Punish those who ‘knowingly’ fail to report
Attorney Shanta Trivedi recently made the claim that the Maryland Senate passed legislation that would turn trusted community members into criminals and that the House should not follow suit. The new bills propose criminal penalties for people required to report child abuse or neglect who “knowingly” fail to do so, including teachers and nurses (“Abuse reporting bills would criminalize teachers,” March 12).
She points out an important misperception about the proposed bill, HB 500. The bill seeks to do what current law does not: provide prosecutors a tool to charge mandatory reporters who fail to report known and obvious abuse. Most mandatory reporters follow the law, but HB 500 addresses the stubborn few who do not — even if faced with the recent prospect of having their license reviewed or their employer notified.
After years of compromise with legislators and professional associations for doctors, nurses, social workers, law enforcement, therapists, counselors and teachers, the bill uses an extremely high “actual knowledge” standard. In other words, Maryland would only impose criminal penalties against those few mandatory reporters who fail to report obvious abuse. Think USA Gymnastics, think Penn State. A judge or jury would decide that standard, under the circumstances of each case.
For the first time, no professional association of mandatory reporters publicly opposes HB 500. Some, like the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, now support it. The opposition is now from those think it doesn’t go far enough.
The author states correctly that, under a new 2016 law, a mandatory reporter who fails to report child abuse can face a review of their license. Many mandatory reporters, however, such as coaches, police officers and camp counselors, do not have a licensing board. The law then requires that their employer be notified.
HB 500 helps close the gap and address the very few bad apples who turn away from obvious abuse. It will not cause a surge in reporting. It will only help hold accountable those few who defy current law and refuse to report anyway.