Blue states look to eliminate mandatory reporting in suspected child abuse, neglect cases. Because...racism.

DENVER, CO - When is equity more important than protecting children from child abuse? If you’re in a liberal mecca, the answer is now, according to a piece in NPR.  

In Colorado, mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse has been the law for over sixty years. At that time, lawmakers believed early intervention would prevent child abuse and, in turn, save lives. The law requires certain professionals to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the authorities, a so-called mandatory reporting law. It was one of the first such laws in the country. 

Since the implementation of Colorado’s law, such mandatory reporting regulations have expanded nationwide and include more types of maltreatment. In the case of neglect, that now accounts for most reports. Mandatory reporting laws have also expanded the number of professions bound by law to report abuse or neglect.

In fact, some states require all adults to report such conduct. 

However, Colorado, along with New York and California, all bastions of liberalism, are looking to roll back such laws, claiming they–wait for it– disproportionately harm families that are poor, black or indigenous or have members with disabilities. 

“There’s a long, depressing history based on the approach that our primary response to a struggling family is reporting,” says Mical Raz, a physician and historian at the University of Rochester in New York. “There’s now a wealth of evidence that demonstrates that more reporting is not associated with better outcomes for children.” 

Colorado’s child protection ombudsman is overseeing a task force reviewing the state’s mandatory reporting laws. Stephanie Villafuerte says the need to balance the reporting of legitimate abuse cases with the elimination of inappropriate reports must be balanced. 

“This is designed to help individuals who are disproportionately impacted,” Villafuerte says. “I’m hoping it’s the combination of these efforts that could make a difference.” 

Others, however, are concerned that authorities could miss some cases of actual abuse, including medical and childcare workers, who are also worried about legal liability. While facing criminal charges is rare, civil liability or professional repercussions, including pulling their licenses, remain a concern. 

According to a 2017 study funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau, reports made to child protective services are becoming more common, with nearly a third of children in nationwide subject to a child abuse or neglect investigation before they turn 18. 

Statistics show that black, Native American families, low-income families, and parents of children with disabilities are subject to more oversight; moreover, among those groups, parents are more likely to lose parental rights, and children are more likely to end up in foster care. The statistics didn’t appear to quantify the percentage of overall cases involving those demographics, so the statistics might be misleading. 

In a significant majority of such cases, no abuse or neglect is uncovered, however, researchers say the investigations harm families and describe them as “terrifying and isolating,” NPR wrote. 

In the case of Colorado, child abuse and neglect reports have increased by 42% over the past decade and reached a total of 117.762 last year, state statistics showed. According to officials from the Colorado Department of Human Services, another 100,000 or so calls to the hotline were not classified as reports because they were only requests for information or related to questions about child support or adult protection.

The policy requires officials such as police officers, firefighters, school staff, medical professionals, coaches, clergy members, and social workers–among many others–to call a hotline if they have a concern. 

Meanwhile, the calls don’t appear to reflect a surge in mistreatment of children. Over two-thirds of the cases in Colorado don’t rise to the level of an investigation. Of those where children are assessed, 21% are found to have experienced abuse or neglect. Over the last decade, that number hasn't increased. 

Mandatory reporting has had some success, but the Colorado task force reported in January that the "harm" outweighs the "good." As a result of mandatory reporting, child protection services are interacting with families who typically don't report abuse or neglect, disproportionately affecting families of color. 

The task force is looking to see if better screening could mitigate “the disproportionate impact of mandatory reporting on under-resourced communities, communities of color, and persons with disabilities.” 

The task force said the hotline is the only way to report concerns about a child, but often, those calls are not intended to report abuse but instead attempts to connect children and families with services like food and housing. 

Some families that have been subjected to mistaken reports of abuse and neglect don’t agree that such calls are helpful. 

One involves the case of a family in rural Colorado involving a parent, Meighen Lovelace. Her daughter is “neurodivergent” and is physically disabled. When she entered preschool at four, teachers and medical providers called the hotline seeking help for the family. Lovelace said thus began investigations that were “invasive and traumatic.” 

“Our biggest looming fear is, ‘Are you going to take our children away?’” she said. “We’re afraid to ask for help. It’s keeping us from entering services because of the fear of child welfare. 

One area the task force is investigating is to see if definitions of abuse and neglect can be clarified under the mandatory reporting statute. The group’s draft recommendation says that reporters should not “make a report solely due to a family/child’s race, class or gender,” nor because of inadequate housing, furnishings, income, or clothing. Further, the task force said reports shouldn’t be based only on the “disability status of the minor, parent, or guardian. 

Further, the task force wants additional training for mandatory reporters, assistance for professionals who are deciding whether or not to make a call, and an alternative number or “warmline” for cases that don’t rise to the level of abuse or neglect but rather where a family may only need material assistance. 

Critics of the task force’s proposals are concerned that such changes could make endangered children more vulnerable to abuse. 

“I’m concerned about adding systems such as the warmline, that kids who are in real danger are going to slip through the cracks and not be helped,” says Hollynd Hoskins, an attorney who represents victims of child abuse. Hoskins has previously sued professionals who are mandatory reporters who failed to report their suspicions. 

The Colorado task force is comprised of health and education officials, prosecutors, victims advocates, county child welfare representatives, and (of course) attorneys. It also includes five people with experience in the child welfare system. Recommendations are expected to be finalized next year, and the task force hopes the Colorado legislature will consider policy changes in 2025. Any change in the law could take several years beyond that. 

New York is also considering changes to mandatory reporting statutes. In New York City, for example, teachers are trained to “think twice” before making a report. Statewide, the state introduced a warmline to help connect families with vital services such as housing and childcare. Meanwhile, California is looking to change from “mandated reporting to community supporting” and is planning to mirror many of the same recommendations being made in Colorado. 

In Colorado, it’s about white supremacy, as it always is with some. One of those is a woman named Maleeka Jihad, who heads the Denver-based MJCF Coalition, which advocates for the abolition of mandatory reporting as well as the entire child welfare system, claiming they damage black, Native American, and Latino communities. 

“Mandatory reporting is another form of keeping us policed and surveillanced [sic] by whiteness,” said Jihad, who, as a child, was taken from the care of a parent and placed into the foster system. She claims that reform is insufficient, “We know what we need, and it’s usually funding [of course] and resources.” 

She claims that some of those resources–like affordable housing and childcare–are not sufficiently provided for all the Colorado families that need them. 

Lovelace noted that there are other services available however, they’re not always easy to locate. In her case, she said the cases diminished after her family got the required assistance, which included a Medicaid waiver that paid for specialized care for her daughter’s disabilities. She said her daughter is now in seventh grade and doing well. 

However, she noted that none of the caseworkers who visited her family mentioned the waiver, which she attributed to their ignorance of it.