Mandated Reporting

When, based on the above standards and criteria a school or other agency does have a reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse, in particular involving an employee, reporting to the local enforcement authorities may not be sufficient. The parents of the victim may also need to be notified.

Doe v. Superior Court A Camp employee was observed engaging in questionable behavior with minors. The Camp investigated and determined that no inappropriate touching occurred, but terminated the employee anyway. The Camp did not notify the minors’ parents of the incidents. Years later, the incidents came out when the former employee was being investigated regarding other allegations. The parents of one of the minors sued the Camp alleging, among other things, fraud in failing to inform them of the incidents. The Court of Appeal found the Camp had a special relationship to the minor and parents since the Camp acted as a day care provider. The Camp had a duty to exercise reasonable care to supervise the employee and a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent harm to the minor. Once the Camp had knowledge of the employee’s inappropriate behavior, it had a duty to prevent further harm to the minor, which included an obligation to timely disclose the suspected molestation to the parents. 30 Conti v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Church clergy were aware that a member of their congregation had a history of child abuse. The Church allowed him to participate in field service groups with Conti when her parents were not present and he molested her. The Court found that the Church had a duty to supervise the abuser’s participation in church activities to prevent a recurrence of abuse. The Church should have banned the abuser from field service or controlled his access to children by keeping an adult with him at all times. The Court also found that the clergy had no duty to report the abuse under CANRA because no duty arises when the information is learned from confidential penitential communications.

C. C HILD N EGLECT

1. W HAT I S C HILD N EGLECT ? “Neglect” refers to the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child, by a person responsible for the child’s welfare, which results in harm or threatened harm to the child. 31 “Severe Neglect” means the willful causing or permitting a child’s health to be endangered. It includes the intentional failure by a child’s custodian to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision, and must be reported even though no physical injury has occurred. 32

Mandated Reporting ©2020 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 12