Last week, a committee of
the Idaho Legislature did something that, in the politics of child welfare, is
revolutionary. The committee took a look at the state’s “mandatory reporting”
law for child abuse and neglect — and actually voted to narrow it. Right now,
in Idaho everyone is a mandated reporter. The bill would change that to only certain
professionals who come into contact with children.
What’s so revolutionary about
that? Only the fact that in 50 years, states have moved to broaden who has to
report their slightest suspicion of child abuse hundreds, probably thousands of
times. As far as I know, this one legislative committee in Idaho is the first
to say: Maybe we should follow the evidence.
More than half a century after
they were enacted — passed in an early flurry of hysteria over child abuse,
with no evidence that they would work — the research finally is catching up.
The research shows the laws do nothing to actually reduce child abuse, while
causing enormous collateral damage. The research shows that mandatory reporting
laws contribute to undermining the fabric of entire poor communities.
Some cases in point:
