The Child Abuse Reporting Laws: An Ethical Dilemma for Professionals

A central issue in the development of family law and child protection in this country has been the right of the state to intervene in family life. The reporting laws, which were developed in the 1960s, made it mandatory for any citizen, including professionals, to report child abuse (physical and sexual) to the authorities. These laws have fundamentally altered the relationship between the clinician and families in need of help and have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of cases assessed and treated by child welfare agencies. Because of the emphasis on case-finding, the limited resources have been stretched to the point where families with serious problems of child abuse do not get the services they require. Apparently, at least 60% of all reports turn out to be unfounded. Other criticisms of the current system include ineffective intervention, over-intervention and ignoring parents’ rights. The legalization and bureaucratization of the child protection process has profoundly affected the relationship between troubled families and social workers who now must “investigate” them as well as help them. This role conflict is exacerbated even further in cases of alleged child sexual abuse, where social workers are often expected to inform the police of the allegations. The authors argue that the reporting laws have been useful in that society is aware of the problem, and they suggest that it may be more beneficial now to dispose of them. A system such as the “confidential doctor” system currently operating in the Netherlands, whereby legal authorities are only notified if the abusive family does not cooperate with the helping professionals, prevents the negative consequences of the coercive and intrusive intervention in our system and provides an opportunity to work with those families on a voluntary basis whenever possible.