Paper on Child Abuse Reporting in Schools: Legal Obligations, Identification, and Reporting Procedures

School personnel and workers are required to be provided with adequate information if they are to identify cases of suspected child neglect or abuse. This information can also come in handy when it comes to making necessary reports to the appropriate authorities. Child abuse doesn't have to be identified through broken bones or bruises. Some forms of child abuse don't involve such visible harm to the child (Callahan, 2019). It is of paramount importance that teachers and other workers who are constantly around students learn and know what can be categorized as child abuse or child neglect. The following constitutes child abuse or child neglect; willful endangerment of a child’s health, assault, exploitation or sexual abuse of a child, and maltreatment of a child.

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To point out suspected cases of child abuse, an individual isn't required to be present when the offense was committed. Furthermore, they are not required to have hardcore proof of child abuse or child neglect. According to the state of California law on the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, it allows an individual to have suspicion of a child abuse/neglect offense. A person, therefore, can identify cases of child abuse or neglect based on suspicion resulting from the training that he/she has attained in their professional position. In a school setting where most children spend vast amounts of their time, signs of child neglect or abuse can be recognized by looking at a child's behavior at institutions, observing children's reactions when interacting with other adults, and identifying physical evidence.

According to the California Penal Code Part 4 title 1 chapter 2 article 2.5 Section 11165.7, an instructor is categorized as a ‘mandatory reporter’ to any sexual or corporal punishment abuse inflicted upon a child. Article 2.5 Section 11165 of the penal code defines a child as anyone who is under the age of 18 years (Mathews, 2014). As an attorney, the case as explained by the instructor clearly shows that the female student had sexual intercourse while still underage since she is already three months pregnant and turned 18 years old only three weeks ago. This shows that she got pregnant at 17 years old, while a minor. This goes against section 11165.1 of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act as the perpetrator engaged in ‘sexual abuse’ with a minor (Mathews, 2014).

As the instructor’s attorney, I would advise him to immediately report the situation to the nearest sheriff's department or police department as required in section 11165.9 of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act of the California penal code. The instructor doesn’t necessarily need to report the case to agencies or departments within California’s jurisdiction. Reports made to agencies outside California are still viable and may be transferred electronically to agencies in California (Callahan, 2019).

In case the reports can't be transferred, the reports will be investigated by the agency. The instructor will be acting as per section 11166 under Article 2.5 of the Child Abuse and Neglect Act. It requires that a 'mandatory reporter' reports incidences they identify as child abuse in their capacity and knowledge as professionals (Callahan, 2019). He will need to make a phone call to the necessary agencies promptly. After receiving information on the student’s case, he will have 36 hours to send a follow-up report electronically. In the case provided, the instructor has clear physical signs that the child was sexually abused since she is 3 months pregnant and barely 18 years old. Even though the instructor doesn't have clear evidence regarding the perpetrator, he must report this case to the necessary authorities regardless of whether he has evidence or not. To prove whether the perpetrator is guilty or not guilty is left to the authorities to determine.

References

Callahan, M. (2019, Oct 15). New law opens a window for child sex abuse lawsuits in California. TCA Regional News Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2305521142?accountid=45049

Mathews, B. (2014). Mandatory reporting laws and identification of child abuse and neglect: Consideration of differential maltreatment types, and a cross-jurisdictional analysis of child sexual abuse reports. Social Sciences, 3(3), 460-482.