Mandatory reporters play an important role in protecting children who are suffering from abuse. However, because of the nature of being a mandatory reporter, some adults may act overzealously and report things that are either non-issues or completely non-existent. For Texas parents who are currently working on their child protection defense, here are a few important things to understand about mandatory reporters.
A mandatory reporter is a person employed in one of many different professions who typically regularly engage with children. In these professions, individuals must report any suspected child abuse or face losing their career and livelihood. While teachers are perhaps the most well-known profession that requires mandatory requiring, day care workers, school administrators, teachers’ aides, doctors, medical facility staff, nurses, police officers, psychiatrists and many more also fall into this category.
On the other hand, some states allow for something called permissive reporting. This involves a person not otherwise employed in a mandatory reporting profession who suspects abuse, and this person can choose to either report his or her suspicion or withhold it without fear of punishment. This is not the case in Texas, where state law requires that everyone with knowledge of abuse reports.
For parents, few things may be more devastating than learning that they have been accused of abusing their child. Developing a secure child protection defense is often essential to regaining access to those children. With so much on the line, parents often turn to attorneys experienced in Texas family law when seeking guidance on this delicate matter.
