Last month, my son’s teacher called to tell me that my son was playing in class and not listening. I immediately drove to the school, walked into the classroom, popped my son on the head, and essentially told him that compliance is not an option. As I was leaving the school, I saw the school counselor standing near the cafeteria, so I told him what happened. He explained that he would have to report the pop on the head to the school social worker. I thought he was kidding until I got a call from a social worker the following day. My question: Is child abuse and neglect actually on the rise, or are more people reporting it because they are compelled to whether legally, thoughtfully, impulsively or even vindictively?
In 1974, Congress enacted the Mondale Act or the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to provide monetary incentives to states that designed programs targeting child protection research, identification, prosecution and treatment regimens. CAPTA provided for the establishment of the National Clearinghouse for Child Abuse (NCCAN). Once states complied with CAPTA provisions, NCCAN then allocated matching federal funds. NCCAN mandated the reporting of child abuse and neglect by social workers, police officers, teachers and doctors. It is also responsible for the anonymous tipster hotlines and abuse registries like the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), which maintains the names of people across the country with substantiated cases of abuse or maltreatment.
Amended in 1996 by the Clinton administration, CAPTA defines the federal guidelines for maltreatment, which includes physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Motivated by additional funding, states have set their legal guidelines and standards for abuse, accordingly. The effect has been an increase in reports of abuse from 669,000 cases 1976 to 2.8 million in 1998. However, two-thirds of child abuse reports were unfounded or false.
Meanwhile, a growing number of children are using child protective services as a means to subvert their parents’ discipline. In divorce, spouses are using allegations of sexual abuse to gain custody and punish an unfaithful partner. The definition of abuse is central to the debate. Many argue that increases in reports of abuse and neglect have come because the definition is so broad and ambiguous.
Reports of abuse are on the rise, not actual cases. Because of our heightened sensitivity and the potentially devastating impact of reporting abuse, it is now being abused — even by the alleged victims and well-meaning school personnel. –annette r. johnson
Annette Johnson is the owner of Allwrite Advertising and Publishing (www.e-allwrite.com), and the author of “What’s Your Motivation?: Identifying and Understanding What Drives You.” She is the host of Allwrite Radio atwww.blogtalkradio.com/allwrite.
