Child Abuse Reporting by Mandated Reporters in Schools
Abstract
Child maltreatment has proven to be a mainstream issue in the United States, with
millions of children being referred to state welfare systems for investigation or alternative
response intervention. Research has identified mandated reporters as being responsible
for reporting the majority of these cases. Amongst those identified as mandated reporters,
education personnel refer the greatest number of children for suspicion of child abuse or
neglect, partly because of their ongoing contact daily; however, many of the cases they
report are unsubstantiated. Past research findings have concluded that mandated reporters
in schools lacked proper child abuse training. The purpose of this qualitative
phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of training for child abuse
reporting with mandated reporters in schools in relation to consistency in reporting of
child abuse. Prosocial behavior theory underpinned the research. A semistructured
interview was used for data collected from a sample of 10 school professionals. Analysis
used a modified van Kaam method, with active processes and member checking for
confirming data trustworthiness. Key findings of this study included that school
professionals’ felt the need for ongoing training throughout the school year, rather than
an annual update. Desired training would include more information regarding the process
of identifying reportable child abuse, along with safely managing relationships between
parent and school during the process. Results of this research may provide information
for contributing to the training process and content made available to increase consistent
reporting by these mandated school reporters leading to positive social change.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child abuse, mandatory reporting, training, research
Citation
Adebanjo, K. (2021). Child Abuse Reporting by Mandated Reporters in Schools. Doctoral dissertation. Walden University.