Welcome back and thanks for joining us. We’ve been looking at the issue of mandated reporting, and how there’s been a rise in reports of suspected child abuse by medical staff, despite the fact that many of these reports are later proven to be false. While the logical response to this would seem to be providing better education for medical staff about what child abuse actually looks like, and what signs to look for, U.S. legislators want something different. And it’s very scary.

S.B. 1009 and H.R. 2076 want to INCREASE calls to CPS!

As we mentioned in the previous article, there are currently two bills making their way through the US Senate and House of Representatives, both with the intention of designating funds that will ultimately increase the number of suspected child abuse calls to CPS. In fact, these bills aim to make $10 million in funding available to increase the reporting of “faint” or “unexplained” bruises to CPS, and increase mandated reporter training. So why are we so unsure about this? Surely it’s exactly what the country needs, right? Not so fast…

What would increased calls to CPS mean in the long run?

Think about it. More calls to CPS doesn’t mean more CPS workers to handle them. It doesn’t mean more funding made available to CPS to hire and properly train more people who could pursue these potentially false allegations. It simply means more calls to an already overburdened system, where the people trying to conduct the rising number of investigations aren’t properly trained, and aren’t able to handle the increased volume of allegations. In the end increased mandated reporting results in shoddy investigations, assumptions made on incomplete data, and innocent parents who get persecuted for crimes they never committed!

Child abuse IS a problem, but will this solve it? 

We get it. Child abuse is horrifying, there’s no denying that! And if someone is legitimately abusing or neglecting a child that needs to be reported so that the child can be saved and the parents can be either educated to do better, or allowed to suffer the consequences. But that isn’t the issue we’re worried about here. What concerns us is how difficult it seems to be for CPS workers to maintain objectivity when dealing with parents who’ve been falsely accused of abuse. Because that really is a problem!

We hope these bills don’t pass, and legislators find better solutions

There is a problem with child abuse here in Michigan, and all around our country. But forcing doctors to make more reports of “suspected child abuse” based on nothing more than minor injuries that can’t be explained doesn’t seem like a smart answer. Surely there’s another way to save vulnerable children without starting a witch hunt that destroys families and tears children away from loving parents? And why would anyone think that more mandated reporting is the answer?

Make sure you’ve got the right help if CPS shows up on your doorstep

CPS can be scary. They don’t seem to be well regulated often aren’t well trained, and don’t appear to be accountable to anyone. But we know the truth. We know what your rights are, and exactly what a CPS worker is and isn’t allowed to do. So if CPS is harassing you because someone made a false report about you, don’t wait! Call our skilled and aggressive CPS defense attorneys at 866 766 5245 today and get the right help!