A Selected, Annotated Bibliography of Child Maltreatment Reporting by Education Professionals

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U.S. articles

Compaan C, Doueck HJ, Levine M. Mandated reporter satisfaction with child protection. More good news for workers? Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1997;12(6):847-857.

Purpose: To evaluate the level of satisfaction among mandated reporters in an upstate western New York county child protection system.

Method: A survey was distributed to professionals who worked with children and/or families in an upstate western New York county. Of the 873 surveys distributed, 472 were returned. The professionals in the sample consisted of teachers (25%), principals (15%), school counsellors (13%), organizations (12%), day care providers (10%), Department of Social Services staff (9%), medical professionals (8%), school nurses (6%), police officers (2%), and probation staff (1%). Therefore, approximately 60% of respondents were education professionals.

Discussion: The majority of respondents in each category had filed reports with child protection services, except teachers. Several factors increased reporter satisfaction with child protection services: initial contact with a child protection worker, the demonstration of interest by the child protection worker in the information provided, being asked to provide information considered unimportant, and worker sensitivity to the reporter's concerns. Respondents were more satisfied when the report was substantiated and when they were advised of the case outcome. Principals demonstrated the highest degree of satisfaction with child protection services, whereas teachers and school counselling staff showed the lowest degrees of satisfaction of all professionals surveyed.

Sedlak AJ, Schultz DJ. Follow-up to the NIS-3 and NCANDS studies. Sentinel Questionnaire Follow-Up Study. Final report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997.

Purpose: To provide more detail on the reporting policies of the U.S. school system, the reporting behaviours of the school sentinels, and the barriers to reporting recognized cases of child maltreatment.

Method: Several months after the Basic NIS Sentinel Study had been carried out in 1993, the questionnaire was sent to all participants in the study. Of the 4,316 school sentinels that were mailed the anonymous survey, 2,763 returned a completed questionnaire. This result generated a 64% response rate.

Discussion: The sample was composed primarily of whites (86%), females (79%) and people in their 40s (41%). Although three quarters of sentinels had received written information about child abuse and neglect reporting requirements and half had attended a workshop on the topic, 20% of them had not received either. Sentinels with any kind of training were more likely to make reports. Fifty-nine percent of respondents had reported a case of suspected child abuse during their career. Of those, 39% made the report uniquely to the designated school official. A quarter were dissatisfied with the outcome, and the same percentage stated that the result of the most recent case they had reported would influence future decisions to report. Twenty-two percent of sentinels who had suspected abuse had not reported it to any authority. The reasons most often cited for not filing a report were, in order of importance, a lack of evidence, uncertainty about the effectiveness of the Child Protective Services (CPS) response, someone else at the school had already made a report, fear of reprisal or false accusations, and no longer suspecting the abuse or neglect. Reasons for reporting suspected abuse were, in order of importance, concern for the child's well-being and safety, the legal obligation to do so, physical evidence, behavioural problems at school, and disclosure from the child. Sentinels required to report directly to CPS or police were more likely to have ever made a report than those instructed to report to school officials. Principals and counsellors were more likely to have made a report than teachers. Older sentinels and those from larger schools were more likely to have made a report. Cases of suspected abuse involving male children were most often reported only to school officials, whereas cases involving older or female children were reported to CPS or police. Cases in which fathers committed the maltreatment were more often reported.

Crenshaw WB, Crenshaw LM, Lichtenberg JW. When educators confront child abuse: an analysis of the decision to report. Child Abuse & Neglect 1995;19(9):1095-113.

Purpose: To examine reporting decisions, update existing data on reporting rates and tendencies, examine existing reporting hierarchies, investigate any effect of victim gender on reporting behaviour according to reporter gender, and ascertain the level of support for mandatory reporting among U.S. educators.

Methods: Participants were selected from a Kansas state directory of educators. Surveys were given to teachers, school counsellors, principals, superintendents and school psychologists. A total of 664 surveys were returned, which yielded a 42% response rate. The Crenshaw Abuse Reporting Survey, Form-S, was used to collect the data.

Discussion: Although respondents had knowledge of the mandatory reporting law, only 10% felt very well prepared to recognize and report child abuse cases. Another 51% felt fairly well prepared, 27% felt barely adequately prepared, and 13% felt poorly or not at all prepared. No significant differences were found that might indicate that the gender of the victim or the reporter affected subsequent reporting. There was no relation between the age of the child and reporting tendency. The findings indicate that respondents who make a report are more willing to base their reporting decision on suspicions than on solid evidence, whereas non-reporters require extensive evidence before considering making a report. Educators' ability to recognize symptoms of child abuse directly affects their decision to file a report. Study findings show that mandatory reporting laws are not sufficient to drive reporting in ambiguous cases.

Mahoney KS. School personnel & mandated reporting of child maltreatment. Journal of Law & Education 1995;24(2):227-39.

Purpose: To focus on issues arising from mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect for U.S. teachers.

Methods: Review article containing 41 references.

Discussion: The author reviewed previous research addressing teachers' and principals' awareness of signs of maltreatment and of their requirement to report suspicions of child abuse. The article concluded with recommendations and implications for policy. The two main recommendations were 1) the need to train education professionals in the identification of child abuse signs, and 2) the need for standard definitions of child maltreatment.

Reiniger A, Robison E, McHugh M. Mandated training of professionals: a means for improving reporting of suspected child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect 1995;19(1):63-99.

Purpose: To document the knowledge gap in the identification and reporting of suspected child abuse by professionals mandated to make such reports.

Methods: A self-report questionnaire was mailed to 1,368 professionals who attended a required 2-hour training program on the identification and reporting of child maltreatment. A total of 536 participants returned the questionnaire (39% response rate). Included in the sample of respondents were podiatrists, psychologists, physicians, nurses, optometrists, chiropractors, teachers and social workers.

Discussion: Over 80% of the respondents who attended the training session indicated that they had learned something new about identifying and reporting child abuse. For 60% of respondents, the information on reporting procedures and legal liabilities was mostly all new. All professions were more informed of the indicators of child abuse than necessary under policy and legal requirements. Teachers were among those professions that had very little knowledge of these areas.

Wanat CL, Helms LB, Rosien JE. Home v. school: issues for school leaders in reporting child abuse. Journal of School Leadership 1994;4:223-44.

Purpose: To illustrate how the mandated reporting laws for educators in the United States, as they are written, do not differentiate between abuse occurring in the school and abuse occurring in the home. These distinct issues need to be handled separately as they require different responses on the part of school administrators.

Method: Review article containing 62 references.

Discussion: The authors reviewed and gave a critique of the legal framework that requires school personnel to report abuse and summarized both criticisms and empirical analyses of the under-reporting of abuse by school personnel in the educational literature. The article also provided a review of case law on decisions litigating failure of school personnel to report abuse. Findings from this review show that laws intended to facilitate reporting of abuse in home settings are now employed primarily for abuse occurring in schools.

Remley TP, Fry LJ. Reporting suspected child abuse: conflicting roles for the counselor. The School Counselor 1993;40:253-59.

Purpose: To explain the many roles and responsibilities of U.S. school counsellors once they have reported a case of child abuse.

Methods: Descriptive article.

Discussion: Counsellors in different states are governed by many different statutes, but generally the requirement to report suspected cases of child abuse supersedes duties of confidentiality and privileged communication. Counsellors are required to prevent harm if they conclude that their client is a danger to themselves or others. In addition to being subject to criminal penalties, counsellors can be held liable in civil suits for failure to report suspected child abuse. It is important for them to know the laws applicable in their state. The counsellor might maintain a counselling relationship with the victim after a report has been filed. He or she also needs to follow school procedures, and may be required to appear as a witness in court. The counsellor may also serve as a resource person for the family.

Rosien J, Helms L, Wanat C. Intent v. practice: incentives and disincentives for child abuse reporting by school personnel. Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal 1993;13:102-25.

Purpose: To examine the effects of U.S. statutes and case law that persuades or dissuades reporting of abuse by teachers and administrators.

Method: Review article containing 56 references.

Discussion: The ambiguity of the statutes regarding the definitions of "abuse" and "neglect", the identification of the abuser, and the degree of certainty necessary to sustain a report of abuse or neglect may lead to poor reporting. Several incentives encourage reporting compliance. The primary incentive is immunity from legal action. Penalties are imposed for knowingly and willingly failing to report. Failure to report may also result in civil liability. Teachers tend not to follow the legislated procedures when they report. Several factors discourage reporting. Some of these are teachers' perceptions about discipline, privacy values, lack of diagnostic expertise, and fear of confrontation following a report. Some principals are concerned that reporting a case of suspected abuse will result in a negative image of their school. Although the threat of legal liability for not reporting a suspected case of abuse is a strong incentive, there is a gap in the implementation of these laws. The second section of the article examined in more detail litigation about reporting.

Abrahams N, Casey K, Daro D. Teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about child abuse and its prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect 1992;16:229-38.

Purpose: To explore teachers' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about child abuse and its prevention in the United States.

Methods: A sample was drawn from the random stratified 29 counties used in the 1986 National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. Approximately 1,694 questionnaires were mailed to 49 school districts, to be completed by elementary school teachers. Five hundred and sixty-eight questionnaires were returned, yielding a 34% response rate. Respondents consisted of 501 (88%) females, 47 males (8%), and 20 (4%) who did not indicate gender.

Discussion:  The majority of teachers surveyed expressed dissatisfaction regarding the amount and depth of education on identification, reporting and intervention of suspected child abuse cases. Seventy-four percent of respondents indicated they had suspected a child as being abused or neglected at some point in time. Of these teachers, 90% indicated that they reported the case, most commonly to other school personnel such as the principal, social worker, or nurse. Only 23% indicated reporting directly to child protective services. Sixty-five percent of teachers surveyed indicated that a lack of knowledge on how to report and detect cases of child abuse was a deterrent to reporting. Other barriers to reporting included a fear of legal ramifications for false allegations (63%), fear of reprisal against the child, damage to the parent-teacher and parent-child relationship (52%), parental denial and disapproval of reports (45%), a lack of community and school support (24%), and school board or principal disapproval (14%). Sixty-five percent of teachers were favourable to teaching prevention programs; the majority of the respondents viewed such programs as valuable and felt they were an effective way to teach children to protect themselves. Thirty-five percent of respondents expressed reservations about teaching prevention programs, 64% of them stating that they felt unqualified to implement such a program. Over a quarter of respondents indicated that their school had a mandatory child assault prevention program, and 39% reported having no knowledge of their school's policy of assault prevention programs. Half the teachers indicated that their students had been exposed to such a program in the previous year. Finally, 57% of respondents considered the banning of corporal punishment as a high priority.

Payne B. The principal's role in reporting child abuse. Resources in Education 1991;26(11):80-85.

Purpose: To discuss the role of U.S. elementary school principals with regard to reporting suspected cases of child abuse.

Method: Descriptive article.

Discussion: Elementary school principals play an important role in reporting cases of child abuse. Most reports filed by teachers first go through the principal. However, principals may screen teacher reports, despite their ethical and legal obligation to file them. Several reasons have been suggested to explain this gate keeping behaviour: a report may damage school-family alliances and relationships; parents could become angry with principals; some principals prefer to conduct their own investigation prior to reporting to Child Protective Services (CPS); it is believed that CPS will not intervene; and many principals tend not to report cases in which they believe no abuse has occurred. The author also examines abuse occurring at the school. The need for proper training for teachers to identify possible abuse is underlined.

Batchelor ES, Dean RS, Gridley B, Batchelor B. Reports of child sexual abuse in the schools. Psychology in the Schools 1990;27:131-37.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was threefold: to examine the incidence of child sexual abuse reports to school psychologists in the U.S. school system, to evaluate the quality of the service as perceived by the victims, and to inquire into the use of child sexual abuse prevention and screening programs.

Method: A total of 500 questionnaires were randomly distributed to members of the National Association of School Psychologists; 171 (34%) usable questionnaires were returned (62 male, 109 female).

Discussion: Sixty-one percent of respondents reported that they had received formal training in identifying child sexual abuse, and 54% had attended child sexual abuse workshops; only 11% had received training in graduate school. In the previous year, 110  respondents (64%) reported encountering 498 child sexual abuse cases. Prevention programs were reported to be offered in only 44% of the school systems represented while screening programs were available in 14%.

Baxter G, Beer J. Educational needs of school personnel regarding child abuse and/or neglect. Psychological Reports 1990;67:75-80.

Purpose: To develop a measure of the frequency and the kind of problems related to child abuse and neglect in a rural Kansas school district.

Methods: The "Baxter Inventory of Educational Needs of School Personnel Concerning Child Abuse/Neglect" was developed to obtain information from school personnel. Forty-nine questionnaires were distributed to school personnel in a rural Kansas school district. Forty-two administrators, teachers and counsellors returned a completed questionnaire, for an 86% response rate.

Discussion:   Ninety percent of respondents stated that they were aware of the mandatory reporting laws in the state of Kansas. Forty-five percent of school personnel were uncertain if all suspected cases of abuse and neglect were required to be reported, 28% were aware that all cases must be reported, and an equal percentage felt it was unnecessary to report all cases. Eighty-one percent of respondents were unclear whether the school district had a policy on child abuse and neglect. Only 14% of respondents from this sample had reported suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. Of that group, 66% believed their report either reduced or eliminated the abuse or neglect. Approximately two thirds of school personnel were concerned about parental retaliation following a report. Only one respondent had received formal training in child abuse and neglect, and this training had occurred over 10 years ago. It is not surprising, then, that only 14% of school personnel felt prepared to assist abused or neglected students.

McIntyre T. The teacher's role in cases of suspected child abuse. Education and Urban Society 1990;22:300-06.

Purpose: To provide a U.S. perspective on important issues in suspected child abuse in the school setting.

Method: Review article containing 23 references.

Discussion: A review of current literature concerning teachers' reporting patterns was provided, including how teachers report as well as the common barriers to reporting. Implications for policy were considered, such as in-service training and a push on the part of teachers and unions for a referral process that protects all involved.

Zellman GL. Linking schools and social services: the case of child abuse reporting. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 1990;12(1):41-55.

Purpose: To analyse the reporting behaviour of school principals and the response of child protective agencies in the United States.

Methods: Public school principals and other mandated reporters were selected from 15 states using stratified random sampling. The sample included general and family practitioners, pediatricians, child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, principals of public schools and heads of child care centres. An overall response rate of 59% was achieved (n = 1,196).

Discussion: Most elementary school principals had reported child abuse (92%) at some time in their career. This was the highest figure for all groups of the sample. Many elementary school principals had made multiple reports; 20% had made more than five reports within the previous year. Principals in the sample had received less child abuse training than members of the other professions represented. The majority of principals indicated that they had discussed child abuse reporting at a staff meeting at least once in the previous year. More than 50% indicated that they sometimes investigated the concerns themselves. Over 37% of elementary school principals admitted not reporting a suspected case of child abuse during their career. However, this percentage was lower than those found among most of the other groups of professional mandated reporters sampled. Principals reported the following barriers to reporting: reports carry an emotional cost, fear of losing rapport with the family, and doubts as to whether reports are beneficial to children. Principals rated Child Protective Services (CPS) expertise more highly than any other group sampled. They also felt that they received feedback on the results of investigations, although they made considerable efforts to obtain this feedback. Ironically, staff interviewed at six different CPS regarded school staff as a major problem group because of their willingness to report, and the type of abuse reported. They felt most reports originating from school staff involved neither an immediate threat to the child's life nor serious injury.

Zellman GL. Child abuse reporting and failure to report among mandated reporters. Prevalence, incidence, and reasons. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1990;5(1):3-22.

Purpose: To obtain data from a national sample of U.S. mandated reporters about their reporting behaviour.

Methods: Public school principals and other mandated reporters were selected from 15 states using stratified random sampling. The sample included general and family practitioners, pediatricians, child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, principals of public schools, and heads of child care centres. An overall response rate of 59% was achieved (n = 1,196), 69% among public school principals.

Discussion: Elementary school principals had the highest lifetime reporting prevalence among the professional groups represented in the sample (92%). While still above the sample average of 77% for lifetime reporting prevalence, secondary school principals (84%) placed behind pediatricians and child psychiatrists. The sample average for making a report in the previous year was 56%. Again, both elementary and secondary school principals were above average, 84% and 68% of principals respectively having made a report in the previous year. Thirty-six percent of the principals admitted not having reported suspected abuse or neglect during their career (sample average 39%). Forty-four percent of professionals sampled responded that they had reported at some time and had never failed to report, contributing to the most common lifetime reporting pattern of consistent reporting. The second most common pattern was that of discretionary reporting, in which respondents had reported on some occasions but not others. Seventeen percent of the sample had never made a report or had failed to make a report. Among the principals surveyed, the most important reasons for making a report were to stop the maltreatment; to get help for the child or family; to help the family see the seriousness of the problem; to comply with the legal requirement to do so; to ensure continued treatment; to comply with a workplace reporting policy; to bring Child Protective Services (CPS) experience to bear; to ensure that the police would act to protect the child; and, in a small number of cases, to avoid a lawsuit for not making a report. The reasons given by this group for not reporting a suspected case of abuse or neglect were, in order of importance, a lack of evidence; the incident was not serious enough to report; the situation resolved itself; the case had already been reported; treatment was already accepted; the belief that "I could help the child better myself"; the belief that CPS services are of poor quality; the report would disrupt treatment; a perception that CPS overacts to reports; discomfort with the family; fear of lawsuit for reporting; and the length of time necessary to make reports. It is important to note that the last three reasons cited did not figure prominently in the decisions not to report. Having a lack of evidence was an often cited reason for over 60% of all professionals in the sample who had ever failed to report. This result reflects the occurrence of professional judgement and discretion in reporting decisions.

Shoop RJ, Firestone LM. Mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse: do teachers obey the law? West's Education Law Reporter 1988;46:1111-22.

Purpose: To determine rural Kansas teachers' attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about child abuse and neglect.

Methods: A total of 103 certified personnel from the elementary, junior and senior high participated in the study. Data were collected using the three following techniques: content analysis was used first to analyze and compare teachers' written definitions of child abuse with those found in the Kansas Child Protection Law; a questionnaire was then administered; and finally, a sample of 30 teachers was selected for personal interviews. The results obtained using one methodology were used to confirm and validate the results obtained in the others.

Discussion: All teachers surveyed were aware of their legal obligation to report child abuse, but the majority did not know the correct procedure. The majority of teachers would report suspected abuse to their principal. None of the teachers had ever reported directly to the official reporting agency. Elementary teachers suspected and reported child abuse more than high school teachers. Training on school law, teachers' legal responsibilities, and child abuse would be helpful for all teachers. Teachers who had received some kind of training were more aware of their responsibilities to report and reported more often. The teachers recognized physical abuse and neglect more easily and more often than emotional or sexual abuse. The way a teacher defined abuse affected whether he or she suspected and reported abuse.

McIntyre TC. Teacher awareness of child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect 1987;11;133-35.

Purpose: The purpose of this study of Illinois teachers was threefold: to determine the awareness of legal rights and responsibilities to report child abuse; to determine whether teachers can recognize signs of neglect and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; and to evaluate how well teachers are trained in the area of child abuse and neglect.

Method: A self-report mail-out survey was sent to a random sample of teachers in Illinois. Items on the questionnaire assessed background information, teachers' exposure to information on child abuse and neglect, their awareness of abuse signs, legal aspects about reporting and personal opinion about the importance of the child abuse issue. Of the 600 questionnaires mailed out, 440 were returned, which resulted in a 73% response rate.

Discussion: Most teachers felt they had never had an abused or neglected child in their classroom. In fact, 24% of the teachers surveyed believed that they had never taught or seen an abused or neglected child. Twelve percent of respondents stated that they were not at all aware of any indicators of physical abuse; 21% felt they were very aware of them; and the remainder felt they could recognize signs of physical abuse if they were obvious. Only 4% of teachers felt very confident in recognizing signs of sexual abuse. Another 17% felt that they were somewhat aware, and 76% of teachers revealed they would not be able to recognize signs of sexual abuse. Teachers were more aware of the signs of emotional abuse (19% very aware, 52% able to recognize obvious signs, 28% unable to recognize signs) and neglect (30% very aware, 55% able to recognize signs, 15% unable to recognize signs). Teachers who reported being very aware of the signs and symptoms of the different types of abuse had more exposure to pre-service training than others.

Nightingale NN, Walker EF. Identification and reporting of child maltreatment by head start personnel: attitudes and experiences. Child Abuse & Neglect 1986;10;191-199.

Purpose: To investigate child maltreatment reporting attitudes of New York Head Start workers. One of the goals of the study was to determine whether variables such as child's age, history of abuse, socioeconomic status, and worker's familiarity with the family affect the perception of whether a child may have been abused. Another goal of the study was to examine the effect of respondents' age, level of education, and years of preschool experience on the identification and reporting of child maltreatment.

Method: A survey was distributed to 143 Head Start employees and volunteers attending a regional Head Start conference in Syracuse, NY. Teachers, aides, and home base workers constituted 47% of the sample.

Discussion: Identification and reporting did not seem to be affected by the socioeconomic status of the abused child's family, familiarity of the personnel with the family, or the family's previous involvement with Child Protective Services. Respondents with training in maltreatment identification suspected more abuse cases and made more reports. Identification and reporting also increased with respondent work experience. For all respondents with no prior training, those who had children were less likely to report an incident than those without children. The most commonly identified form of maltreatment, neglect, was also the least reported, while the most commonly reported form of maltreatment, sexual abuse, was the least likely to be identified.

Levin PG. Teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and reporting of child abuse/neglect. Child Welfare 1983;62(1):14-20.

Purpose: This Iowa study had four main objectives: to determine 1) the extent of teachers' awareness of their responsibility to report suspected cases of child abuse; 2) teachers' perceptions of their ability to recognize symptoms of abuse; 3) teachers' awareness of the legal consequences if they fail to report a suspected case of abuse; and 4) whether teachers feel there is an adequate reporting procedure.

Method: A total of 285 teachers completed the questionnaire; of these, 209 were elementary school teachers and 76 junior high school teachers. The sample was composed predominantly of female teachers (78%).

Discussion: Only 34% of the sample had ever reported a case of physical abuse, and most of those who had made a report had done so only once. Twenty-one percent of those surveyed had ever reported a case of physical neglect, 8% had reported emotional abuse and emotional neglect, and only 5% had ever reported a case of sexual abuse. Knowledge of child abuse symptoms was greatest for physical abuse and neglect, followed by emotional abuse and emotional neglect, and only 5% had ever reported a case of sexual abuse. Half the teachers felt the training programs used to educate school personnel about child abuse were inadequate. Still, teachers felt a strong moral responsibility and obligation to report a case of suspected abuse. Sixty-one percent of the teachers were unaware of the personal legal consequences if they failed to report a suspected case of abuse.

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