Reporting Child Abuse

spaceAre you required to report incidents of child abuse and neglect? Yes. Failure to report the incidents may result in criminal misdemeanor charges per Texas Family Code 201.109. If you are among a few qualified professionals, you must report the incidents within 48 hours.

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spaceHowever, careful deliberation should be given to whether what is to be reported is child abuse and neglect or an opinion of child rearing and poor parenting. The results of involving CPS into a family unnecessarily can be catastrophic for all involved.

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spaceConsider the question of whether or not corporal punishment is abusive. While some may find the practice deplorable, studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of the country still use some form of coporal punishment in child rearing. A Texas court wrote the following in IN RE J.A.J., 225 S.W.3d 621 (TX 2006).

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spaceBut while many critics of corporal punishment contend the practice violates "children's rights" grounded in "their autonomy, dependence . . . capacity for development . . . [and] essential humanity," it is still widely employed in this country. At least 90 percent of American parents have used corporal punishment at some time in rearing their children. So prevalent is the practice that one sociologist has observed, "Were we speaking statistically, we would surely describe those parents who do not spank their children as deviants."

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spaceA 1992 Ohio study showed that 70 percent of 800 family physicians and 59 percent of 400 pediatricians supported spanking. Moreover, "[r]ecent research on parenting styles has found . . . that `authoritative' styles, characterized by strict discipline, high demands for obedience, and high levels of warmth, tend to produce better-adjusted children than non-authoritative styles." Finally, to the degree that corporal punishment is declining, at least one sociologist has suggested there may well be a direct correlation between the declining use of corporal punishment and rising juvenile violence.

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space.... However, it is "not a court's function to determine whether `parents measure up to an ideal, but to determine whether the child's welfare has been compromised.'" .... "We must take care not to create a legal standard from our personal notions of how best to discipline a child."

spacespacePlease report incidents of child abuse and neglect. Children should not suffer as others idly watch. Just take care that what is reported is child abuse and neglect.

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From the August 2009 CPS HANDBOOK SECTION 2121

2121 Legal Requirements for Reporting Abuse or Neglect

Any person who has cause to believe that a child is being abused or neglected is required by Texas law to contact CPS or law enforcement. Texas Family Code §§261.101(a); 261.103(a)

Mandatory Reporting for DFPS Staff and Other Professionals
A professional who has cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected is required by law to report the abuse or neglect within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident. The professional cannot delegate to or rely on another person to make the report.

For the purposes of reporting, other professionals are defined as persons who are:
· licensed or certified by the state;
OR
· employed by a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the state;
AND
· in the normal course of official duties or duties for which a license or certification is required, have direct contact with children.

The term professional includes:
· teachers;
· nurses;
· doctors;
· day-care employees;
· employees of a clinic or health care facility that provides reproductive services;
· juvenile probation officers; and
· juvenile detention or correctional officers. Texas Family Code §261.101(b)

Demystifying the Texas CPS Internal Process (Segment 1: Section 2110)

Generally everyone acknowledges that children should be protected from harm – in or out of the home. The disagreement arises in the “how.” Some CPS workers, parents, and children report being abused by the current Child Protective Service system. Overworked, faced with unrealistic expectations, and disregarded are claims that any of the involved parties could legitimately make and prove.

To help solve the detrimental gaps, we must be knowledgeable about what does work and what does not. Examining the current CPS procedure is one starting point. Then “We the People” will be able to advocate, to lobby, or to simply inform our legislature of what the great State of Texas should do to fix the system.

Here is the first of many postings taken directly from the Department of Family and Protective Services CPS Handbook, August 2009 edition, http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/handbooks/CPS/Files/CPS_pg_2000.jsp#CPS_2100. I am posting portions of the handbook to help anyone involved in Texas CPS matters or interested in the workings of the system.

Please comment or email me your experiences with the “Intake Process” that is being highlighted in this first segment. Where is this current policy working and where could it use improvement? Are you a CPS worker? Is this process working for you? Do you see shortcomings or improvements in this latest process? Are you a parent involved in a CPS matter? Were you informed of the different roles discussed in Section 2110?

2100 The Intake Process for Reports of Abuse or Neglect

2110 The Roles of SWI and CPS During Intake
CPS August 2009

Intake begins when DFPS staff receive a written or spoken report of any kind. The report may or may not contain information about child abuse or neglect. See 1124 Definition of Stages of Service.

The Role of SWI
SWI is the initial point of contact for persons who report abuse or neglect. SWI staff make the initial determination about whether a report meets the criteria for CPS investigation and assessment.

The SWI Intake Worker
The SWI intake worker who receives the initial report gathers as much information from the reporter as necessary to determine whether it appears that a child:

• has been abused or neglected and is still at risk of being abused or neglected; or
• is at risk of being abused or neglected in the foreseeable future.

Based on the information received, the SWI intake worker decides whether to refer a case to CPS for investigation and assessment.

If the SWI worker refers the case to CPS, the worker assigns an initial level of priority to recommend how quickly CPS must respond, based on the current risk to the child.

Roles of Worker and Supervisor
Once the intake worker has decided whether a report meets the guidelines for referral to CPS, the SWI supervisor, CPS supervisor, or CPS investigation screener:

• approves the intake worker's decision; or
• documents the reasons for changing the worker's decision.

See 2145 Changing the Priority of a Report.

The Role of CPS
Once CPS receives the intake from SWI, CPS:

• reviews all reports referred by SWI for possible investigation; and
• decides whether to investigate.

See:
2143 The Role of SWI in Screening Reports of Abuse or Neglect
2141 The Allegations That CPS Accepts for Investigation and Assessment
2144 The Role of CPS in Screening Reports of Abuse or Neglect

See also the SWI Policy and Procedures Handbook, 2100 Assessing Reports Called Into SWI.

With Limited Liberty and Restraints for All

The below is a reprint of a Valentine blog entry found at Everyday Texas Law.

The new transportation and criminal code statutes enacted by the 81st Legislative Session are in effect now. Are you up to speed? Here are a few of the common changes from last year.

1. No Phones Allowed. Unless you are parked, using a hands free device, or in an emergency, you can no longer use a cell phone while in a school zone. This includes calls, texting, games, etc. If you are under the age of 17, you cannot use any wireless device while driving anywhere.

2. Everyone Must Wear Seat Belts. Regardless of where you are in a vehicle, everyone must wear a seat belt or an appropriate restraint. It is a criminal offense for occupants 15 years of age or older. In addition, the driver will be held accountable for allowing passengers under the age of 17 years of age ride without wearing their seat belts.

a. Failure to Buckle Up Criminal Level: Misdemeanor
b. Failure to Self Buckle: $25-$50
c. Failure to Buckle Minor Passengers: $100-$200

3. Appropriate Seating for Children. Previously, once children reached the age of 4, they “graduated” from car seats. Now, Texas is addressing the gap in legislation to protect an even greater number of children. It is now a crime to transport children younger than eight years of age who are not properly secured in a child passenger safety seat system. No offense is committed if the child is taller than 4 feet, 9 inches.

Why the change? Keep in mind that the automobile industry designs vehicles with adults in mind (typically the 170 lbs adult male). Consequently the manufacturers direct occupants to use the appropriate child safety or booster seats per the owner’s manual.

The Tracy Firm provides an excellent magazine each year discussing “How safe are our children in our vehicles.” Please refer to their website for videos, charts, and other valuable information on what the Center on Disease Control has declared the greatest public health problem facing children, motor vehicle injuries.

Regardless of the child’s age, consider the following when determining whether or not a child is ready to use only the vehicle’s seat belt.

• Can the child naturally bend his legs at the knees over the edge of the seat when sitting completely back?
• Does the lap portion of the seat belt fit low on his hips just over the bony structure and top of his thighs?
• Does the shoulder portion of the belt fit across the center of his chest and cross the center of his shoulder?
• Is the child mature enough to remain properly seated without slouching or moving the seat belt into an improper position?
• Is the latch plate as far as possible from his center line?
  

If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, you should keep using a child safety restraint system to minimize potentially fatal car injuries to the child.

a. Failure to Use Child Safety System Criminal Level: Misdemeanor
b. First Offense Penalty: $25, plus other fees and a $0.15 court cost
c. Subsequent Penalty: $250, plus other fees and a $0.15 court costs

4. Open-Bed Truck Rides a Thing of the Past. Just because we are in Texas, I’ll include this last criminal code change.

Drivers will be held accountable for operating an open-bed pickup truck or an open flatbed truck or trailer when a child younger than 18 years of age is in the bed of the truck or trailer.

a. Criminal Level: Misdemeanor
b. Penalty: $25-$200

Now because it’s weekend of Valentine’s Day, I’ll end with this, slightly modified children’s poem.

First comes love,
Then comes marriage,
Then comes baby in a properly-installed-child restraint system-until-age 8-baby carriage.