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‘Toughest In The Nation’ Child Abuse Reporting Law In Effect In Florida
October 2, 2012
A Florida law that some call the toughest in the nation for reporting child abuse went into effect Monday, a result of the horrific scandal that rocked Penn State University and college football last year.
The Protection of Vulnerable Persons law ups the ante on the state’s previous reporting obligation, requiring anyone who suspects that a child has been abused to report those suspicions to the Florida Abuse Hotline; the reporting requirement formerly applied only when the alleged abuser was the parent or caregiver.
The law also increases the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony for failing to report, with financial penalties increasing as well.
“This law will help ensure all allegations of a child being harmed are immediately investigated by the appropriate agency,” said Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins. “Reporting child abuse is our moral and legal obligation.”
The measure, passed by lawmakers earlier this year, followed the abuse scandal at Penn State involving football coach Jerry Sandusky, convicted earlier this year on multiple charges of child molesting.
Under the new Florida law, DCF will investigate any charges that a child was abused or neglected by a caregiver, while allegations of child abuse by someone other than a caregiver will be accepted at the Hotline and electronically transferred to the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
The law also imposes $1 million fines on colleges and universities whose staffers witness child abuse on campus and fail to notify the authorities, another provision inspired by the Pennsylvania scandal.
The new law also includes better training for teachers on recognizing the signs of abuse, better tracking of abuse reports at public institutions of higher learning, and financial relocation assistance for victims.
Last year DCF’s child protective investigators scrutinized more than 184,000 cases of alleged abuse and neglect involving about 300,000 children.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
One Response to “‘Toughest In The Nation’ Child Abuse Reporting Law In Effect In Florida”
Yeah report it…..so the judges and prosecutors can just let them walk free. Give me a break! This law just will look good on paper. Anyone who has been thru the judicial system with any sort of child/sexual abuse issue will watch their “abuser” walk away free just as my family did.
I’d love to hear the statistics on the outcome of those 300,000 because I can lay money down that 90-95% of those abusers walked free. I know MANY that did. Just read this newsletter everyday, thats all you see. So, why would they stop-they’re never punished for it. A dirtbag prosecutor or lawyer will see to that!