New protections in place against child abuse
Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday signed into law two bills aimed at increasing the safety of children in the state.
House Bill 434 establishes a statewide database of information on reports of suspected child abuse, tracking patterns of false reports as well as tracking the status of investigations into cases of child abuse. Senate Bill 31 calls for suspected child abuse cases to be reported directly to the county district attorney’s office.
Those are the latest of six bills passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in the past month dealing with protecting children. Four bills signed April 15 clarify who is mandated to report suspected child abuse and outline the reporting process to the state Department of Public Welfare, which operates ChildLine, an anonymous system for reporting suspected child abuse. One bill calls upon the state licensing boards to conduct training on recognizing and reporting child abuse before issuing or renewing licenses. Another of the bills offers protection from employment discrimination to people who report suspected child abuse.
Fayette County Assistant District Attorney Mark Mehalov, who prosecutes child abuse cases, said the new laws more specifically define child abuse and brings county officials on board much earlier in the process.
“It puts everyone on notice, CYS (Children and Youth Services) and the DA’s office. Our office will know immediately,” Mehalov said. “The earlier you’re involved in them, the more you’re able to assist the victims and their families.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., introduced legislation Thursday setting minimum national standards for reporting child abuse. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the number of cases of suspected child abuse in Fayette County went from 377 in 2011 to 413 in 2012, though the number of substantiated cases dropped from 51 in 2011 to 40 in 2012.
John Fritts, casework manager for Fayette County CYS, said the changes in child abuse reporting laws are welcome.
“Now any abuse in a school will go directly to ChildLine and we’ll be involved from the start. It will streamline the process, Fritts said.
Fritts said changes in the definition of abuse also were needed. In past legislation, parents and guardians were held to a higher standard than other caregivers, including teachers. In the past, charges of abuse against those in schools or institutions required serious bodily injury. That has been changed to “impairment of physical condition.”
“It puts them in the same category as a primary caregiver,” Fritts said of the law in regard to educators.
Dr. Charles Machesky, Uniontown Area School District superintendent, said schools have been mandatory reporters of suspected abuse for decades, and the district always has held its employees to the highest standards.
“Any extra layer of protection that separates children from potential predators, I fully support,” Machesky said. “There can’t be a downside.”