Today, child abuse is not uncommon. One in ten families with children below 18 years of age may be experiencing incidents of child abuse. Although everyone wishes to have a world without child abuse, in reality, child abuse cases are reported almost every day.

As a nurse, you should understand that you play a key role in these cases, both professionally, as well as a responsible member of the community. Here is an outline that we have put together to help you understand how you should confront these cases of child abuse.

Should Nurses Report these Cases?

If you see abuse, should it be reported? Being a mandated reporter, you may ask yourself, what would happen if the person/family is reported and if it’s wrong. And, what would happen to the child if it’s not reported.

What does the law really require you to do? To put it simply, this depends on the geographical location. It’s generally because the state laws, as well as the policies, would differ with each state in the US. For instance, if California is considered, the state’s penal codes require the healthcare professionals to report the abuse if child abuse is suspected.

Nurses as Mandated Reporters:

Nurses are mandated reporters of child abuse, so your role extends to the legal realm. As such, if there are no knowledgeable reporters of child abuse cases, the road to child safety will be cut, putting millions of children at risk. So, being a mandated reporter, each and every nurse should understand their own state’s legal definition of child abuse, conditions in which the state could intervene, where should a nurse send the report, and the role that is played by the civil and criminal courts. The procedural aspects of the case would be covered by the specific codes of the state and the nurses should be aware of them.

In any case, a mandated reporter of child abuse must make sure that an accurate report of the abuse has been reported. This is not only important to safeguard the child but also to preserve the nurse’s professional, as well as personal status. A nurse could be subjected to civil charges if she fails to report a suspected child abuse case, especially, if the child gets harmed significantly due to the failure to report. As a nurse, you should always remember by going forward to report the suspected child abuse case in good faith can be helpful in retaining absolute immunity from civil/criminal liability. But, at the same time, a report that is being made in bad faith, like a false report, can be subjected to the false reporting laws of the state.

How to go about it?

In order to keep themselves away from ethical mistakes, nurses are advised to become familiar with their state’s child abuse laws. This would help them understand how to go about an alleged child abuse case in a proper direction. In order to help with this, all the states in the United States have a child abuse hotline to report any suspected case of child abuse or neglect.

If nurses need help in finding the respective state’s reporting numbers, websites, as well as the appropriate reporting agency, check the website: www.childwelfare.gov. In this website, you can find pertinent information for all the states. But, not all states are operating the child abuse hotlines 24 hours a day.

In an emergency situation, nurses are always welcomed to report the case through “Childhelp®” that is running a 24/7 national child abuse hotline. To reach this hotline, nurses can call 1-800-4-A-CHILD.

Final Thoughts:

Although most state laws assure the anonymity to the mandated reporter, you should perform your duty of reporting the suspected child abuse case, even if you are not covered by anonymity. In order to help you  with this, your healthcare organization has an institutional policy to follow when reporting child abuse cases.