Anonymous child abuse allegations do more harm than good

Each year, New York state receives an average of 150,000 reports of suspected child abuse on its hotline. This number includes more than 10,000 reports from callers who do not provide their names or contact information.

Each year, Child Protective Services launches investigations of families — many of whom are families of color — in response to these anonymous reports, which, in many instances, are driven by spite and malice. Thousands of Black and brown families’ lives are subjected to government scrutiny with the frightening prospect that they could lose custody of their children. On average, only 3.5 percent of these anonymous reports are determined to be credible each year.

African American families are reported to Child Protective Services at close to twice the rate of white families. More than half (53 percent) of African American children in the United States have experienced a Child Protective Services investigation by age 18, greatly eclipsing the 28.2 percent of white children who have. The common conclusion of investigations based on anonymous reporting — that abuse has not occurred as alleged — is determined only after a family’s life has been significantly disrupted and children have been traumatized as they are subjected to questioning and, frequently, physical examinations and mental health assessments. Threats outside the family such as unwarranted governmental investigations can seriously undermine the early learning as well as the lifetime health of children of color.

Anonymous reporting by its very nature shields reporters whose racial biases prompt them to report families of color under circumstances that would not

cause them to report white families. Anonymous reporting is linked to serious racial inequities that permeate child abuse investigations and child welfare service provision. It is a child abuse reporting practice that the American Academy of Pediatrics has identified as crucial to reform in order to address systemic racism, improve the well-being of children and families, and better identify and target responses to actual safety risks.

Arguments in favor of anonymous reporting offer no valid rationale for the continuation of this practice. There is no evidence that allowing anonymous reporting protects children. Instead, it subjects children in nonrisk situations to governmental interventions that can traumatize them.

Anonymous reporting does not provide families with greater access to effective services; in fact, mandated “preventive” services often fail to engage families or support them in strengthening their families. Anonymous reporting does not contribute to a responsive child protective service system; instead, it overburdens the system and undermines its ability to respond to situations where children face credible risk of injury and fatality.

Allowing callers to anonymously report families is a practice not recognized in New York state law. Nevertheless, it is allowed by the state Office of Child and Family Services, and the practice continues to deepen the racial inequities that affect families of color in the state.

Two bills are pending in the state Legislature that would require a caller who makes a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information (S7326/A7879). State legislators need to hear from their constituents that this legislation is an essential step in addressing racial inequities in CPS investigations.