KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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KSHB 41 spoke to experts about the importance of mandated reporters after learning about Leavenworth Public Schools employees charged with failing to report instances of abuse.
“One of the biggest risks of not reporting could be that you’re leaving a child in a dangerous situation,” said Erica Hunter, assistant regional director of the Kansas Department of Children and Families.
While Hunter couldn’t speak to the specifics of the Leavenworth case, she said mandated reporting should be timely.
“Evidence doesn’t always last forever, and so if there’s marks or bruises, we want to make sure that we can immediately see those to make an assessment,” Hunter said.
Forensic investigations should be left up to professionals, per Alison Feigh, the director of the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center in Minnesota.
The center is a Zero Abuse Project program, meaning it works to end child abuse in all forms: through training parents, children, front-line professionals and anyone working with young people.
“We don’t want mandated reporters to conduct their own investigation… That is left for folks in the field to do this professionally, for our colleagues who investigate child abuse, for our forensic interviewers who sit down and do a fact finding, neutral interview with that child where that child tells the story in a way that could be used in court if need be," she said. "That’s done with best practices, it’s done in a very specific way, and so we want that interview to be the first time the child is telling the story.”
Hunter and Feigh said a large number of reports come from mandated reporters.
"Some of the feedback we've gotten from mandated reporters is sometimes this feeling of, 'If I make a report, then it's kind of like I've now passed it on and I have to stop helping the family,'" Hunter said. "We don't want people to feel like that. Calling DCF is just another support that can be done for that family... Even if you have to call DCF, it doesn't mean you have to stop supporting that family."
Training is something other child advocacy organizations, like Sunflower House in Kansas, strongly support.
“Sunflower House believes education is one of the most important tools we have to keep children safe, which is why accessibility to our training programs is crucial,” a representative said in a statement sent Tuesday.
According to court documents, the Leavenworth Unified School District’s Board of Education conducted an investigation of its own.
Kansas statute states school employees are mandated reporters by law, but it does not specify if that applies to school board members.
In Leavenworth, school board members are not paid.
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson called and emailed each school board member for comment Tuesday, but a board member either declined to comment or did not call or email a response.
“We sometimes see in school districts this idea of loyalty, like I’m loyal to this school or loyal to this youth serving organization,” Feigh said. “We are trying to flip that script so the more loyal you are to a school, loyal to youth serving organization, you’re going to be the first one making that call.”
Natalie Julien, president and CEO of CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties, said the work CASA advocates do for children is straightforward.
“Our job is to represent their voice,” Julien said.
While mandated reporters are tasked with doing their jobs, Julien said it doesn’t exempt everyone else from speaking up.
“It’s important to be aware of what’s going on in our community, whether they are a mandated reporter or not, and if they are concerned of a child’s safety, that’s something we would encourage someone to evaluate if that’s a risk,” Julien said.
Feigh encourages everyone to abide by clearly defined roles.
“It’s a kid's job to be a kid, and it’s a grown-up’s job to keep kids safe,” Feigh said.
To make a report to a Kansas Protection Report Center, you can call the hotline (1-800-922-5330) or visit online here.
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