PFSA Calls on Senate Committee to Back Legislation to Require Training for Spotting Child Abuse in Schools

YOUNGWOOD, Pa., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Angela Liddle, executive director of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA), today told the state Senate Aging and Youth Committee in prepared testimony that legislation is necessary to require "mandated reporters" employed by schools to undergo training on how to recognize and report child abuse.

"We have gone 35 years [since the Child Protective Services Law was adopted] with no requirement for training these professionals," Liddle said in her remarks.

She questioned how teachers and other school employees who are considered mandated reporters can carry out their responsibilities unless they get training in what the law says, what the indicators of abuse are, and how the reporting process works.

Mandated reporters are people who come into contact with children in the course of performing their jobs and are required by law to report abuse and neglect.

"Why haven't we focused more resources on preparing these professionals to be effective members of our child protection system?" Liddle asked. "We know with absolute certainty that not all abuse and neglect cases are reported to the child welfare system."

The Senate Aging and Youth Committee was scheduled to meet today at Westmoreland County Community College to review Senate Bill 1137, which calls on the state Department of Public Welfare, in consultation with the state Department of Education, to set up a child abuse recognition and reporting program.

Under the program, teachers and other mandated reporters employed by or under contract to schools would be required to undergo a minimum of three hours of training every five years. Teachers would get continuing education credits for the training. The proposed law would cover public school districts, intermediate units, vocational-technical schools, charter schools, and private schools.

"One thing cannot be debated -- child protection begins with the report to child welfare," Liddle said. "Why would we not want to establish a training program for the group of professionals who spend the most awake hours with our children and therefore are in the best position to help maintain their safety and well-being?"

She said existing training funds could be reallocated and combined with school district professional development funds to provide training to 20 percent of school districts per year.

According to Liddle, 75 percent of all reports of suspected child abuse come from mandated reporters and of those most come from schools.

More than 25,650 cases of suspected abuse were reported in Pennsylvania in 2008, an increase of about 1,600 over the previous year. Reports of child abuse occurred in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania -- urban, suburban, and rural.

PFSA, a nonprofit organization, provides training on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect through schools, early childhood education centers, religious institutions, and social service agencies. It has trained nearly 8,000 individuals during the past year.

For more information, visit the PFSA Web site at www.pa-fsa.org.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance