Case Study: The Florida Child Abuse Law

“ The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) … defines child abuse and neglect as, at minimum: "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 which presents an imminent risk of serious harm."” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Administration for Children & Families, "Definitions of Child Abuse

Everything I need to know about taking care of children in the state of Florida is all on the DCF website. This website gives me the resources, such

In the state of New York the Child Protective System identifies certain professional a vital purpose in reporting child abuse, a code of ethic is used here B.2.a., Probable Harm and Legal requirements under the ACA code of ethics (Counseling, 2015). It is mandated to certain professionals to report

If any professional becomes concerned that a child might be at risk of abuse, be it physical, sexual, emotional or neglect, it is their legal duty to pass on such concerns to the appropriate professionals who can assess if and what action should be taken. In cases where it will not put the child at greater risk or danger, the parents / carers of the child will be informed that such action has been taken.

Defining child abuse is a complicated issue. First, currently the United States does not have a standard definition of child abuse because each state has their definition. Definitions are different at the state and federal level. Child welfare agencies also may have different child abuse and neglect definitions. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) define child abuse and neglect as any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that result in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation; an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm (Child Abuse and Neglect User Manual, 2003;

When a child is suspected of being abused, neglected or placed at imminent risk of serious harm by a member of the staff of a private or public school or an institution that cares for the child, the person in charge of the school or facility must notify the child’s parent or other person responsible for the child’s care that a report has been made. The state’s department of child abuse responsibility is to notify the head of a facility, school or establishment that a report has been made.

For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem had developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent or the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staffs.

“Everyone in Utah, whether a public official or a private citizen, is required to report child

It is mandatory to report different types of maltreatment to children which includes child abuse in both physical and sexual, emotional and psychological neglect to children as well as exposing them to any form of family violence (Atkins, K., Lacey, S., Britton, B., 2011).

According to Public Law under P.L., 93-247, a financial assistance program was developed to provide the funds for individual in the prevention, identification, and treatment of children who are being abused, neglected, or for any purpose (United States, 1974). The State of Florida statute regarding child abuse is explained in F.S. 39.201 (2) (a): Each report that is suspected of a child being abused, abandonment or neglected must be reported to the Departments Central Abuse Hotline, 1(800) 96- ABUSE. If the report is more severe as listed under F.S. 39.201 (2) (b), which reports sexual and physical abuse from an individual who is responsible for the welfare of the children, then it must reported to the local law enforcement and Department of Children and Families central abuse hotline. Where you will then provide a written report (Form 4002B) where your statement will remain confidential (Abuse Training, 2007).

To comply with federal law, all states have some form of regulation that requires health professionals to report child abuse/neglect to the appropriate agency.

The ultimate long-term mission for Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey is to prevent the abuse and neglect of the nation’s children. For completing the mission, two objectives are placed so that the goal can be obtained. Services; such as counseling, human services, home visiting and education are provided to children and families, and are one of the two objectives that is expected to change. The purpose of the services is to lower the potential chance of neglect or child abuse, and lower childhood trauma because of neglect or abuse. The second objective is to have more banners, displays, and brochures sent out for families and people. Information is sent out, so that people would be more aware of child abuse and/or neglect.

One of Florida’s most infamous cases: The State of Florida vs. Casey Anthony. Casey Anthony committed a series of crimes within one incident. Initially she filed a false report and lied to the police, which was then followed by being charged with the murder of her daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. The term of events plays out in the following:

What I would have done differently in this case is report the abuse of the child protective services. Since, I have been living in the state of Texas and will be practicing counseling in Texas. The state of Texas has different laws from other states and the law here requires the that a professional must report child

The number of children abused and neglected changes each year, so these are the statistics: 1999-829,000, 2000-881,000, 2001-903,000, 2002-896,00, 2002-896,000, 2003-906,000, 2004-872,000, 2005-899,000. (American Humane Association) In Indiana child abuse is split up into several different categories sexual, physical, emotional, mental, and then there is also child neglect, which people usually put with child abuse. In this paper I am just going to focus on mental and physical abuse. The legal definition of child abuse in Indiana is “….the child’s physical or mental health is seriously endangered due to injury by the act or omission of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian.” Physical abuse is intentional infliction of physical injury. Emotional Abuse is the chronic attitude or acts of a caretaker which are threatening to the child’s development of a sound and healthy professional. (SCAN)