_____________________________ Child Abuse Identification and Reporting: The Pennsylvania Requirement
GENERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICES GPS is involved in non-abuse cases or acts that involve “non- serious injury or neglect” [38]. This includes children who experience “inadequate shelter, food, clothing, health care, truancy, inappropriate discipline, lack of supervision, hygiene issues, abandonment, or other problems that threaten a child’s opportunity for healthy growth and development” [38]. One of the following criteria must be met for GPS to be involved [55]: • Lack of parental control
Pennsylvania was also the first state to take a noncriminal view of child abuse [22; 26]. In 1975, the Child Protective Services Law was enacted, which established a child abuse hotline and a statewide central registry in Pennsylvania in order to encourage the reporting of child abuse [18; 26]. The child welfare system in Pennsylvania is supervised by the state but administered by the different local counties [27]. This means that there are a total of 67 county agencies that administer the child welfare and juvenile justice services [27]. Aside from frank abuse, reports of other acts that might affect the well-being of a child are also accepted. The State of Penn- sylvania delineates two functions for the local agencies: child protective services (CPS) and general protective services (GPS). In 2016, SB1311 (Act 115) was signed and went into effect. This Act provides for additional grounds for involuntary termi- nation of parental rights, provides for an additional grounds for aggravated circumstances, allows for the release of information in confidential reports to law enforcement when investigating cases of severe forms of trafficking in persons of sex trafficking, and adds a category of child abuse to include human trafficking. In 2017, Governor Tom Wolf approved Act 68 (also known as the Newborn Protection Act) to increase the number of loca- tions for parents to give up their newborn without criminal liability [63]. In 2018, Act 29 was signed and expanded the definition of child abuse in Pennsylvania to include leaving a child unsupervised with a sexual predator [64]. That same year, Act 54 was signed and required mandatory notification when a medical provider has determined that a child (younger than 1 year of age) was born affected by substance use or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug or alcohol exposure. This Act also mandates the development of “interagency pro- tocols” to support local multidisciplinary teams to identify, assess, and develop a plan of safe care for infants born affected by substance use or withdrawal symptoms. In 2019, Act 88, relating to penalties for failure to report or refer, was enacted. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES CPS is in place to address acts that are “non-accidental seri- ous physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or serious physical neglect caused by acts or omissions of the parent or caretaker” [32]. In other words, these are cases in which there is reasonable cause to suspect child abuse and conduct an investigation. Case Scenario A young boy comes into the community health clinic for a physical exam. The boy’s mother hovers and does not seem to want to let her son answer any questions. During the exam, in the process of taking blood, the nurse notices some bruises and lacerations on the boy’s arm. Later, bruises in the shape of a belt are observed on the boy’s back as well. Upon questioning, the boy will only say that he was “bad.” In this case, the nurse should make a report to ChildLine. This would be classified as a CPS case, and an investigation would be conducted. More information will be presented about reporting in later sections of this course.
• Deprivation of the essentials of life • Illegal placement for adoption or care • Abandonment by parents or guardians • Chronic truancy
• Habitual disobedience • Formal adjudication • Commitment of a delinquent act at an age younger than 10 years • Defined as ungovernable • Born to parents with terminated parental rights Case Scenario Ms. J, a neighbor, notices E (5 years of age) and S (6 years of age) running around their front yard at 8 p.m. The front door of the house is wide open, and Ms. J asks if their mother is home. S states that her mother went out with her girlfriend to a party. Ms. J asks if a baby- sitter is at the house, and S answers “no” again. This is not the first time neighbors have noticed that the kids are left at home alone. The neighbors report that the mother often comes home late, intoxicated. In this case, a bystander (likely Ms. J or one of the neighbors) could call ChildLine, the local county agency, or even the police, and the case would be addressed by GPS. More infor- mation will be presented about reporting in later sections of this course.
DEFINITIONS OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
The federal definition of child abuse is evident in CAPTA, published as a product of federal legislation. CAPTA defines a child to be any individual younger than 18 years of age, except in cases of sexual abuse. In cases of sexual abuse, the age specified by the child protection laws varies depending on the state in which the child resides [5]. CAPTA defines child abuse as, “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm” [6]. In Pennsylvania, the child abuse law takes a very comprehensive approach to defining of child abuse [26]. According to Penn- sylvania law, child abuse refers to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly doing any of the following [43; 54]:
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Book Code: DPA1525
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