What does it mean to be a mandatory reporter?

"...persons with responsibility for the care of children [are] to report a reasonable suspicion that a child has been or may be subjected to abuse or neglect or observes a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances which would reasonably result in abuse or neglect."

Missouri law designates certain school employees as “mandatory reporters” of child abuse. The statute requires nurses or other health practitioners, social workers, teachers, school officials, and other persons with responsibility for the care of children to report a reasonable suspicion that “a child has been or may be subjected to abuse or neglect or observes a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect.”

Although this seems to be a plainly worded mandate on its face, problems arise in the application. Just what exactly constitutes abuse? Do I have to report a situation where I see a teacher accidentally hit a child, causing a red mark on the child? What if a teacher takes a student by the wrist? What if, after grabbing the student’s wrist, the teacher holds the wrist and walks him to another area of the room? What if the student says the teacher hurt him when she took him by the wrist? What if I see a teacher tap a student on top of the head with a stack of papers as he walks by?

The law defines abuse as: “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means...” Therefore, by definition, any injury that occurs by accident is not abuse. Referring back to the hypothetical situations above, when the teacher accidentally hits a child, even if injury occurs, the teacher has not abused that child. Further, intentional physical contact that does not result in an injury is not abuse. Therefore, a teacher tapping a student on top of the head with a stack of papers as he walks by is not abuse because no injury occurred.

The majority of Children’s Division investigations I deal with involve situations similar to those detailed above—a school employee is involved in an incident of accidental injury to a child or physical contact with no injury; another school employee witnesses the incident and erroneously believes that all instances of physical contact or injury must be reported. As a result of the report, many times the employee involved is suspended from his or her job for several weeks while Children’s Division conducts its investigation. This time away from work is not a vacation for the employee! His or her whole world is in turmoil, and there is uncertainty about the outcome of the investigation, not to mention uncertainty about the individual’s job and even career. Although this type of investigation usually ends with the Children’s Division finding that no abuse occurred, and with the employee being returned to his or her job, the experience can have lasting emotional and physical consequences for the employee.

In deciding whether or not to report an incident, the mandatory reporter should consider the circumstances. If there is no injury, or if the physical contact was accidental, it is not necessary to immediately pick up the phone and call Children’s Division. Instead, the reporter should contact his administrator and describe the situation. The administrator, in making the decision of whether or not to contact Children’s Division, should determine whether the statutory definition of abuse is met. If there is no physical injury, or if the injury was inflicted accidentally, then there is no duty to report. If the administrator determines that the employee acted inappropriately, the situation can be handled by the district, without the involvement of Children’s Division.

If you are a mandatory reporter with a question regarding whether or not to report a specific situation, or if you are a member who has been reported to Children’s Division, contact your Missouri NEA UniServ director for assistance. You’ll find the names and phone numbers of all MNEA staff in your MNEA calendar and at www.mnea.org.

by Jacquie Shipma
MNEA manager of legal services