clearer legislation, simplified reporting using new technology (such as smartphone apps) and combination with electronic monitoring cameras to verify compliance may improve reporting accuracy. The introduction of electronic monitoring, given its lower cost compared to observer programs and high accuracy, may be the most viable option to obtain reliable cetacean bycatch estimates, and could be considered to replace logbook reporting altogether.

Mutual Deference Between Hospitals and Courts

This Article explores the phenomenon of “mutual deference” between the medical and legal systems to show that placing mandated reporting responsibilities on clinicians results in lasting harm for families. On the medical side, clinicians are obligated to defer any “reasonable suspicion” that a child may be at risk to the legal system; their concern may be mild or severe, medical or nonmedical in nature. But the legal system, comprised of lay-people in the field of medicine, is illequipped to evaluate a medical concern, and so defers back to the clinician’s report when making critical decisions around family integrity. Thisdeference often functions to elevate a clinician’s “reasonable suspicion” to a finding of “imminent risk,” justifying needless and prolonged separation of families. More systemically, mutual deference creates and reinforces medical and legal associations between low-income communities of color and notions of child maltreatment. Mutual deference insulates the medical reporter and the legal system from liability while imposing tremendous harm on the families caught in the middle. That mandated reporting laws discourage clinicians from considering this harm when deciding whether to report a family reflects the extent to which the family regulation system has prioritized prosecution over supporting families. Efforts to re-envision how society’s support for and protection of families can move away from state-sanctioned violence and towards strengthening families within their communities must begin with removing mandated reporter responsibilities from medical providers.

Reversing the ‘syndrome of secrecy’: Peremptory reporting obligations in cases of child abuse and neglect

Mandatory reporting laws are a controversial mechanism that require members of particular occupations to report cases of serious child maltreatment that they encounter in the course of their work to welfare or law enforcement agencies. In April 2019 a video went viral in which a woman filmed her colleague beating toddlers at a crèche in Gauteng. The crèche was closed, and arrests were made, including of the videographer. Given extent of violence and abuse against South African children, this paper investigates whether South African law adequately provides for the liability of those compelled to report child abuse but who fail to do so, why mandated reporters fail to report abuse, and how South Africa’s mandatory reporting rules should be amended to better serve their purpose.

E-cigarette manufacturers’ compliance with clinical trial reporting expectations: a case series of registered trials by Juul Labs

BackgroundElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are a frequently debated topic in public health. It is essential that clinical trials examining e-cigarettes are fully and accurately reported, especially given long-standing concerns about tobacco industry research. We assess the reporting of clinical trials sponsored by Juul Labs, the largest e-cigarette company in the USA, against accepted reporting standards.MethodsWe searched ClinicalTrials.gov for all trials sponsored by Juul Labs and determined those with registry data consistent with coverage by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act 2007 (FDAAA). For trials with a primary completion date more than 1 year earlier, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov, the academic literature and a Juul-funded research database (JLI Science) for results. For located results, we compared reported outcomes with registered outcomes in line with Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) reporting guidelines.ResultsWe located five registered trials sponsored by Juul Labs that appeared covered by the FDAAA 2007 in the public data. All five trials did not have results available on ClinicalTrials.gov. We found one publication and four poster presentations reporting results for four of the five covered trials outside of ClinicalTrials.gov. Of 61 specified outcomes, 28 were CONSORT compliant. Specific outcome reporting issues are detailed.DiscussionOur findings raise substantial concerns regarding these trials. Clinicians, public health professionals, and the public cannot make informed choices about the benefits or hazards of e-cigarettes if the results of clinical trials are not completely and transparently reported. Clarification and potential enforcement of reporting laws may be required.

Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds: A Call to End Mandated Reporting Laws

Mandated reporting laws are pertinent to practitioners of “helping professions,” such as social workers, doctors, nurses, and teachers. These laws dictate that a professional or student in those fields must report suspected child maltreatment to the state for investigation. The report, as well as the investigation that follows, has the potential to result in removal and separation of children from their parents or caretakers. The child welfare system of which mandated reporting is a component has a cruel history of racism and white supremacy, as well as prejudice towards those experiencing poverty, disabilities, mental health concerns, homelessness, and substance use disorders. This research examines the disproportionate harm the child welfare system has on Black and Brown individuals, particularly in New York, and how the system has used mandated reporting laws to further marginalize oppressed communities since the 1970s. This research indicates the need to comprehensively reimagine the erroneously named “child welfare system” starting with repealing mandated reporting laws in the United States.

The growth of veterinary forensics

Veterinary forensics is a rapidly growing field, and it is recognized that there is a connection between animal abuse and other types of interpersonal violence (Lockwood and Arkow 2016). While all states have misdemeanor and felony statues for animal abuse, unfortunately, not all cases of animal abuse are reported to the authorities or investigated for a multitude of reasons. Some of these reasons include the lack of mandatory reporting laws in all states, an inability to perform a forensic postmortem examination in all suspicious death cases, lack of training on the identification and documentation of suspected animal abuse, and financial constraints. While it is possible to mitigate some limitations on the local level in some communities, much improvement is needed on the state and national scale.