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Mandatory Reporting “will Paralyze People” or “Without it, People Would not Report”: Understanding Perspectives from Within the Child Protection System

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Abstract

Background

Although mandatory reporting has grown substantially in scope and geographical coverage, there is limited empirical evidence to support its effectiveness in preventing harm to children. In the absence of rigorous evaluations, comparing the perspectives of individuals who work in systems with and without mandatory reporting provides important insights.

Objective

The purpose of this analysis was to compare perspectives of frontline workers, administrators, and experts in child abuse and neglect in a system with mandatory reporting (Colorado, United States) and one without mandatory reporting (The Netherlands).

Methods

We conducted a total of 64 interviews with 77 participants. We used an iterative and team-based approach to code all interview transcripts. For this manuscript, we focused on codes and themes related to mandatory reporting.

Results

Overall, we found much disagreement on mandatory reporting both within and across the two systems. Some participants identified that mandatory reporting could prevent communities from intervening, damage therapeutic relationships, and be overly intrusive to families. Others thought mandatory reporting was a meaningful way to increase the identification of maltreated children and reduce the burden on individuals and systems outside of child protection. Individuals’ perspectives on local communities as either a partner in responding to maltreatment or as a conduit for referrals shaped their opinions.

Conclusions

Evaluation of the outcomes of mandatory reporting policies is critical, and our work highlights factors to consider when implementing or modifying mandatory reporting policies and practices.

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Availability of data and material

Due to privacy regulations, the interview transcriptions may not be shared outside of the research team.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to our Dutch colleagues, without whom this study would have been impossible. Lieke Sparidaens interviewed Dutch Child Protection workers and transcribed their interviews; Cees Hoefnagles assisted with the interview protocol; Peter van der Linden and Paul Baeten helped identify the Dutch Child Protection and other Government workers who were interviewed. This study was funded by the Nancy and Sam Gary Family Foundation.

Funding

This study was funded by the Nancy and Sam Gary Family Foundation.

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Correspondence to Laura M. Schwab-Reese.

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This study was approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board.

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Schwab-Reese, L.M., Albright, K. & Krugman, R.D. Mandatory Reporting “will Paralyze People” or “Without it, People Would not Report”: Understanding Perspectives from Within the Child Protection System. Child Youth Care Forum 52, 139–156 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09676-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09676-y

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