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Slide 13: Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide 13: Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Recommendations:

Since CPS or law enforcement may visit your campus during the course of an investigation, use private communications rather than public media (e.g., intercoms) to notify the appropriate staff or students.

Establish a specific, private location on campus where reporters and/or students can meet with CPS caseworkers or law enforcement confidentially.

Maintain confidentiality and anonymity of the reporter by not discussing the report or reporter.

Remove or revise any policies that require faculty and staff to consult with administration or other staff before they make a report of child abuse or neglect.

Set up a procedure for reporters to notify necessary individuals after making a report to prepare for any investigation to come.

Follow legislative changes to provide school staff with up-to-date training and understanding of their role as a mandatory reporters.

Review ethical standards to assure you are complying with those as well as state and federal standards.

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NEW CHALLENGES IN CHILD ABUSE REPORTING (Stone, 2021)

Stone writes extensively in ASCA’s School Counselor online magazine about issues related to child abuse reporting. There are several articles that discuss legal and ethical issues that arise around the topic of mandatory reporting to answer questions or provide insight for school counselors. In this article, she addresses several ethical dilemmas such as best practices for whether or not to notify a parent if they are the alleged perpetrator of the abuse versus if the alleged perpetrator is someone other than a parent/guardian. The article also addresses what to do if parents demand to see the report as well as circumstances where you and colleagues may have had to make multiple reports regarding the same student and your potential legal liability if you fail to make a second report after an initial report was not referred for further investigation if you still suspect abuse or neglect.

Source: Stone, C. (2021). New challenges in child abuse reporting. New Challenges in Child Abuse Reporting - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/November-December-2021/New-Challenges-in-Child-Abuse-Reporting

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ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2022).

ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2022) state that when there is serious and foreseeable harm a counselor must report to appropriate authorities (e.g., law enforcement) if a student discloses an actual threat or perceived threat of physical or mental harm. The school counselor is expected to follow any and all federal and state laws and school district policies when making such a report (American School Counselors Association, A.9 (e)).

There are many legal and ethical expectations in the field of school counseling when it comes to reporting suspected child abuse. These issues are mandatory reporting requirements, legal protections, and professional ethical standards for reporting. Some issues that arise as presented by ASCA are related to employees who are unsure of their reporting mandate or whether they have to report to a supervisor prior to making a report of suspected abuse or neglect. Counselors are not required to report to a supervisor before reporting suspected abuse or neglect; however, many schools have a procedure for informing administrators and supervisors after a report has been made. Understanding the law and expectations in Texas and understanding your role in following federal, state, and local guidelines is important.

Source: American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

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Source of Law: Administrative Law

School Policy: FFG — Student Welfare: Child Abuse and Neglect

Reference List Citation: Electra ISD. (2021, November 4). FFG—Student Welfare: Child Abuse and Neglect. Electra ISD Board Policy Manual.

Link to the policy: https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=1226&code=FFG#localTabContent

Brief summary:

Outlines the purpose of the policy to prevent abuse and maltreatment of children

Specifies who is expected to make a report and the time frame of 48 hours.

Gives directions, a phone number, and a link for reporting abuse

Specifies confidentiality of reporter and immunity for making a good faith report

Describes the disciplinary and legal consequences of failing to report suspected abuse or neglect

Details expectations and responsibilities when cooperating with a child abuse investigation

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Citation: Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93–247

Source of Law: Statutory

URL: https://www.congress.gov/bill/93rd-congress/senate-bill/1191#:~:text=Public%20Law%20No%3A%2093%2D247,(01%2F31%2F1974)&text=Child%20Abuse%20Prevention%20and%20Treatment,persons%20working%20in%20the%20field

Brief summary:

establishes national definitions regarding child abuse and neglect

assigns responsibilities to the federal government, such as data collection and technical assistance

authorizes funding to public agencies and nonprofit organizations that prevent, assess, investigate, prosecute, and treat child abuse and neglect

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Citation: Persons Required to Report, 5 Tex. Fam. Code §261.101-110

Source of Law: Statutory

URL: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm#:~:text=261.101.,as%20provided%20by%20this%20subchapter.

Brief summary:

School employees may not delegate the duty to report suspected abuse or neglect to anyone, and the report must be made within 48 hours (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.101(b)).

Failure to report suspected child abuse and neglect is a crime (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.109).

Employees have the right and responsibility to report suspected child abuse or neglect free of fear of retaliation (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.110).

School employees making reports of suspected abuse or neglect are NOT required by law to first report the suspicion to a supervisor.

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Citation: Doe v. Rains Independent School Dist., 865 F. Supp. 375 (E.D. Tex. 1994)

Source of Law: Judicial

URL:  Doe v. Rains Independent School Dist., 865 F. Supp. 375 (E.D. Tex. 1994) :: Justia

Brief summary:

A student reported to a junior high teacher within Rains ISD, Dana White, in June 1992 that another teacher from RISD high school, David Siepert was engaging in a sexual relationship with her.

The teacher, Dana White, did not report the abuse insisting that she remained silent to honor her promise of confidentiality to Sara

The teacher, Dana White, was found liable under Texas law for failing to report the abuse when she became aware within 48 hours (Tex. Fam. Code §261).

The suit accuses White of violating 42 U.S.C. §1983 the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by “causing Sarah to be deprived of her liberty interest in bodily integrity”

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Citation: Reporting Child Abuse or Neglect, Including Trafficking of a Child, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 61.1051

Source of Law: Administrative

URL: https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/commissioner-rules-tac/coe-tac-currently-in-effect/ch061ee.pdf

Brief summary:

develop a policy governing the reports of child abuse or neglect for school districts and employees

must provide for cooperation with law enforcement child abuse investigations without the consent of the child’s parents if necessary

includes investigations by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

must require each school district employee to report child abuse or neglect

may not require that school personnel report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to a school administrator prior to making a report

Training concerning prevention techniques for, and recognition of abuse must be provided as a part of new employee orientation

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ADMINISTRATORS ARRESTED A SECOND TIME FOR A SEPARATE INCIDENCE OF FAILURE TO REPORT

Three administrators were arrested in Midland in November 2022 accused of failing to meet mandatory reporting requirements for child abuse.

The administrators are the superintendent, secondary principal, and assistant principal of Midland Christian School.

The incident in question took place in November 2021 according to investigators and was never reported to law enforcement.

The three were also arrested with two other employees on accusations that they failed to report child abuse or neglect and attempted to conceal another incident that took place.

Those separate accusations stem from an alleged sexual assault of a student by members of the baseball team in January 2022.

This is the second accusation of failure to report against these three administrators.

Source: Storrs, M. (2022, November). 1 current, 2 former Midland Christian school employees indicted on failure to report charges. NewsWest 9. Retrieved July 3, 2023, from https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/crime/2-former-midland-christian-school-employees-rearrested-on-failure-to-report-charges/513-a4b93108-1d94-43df-bf4d-ba2b67d45153.

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FORMER ADMINISTRATORS AND COUNSELOR ARRESTED FOR FAILURE TO REPORT

Seven current and former administrators and a counselor from City View ISD were arrested in February of 2023 and charged with failure to report abuse.

In the summer of 2022, there were accusations made against a coach at CVISD alleging sexual misconduct over an 8-year period of time with multiple different female students.

Former students reported that they had taken the allegations to administrators at the time, but there were no records of any reports being made to law enforcement when the investigation began in the summer of 2022.

Investigators found documents that the coach had been placed on administrative leave twice while with the district, once in 2015 and again in 2022, but nothing was reported to law enforcement either time.

The school counselor admitted to being present for a meeting about allegations in 2014, but she told investigators that it was determined that the allegations were untrue, “so we just dropped it.”

Other administrators admitted to being present while allegations were discussed as well.

Source: Walker, L., & Choate, T. (2023, February 8). City View ISD officials jailed, charged with failure to report abuse. Times Record News. Retrieved July 2, 2023, from https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2023/02/08/ex-city-view-principal-jailed/69884115007/.

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ASCA’s online School Counselor Magazine has an entire legal and ethical section devoted to issues faced by school counselors. It is a tremendous resource and covers a wide variety of topics. You can go to the legal and ethical section and search specifically for a situation or issue, and many times, several articles will be available to offer advice on legal and ethical matters and best practices and suggestions related to the topic.

Source: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/Legal-Ethical

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Mandated reporter laws exist in every state, and it is vital to know the laws in order to assist others and respond appropriately to suspected abuse or neglect within the laws and ethical standards of the school counseling field. There are many ethical issues that present themselves including parental notification when the parent is the purported abuser and whether a counselor can be required to report abuse or neglect to a supervisor prior to making a report to CPS or law enforcement.

A new law in Texas (HB 63) will now prohibit anonymous reporting, which means that anyone reporting will have to give their name, address, and phone number for a report to be taken. Educators will be able to give their work information. It is important to know the difference between anonymity and confidentiality. While reporters will not be anonymous, their identities will be kept confidential from all parties except DFPS and CPS. This is likely to create a situation where school-mandated reporters are even more important given the concern about a chilling effect the new law could have on non-mandated reporters who previously could make anonymous reports (Texas Tribune, 2023).

It is common in every state for professionals who frequently come into contact with children to have the added responsibility of knowing how to recognize and report suspected child abuse or neglect (Mandated Reporter, 2023)

These generally include:

Teachers

Daycare providers

Physicians and other healthcare workers

Mental health professionals

Medical examiners and coroners

Law enforcement officers

How Many States Have Mandated Reporting Laws? (2023). [web log]. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://mandatedreporter.com/blog/how-many-states-have-mandated-reporting-laws/.

Simpson, S. (2023, May 18). Texas bill barring anonymous reporting of child abuse heads to gov. Greg Abbott. Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/18/texas-legislature-child-abuse-reports/?utm_source=articleshare&utm_medium=social.

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My name is Lindsay Lemon, and I am in the process of becoming a school counselor in a secondary school setting. For the purposes of this topic within my chosen field, I will be discussing the issue of what it means to be a mandatory reporter and the expectations placed on those in a position to report child abuse and neglect.

This can be a difficult topic when broken down because of requirements placed at the district level on how reports are made and by whom. The goal of this guide will be to walk you through the expectations based on federal and state statutes and administrative law. I hope to be able to dispel inaccuracies such as the requirement of reporting to a supervisor prior to making a report.

There have been incidents near my home district in recent months that have led me to this particular topic when it comes to what it means to be a mandatory reporter. A lot of those issues stem from what is required of a counselor legally and ethically when they are in a difficult position brought about by a potential conflict with an administrator with regard to reporting.