Mandated reporters WWYD?

amother

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 6:49 pm

If you are a mandated reporter and you knew that a friend/acquaintance of yours was feeding her children unpasturized milk (because she felt that this was healthy for them) and you lived in an area where this is illegal, would you report her?

morah

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 6:55 pm

singleagain wrote:

If I understand the term mandated... You HAVE to report it ...

Incorrect. In most states (though not all, so op should check the laws of her state) you are only are mandated regarding kids you deal with in the course of your work. You have no legal obligation to report anything about neighbors or friends or relatives.

LittleDucky

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 7:09 pm

morah wrote:

This is true where I live as well. If I see a neighbor beating their kid, I would not be mandated outside of the office- I would not have to report. But as a concerned citizen I may report it. And it's anonymous.
Check out your licensing board for specifics...

MaBelleVie

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 7:19 pm

1. Review what mandated reporter means in your state. Most likely only related to people you encounter in your professional capacity.

2. Is it illegal to feed your kids raw milk? A number of states don't allow sales, but I'm not aware of restrictions on consumption.

causemommysaid

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 7:27 pm

I view it the same way I view non vaxing.

highly stupid but I wouldn't call CPS on them.

besides, I think you might have the laws mixed up. I think your not allowed to distribute raw milk but drinking it is not illegal. also a mandated reporter is only obligated in the course of their work not in their private life (I think)

yogabird

Tue, Oct 07 2014, 7:59 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

Even if it is illegal (I have a hard time imagining it is) does that automatically equal abuse? Or does mandated reporter mean you have to report anything illegal you see?

amother

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 4:45 am

OP here - I'm not the mandated reporter, I'm the mother! As far as I am aware, selling raw milk is illegal and drinking it considered to be a health risk where I live, and there have been cases in the US where children were taken away from their parents after the parents mentioned to their paediatrician that they give raw milk to their kids. But I know several mandated reporters who are probably aware that I give my kids raw milk, and I am just nervous, that's all. I was wondering if they would feel an obligation to report me, or if I was just being paranoid.

(For those concerned about my kids, I have done extensive research both into raw milk in general and the farm, hygiene, and health of the cows my milk comes from specifically, and I am convinced that it is as safe as any other food I could give them, not to mention more beneficial than most. I would certainly not recommend drinking any raw milk without researching the specific milk in question.)

groovy1224

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 8:13 am

amother wrote:

Let me get this straight. You are doing something that you
A) know t or suspect to be illegal, apparently
B) Know to have health risks
C) Know is a reportable offense, at least in some places

And you're looking for what,a pat on the back here? I think you have the wrong forum. Maybe try listerialovers.com.

amother

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 8:39 am

groovy1224 wrote:

Hmm, I don't see anywhere that I asked anyone for a pat on the back.

I've done research and made the health decision that I felt was in my children's interest, despite the fact that I know it is illegal. Caring parents have done the same for generations. I would hope that you would respect that my decisions are based on my children's welfare, regardless of whether the government agrees with me. However, if you don't, that's your choice.

Regarding safety, you have a greater risk of becoming ill by eating a lettuce salad than drinking raw milk. See http://online.wsj.com/article/.....s_wsj and feel free to do further research to get exact numbers if you care to, I am not looking them up a few hours before yom tov starts.

gittelchana

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 9:31 am

amother wrote:

Problem #1 - being a mandated reporter.....

You couldn't pay me to snitch on people for a living.... Puke

morah

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 9:45 am

gittelchana wrote:

Problem #1 - being a mandated reporter.....

You couldn't pay me to snitch on people for a living.... Puke

Please don't denigrate those of us who work with children for a living. I am not "paid to snitch on people". I am paid to teach. And pediatricians are paid to treat illness and keep tabs on proper child development. And therapists are paid to treat delays or other problems. Because we are in contact with children daily, and over the course of time we get to know the same ones pretty well, we are in a good position to notice if something isn't right. As I posted above, my mandated reporter status does NOT obligate me to report anyone and everyone (though certainly if I believed a child to be in danger, I would report it because of lo ta'amod al dam rei'echa), it only requires me to report things I come across regarding the children I work with. It is certainly not the main part of my job- in fact, in four years of teaching, I have b'h never had the need to do so. It is simply a protocol, much like what to do in a fire, that I hope I never need to follow, but due to the sick world we live in, I might have to now and then.

amother

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 10:48 am

gittelchana wrote:

Problem #1 - being a mandated reporter.....

You couldn't pay me to snitch on people for a living.... Puke

I am also sort of surprised by this reaction. Would you prefer that doctors/ therapists/teachers not be required to inform the authorities when a child is showing up bruised on a regular basis? ( I would hope that most would do so just based on their own consciences though...)

I once had a situation like this, as a home based therapist, where it wasn't the child I was seeing I was concerned about, but rather his younger sister. One suspicious injury after the next. It was a very very hard call to make, the mother seemed like a good person, but the grandfather gave me great cause for concern in this regard.... I think the fact that it was written into my professional requirements took away any sense or inclination that I may have had to question myself....

LittleDucky

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 10:49 am

gittelchana wrote:

Problem #1 - being a mandated reporter.....

You couldn't pay me to snitch on people for a living.... Puke

I don't "look" for things to report. But when I have heard clients tell me XYZ occurred- I am glad about the law. I am required to report. I don't have a choice. I have orally warned them about it (and they signed a paper about mandated reporting). And now I will protect the child. I have made a few reports-but if I would tell you the issues involved I don't think you would hesitate either. I don't think I am a snitch. Snitches listen and report for their own betterment, and don't warn the speakers!! I get nothing but headaches-I hate making a report. But I will if I have to...

Ruchel

Wed, Oct 08 2014, 11:16 am

You just have to be very guarded and careful about who you go to or befriend... ask their job, I suppose, before opening at all... this sounds very scary, foreign. Obviously they ask people to report more than abuse, even cultural differences (unpasteurized is seen as positive to some, neutral/"for the gourmet" to others...).

Once my parents called a home visit for my dd who was sick by them and she had a big bruise and the doc made a drama, suspecting I guess my parents and/or us and/or school. No way, dd is always under supervision of us or my mom who is the sweetest ever and at school recess was supervised by her fav mora, small school, and boys have their own yard so it's not even playing rough. She had no idea where it came from, I even called the teacher who took it seriously, we brainstormed- and never found. DD gets easy bruises just like yours truely.
We've had a few other stories, from mikve lady asking about MY bruises to once a crazy ped...
I wonder if in USA the foreign or old school parents lose their kids to "my way or the highway" "professionals"... I do know a friend who lived there for years growing up and once a neighbour saw her (Euro) mom slapping her for teen chutzpa and mom was reported, social services came... my friend to this day remembers the trauma of this, NOT of the slap that she now believes was deserved. Wtv...