Mandated Supporters
By Jyll Walsh, DrPH, Assistant Director
While Mandated Reporters need to understand their role in recognizing and reporting abuse, expanding their scope to that of Mandated Supporters empowers them to be proactive in their response against child abuse and neglect. This shift seeks to replace a system of surveillance with a nurturing culture of family support.
PCA Georgia’s new training, Lean on Me: Creating a Culture of Family Support, prioritizes strategies that reduce ‘family overwhelm’ and uplifts people raising children. Systems, communities, and individuals can strengthen families by building protective factors and being a resource for caregivers to lean on. We believe all families should have access to the support and resources they need, when they need them, in their communities, without stigma, and before they are in crisis.
“If we walk in the door asking what families need, versus what families did, it would change a lot of our approach to how we work with families…”
– Overloaded: Understanding Neglect Podcast S1, E4
A Short History of Mandated Reporting
In 1974 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) became the first federal policy requiring each state to pass mandated reporting laws. CAPTA, however, does not include standard guidelines, training, or opportunities for reporters to explore alternative family support options. This has resulted in high reporting rates, the majority of which are unsubstantiated.
Even at the time CAPTA was passed, child advocates were worried the overemphasis on reporting distracted from the societal problems that made children less safe—usually related to poverty, lack of child care, lack of access to health care, and lack of housing.1
Since then, more laws have been put in place to penalize people for not reporting and many states, including Georgia, have 24/7 reporting hotlines which are shown to greatly increase reporting. Even in states with training requirements, mandated reporters are not found to have better accuracy in reporting neglect cases.2
As mandated reporter laws and practices have increasingly encouraged reports, social supports and benefits have become stricter. Increasing the burden on families seeking assistance and leaving many who do qualify, unable to access support.3
In 2018, a significant piece of federal law was passed, the Family First Prevention Services Act, which allows federal funding to be used for evidence-based prevention services that help keep families together and keep kids out of foster care. But this funding does not explicitly include economic and concrete support for families, instead it focuses on treating the parent or child rather than context or environment.
Mandated reporting, as it stands, is not an evidence-based policy to prevent child abuse and neglect.4 Although often used as a primary tool against child abuse and neglect, the role of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is to intervene when child abuse and neglect is suspected, not to prevent it. The responsibility for child and family well-being lies with our state’s policies and community members, including educators, neighbors, medical professionals, legislators, service providers, and others responsible for supporting child well-being and resourcing families.
Child Well-being is a Shared Responsibility
Separating Poverty and Child Neglect
More than 70% of calls made to DFCS are for neglect.5 Lack of support and resources contribute to the likelihood of a report of neglect. For the most part, this is something that can be addressed without DFCS involvement.*
DFCS’s maltreatment codes outline child neglect as a caregiver’s inability or refusal to provide a child with basic necessities such as food, clothing, and adequate housing.6 These codes try to differentiate between neglect and poverty providing the following example:
In a situation where the caregiver seeks food or clothing for the child but does not have the resources to purchase those items, a referral to community resources may be considered versus accepting a child abuse report.
Despite exceptions for poverty, many families are still reported to DFCS and investigated. Most families who live in poverty do not neglect their children. However, families who are experiencing poverty are overrepresented among people reported to DFCS for neglect. National studies have found that children from families with low socioeconomic status were seven times more likely to have a confirmed case of neglect than children in households with more resources.7
This is partially due to an increased surveillance of people living in poverty. For example, families seeking or receiving help from social safety net services, such as food or housing assistance, are more likely to encounter mandated reporters. This creates distrust, which can make families feel unsafe reaching out for needed support.
Certain communities are disproportionally reported to the DFCS hotline because of poverty and inequitable access to support. For example, Black families are more likely than white families to be reported to DFCS. This difference can be explained by the historical under-resourcing of Black communities, higher rates of poverty that stem from policies that prevent wealth accumulation (such as redlining), and mandated reporter bias. It is important to examine our biases when making a report and further our collective efforts to equip families with resources.8,9,10
Figure 1. Reasons for a Child’s Removal from Home by DFCS, GA 2023*
Many of these removals could be prevented with community support. You can see on the chart that neglect is the 2nd cause for children to be placed in foster care and 19% are placed in foster care due to inadequate housing. Much of this is a resource and family support issue rather than a child abuse and neglect issue.
*A child can be removed from the home for more than one reason. Other factors such as child sexual abuse or death of a parent make up less than 5%.
Source: Voices for Georgia’s Children 2024 Fact Book, GA Division of Family and Children Services data
While the child welfare system is intended to protect children, child welfare involvement, especially cases that result in foster, care can have harmful effects on children and their families. Separating children from their families is a traumatic event for everyone involved and can lead to toxic stress for children, attachment problems, and feelings of loss and grief.11
“Policymakers and advocacy groups that are singularly focused on increasing surveillance in the name of safety do not see the collateral damage it causes to real people that care about their children and children themselves. Damage includes unnecessary separation, trauma, the inclusion of names on registry lists that will forever limit employment opportunities and economic mobility, and countless other indignities and ongoing threats to the wellbeing of children and parents.”
– Jerry Milner and David Kelly of Family Integrity & Justice Works
A Shift from Family Surveillance to Family Support
As a state lead in creating and delivering mandated reporter trainings, PCA Georgia had to step back and examine how we were contributing to this issue. How we were reinforcing a system of family surveillance that has real and traumatizing consequences for families. PCA Georgia’s whole mission is to prevent trauma, so it did not sit well with us, that we might be contributing to it. After working with other Prevent Child Abuse America state chapters and local partners, we have revised and created new mandated reporting trainings that focus on supporting families as the bigger part of a child protection continuum that still includes making reports of child abuse and neglect to DFCS.
Our practices and systems need to reflect this shift toward a family support system, ensuring more resources are available to a greater number of families. By expanding and connecting families to supports, we can address root causes of abuse and neglect, and reduce the need for costly and traumatizing DFCS intervention.
Here’s How You Can Adopt a Culture of Family Support:
- Train Staff on Their Role as Mandated Supporters. PCA Georgia is releasing the new training, Lean on Me: Creating a Culture of Family Support, which focuses on reducing ‘family overwhelm’ and uplifting people raising children. You can join us for a webinar April 23 or request a training for your staff.
- Connect Families to Resources. One of the biggest obstacles a family encounters when searching for support is simply knowing what is available—and what they qualify for—in their current situation. That’s what Find Help Georgia does, it makes it easier for families to get connected to the help that is out there. Get trained on using FindHelpGA.org and promote it to families you work with.
- Implement a Family-Centered Approach. The Georgia Family Support Network works with organizations that serve families to improve the quality of support offered to the community. Aspects of a family-centered approach include:
- Seeing the best in caregivers
- Normalizing that all families need help sometimes
- The continual practice of engaging families and giving space for parent leaders
- Connecting families to needs they identify
- Considering the effect of past trauma on a family and how it may impact behavior
- View Policy as Key to Child Abuse and Prevention. A culture of family support depends on a broader social services system to ensure that all families have access to the resources they need to care for their children. Challenge yourself to think about preventing child abuse and neglect in terms of policy and to consider the political determinates of family well-being. Policies that allow, or act as barriers for, caregivers to create nurturing and stable environments for their children, as well as reduce the stress of parenting. View Chapin Hall’s work on concrete supports and family well-being. You can stay updated on policies impacting Georgia Families by following our advocacy partners: Voices for Georgia’s Children, GEEARS, and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
PCA Georgia works to provide opportunities to families and nurturance to children so that they can have a bright future. And that happens in partnership when we can break down silos and see beyond bureaucracy, beyond political lines, and simply ask: what would be best for families?
We are very excited for you to be part of this more proactive and family-centered approach to protecting children and supporting families!
* Distinction between child physical abuse and neglect versus child sexual abuse. Unlike child sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect have deep ties to family economic stability, environment, and caregiver support and can therefore be addressed through resources before or in place of a report to DFCS. Connecting families to support does not replace a report to DFCS for child sexual abuse. You should always make a report to DFCS if you suspect child sexual abuse or exploitation is occurring.
References:
- National Conference of State Legislatures (February 2023). Policy Leavers for Preventing Child Maltreatment. https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/policy-levers-for-preventing-child-maltreatment
- Rosenberg, R., Williamson, S., Martinez, V., Ball, J. (2024). Mandated reporter policies do not promote more accurate reporting of suspected neglect. Child Trends. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/publications/mandated-reporting-policies-suspected-neglect
- Camardelle, A. (2020). Cash matters: Reimagining anti-racist TANF policies in Georgia. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://gbpi.org/cash-matters-reimagining-anti-racist-tanf-policies-georgia/
- Itzkowitz, M., & Olson, K. (2022). Closing the Front Door of Child Protection: Rethinking Mandated Reporting (Article in Special Issue: Transforming Child Welfare Through Anti-Racist Approaches (Second of Two Issues)). N.p., 2022. Retrieved from https://cwlibrary.childwelfare.gov/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991001385329407651&context=L&vid=01CWIG_INST:01CWIG&lang=en&search_scope=PublicCat&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=catalog&query=sub,exact,Mandatory%20reporting,AND&mode=advanced&offset=0
- S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2023). Child Maltreatment 2021. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2021.pdf
- Criteria on Neglect from Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Child Abuse and Neglect Codes (neglect is page 4-7). https://abuse.publichealth.gsu.edu/files/2023/05/Maltreatment-Codes-1-1-2022.pdf
- Sedlak AJ, Mettenburg J, Basena M, Peta I, McPherson K, Greene A, & Li S (2010). Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS-4). US Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/fourth-national-incidence-study-child-abuse-and-neglect-nis-4-report-congress
- State Legislatures (February 2023). Policy Leavers for Preventing Child Maltreatment. https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/policy-levers-for-preventing-child-maltreatment
- Yordy, J. (2023 February). Poverty and Child Neglect: How Did We Get It Wrong?” https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/poverty-and-child-neglect-how-did-we-get-it-wrong
- Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. (Updated April 2022). Economic and Concrete Supports: Prevention of Child Welfare Involvement. Retrieved from https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/CA-CWC-06.01.22-Chapin-Hall-final.pdf
- Sankaran, Vivek, et al. “A Cure Worse Than the Disease? The Impact of Removal on Children and Their Families.” Marquette Law Review, vol. 102, no. 4, Jan. 2019, pp. 1161–94. https://repository.law. umich.edu/articles/2055