Case Examples in Clinical Supervision: The Challenge of Mandated Child Abuse Reporting

Mandated reporting, while an ethical and legal requirement, often stirs emotions in mental health professionals that may prevent them from making the report. Fear, anxiety and countertransference may all interfere with good judgment. The Clinical Supervisor maintains the responsibility to ensure reports are made but must also address the clinician’s emotional concerns. This article presents two case studies that illustrate ways a supervisor can support the supervisee through mandated reporting, and what can happen when a supervisee fails to comply with the legal mandate

Future Mandated Reporters: Understanding the Role

Graduate students in the medical, mental health, and educational fields have in common that they all will become future mandated reporters. As part of their graduate training, these professionals receive minimal training at best as to how to proceed when faced with reasonable suspicion that maltreatment has occurred. Unfortunately, specific training is not common, leaving graduates exposed and putting the children they serve at further risk. The purpose of this pilot study was to obtain direct feedback from graduate educators and graduate students as to the way the topics of child maltreatment and mandated reporting are incorporated into training programs. Using a survey questionnaire tailored to the level of training for the different respondents, researchers seek to delineate and document the critical need for direct training in these areas. The long-term goals are to provide an exploratory and evaluative study of the strengths and weaknesses of current training practices, all serving to provide a basis to develop and disseminate necessary recommendations to improve preservice training, protect graduates from liability, and reduce placing children and families at further risk of harm

Proactive Disciplinary Consequences in Three Illinois High Schools

Disciplinary codes of conduct guide administrators when determining the consequences for student misconduct. The codes of conduct commonly found in schools rely on exclusionary measures that have been associated with negative student outcomes and controversy but little is being done to provide positive model for these written policies. Schools need to reconsider their disciplinary practices and begin to incorporate positive strategies into their policies. The goal of this study was to provide an examination of the factors necessary to sustain a positive approach to discipline. Unfortunately, the preliminary information was insufficient. Suggestions are made to continue the exploration of philosophies and practices necessary to support a positive approach to discipline

Case Examples in Clinical Supervision: The Challenge of Mandated Child Abuse Reporting

Mandated reporting, while an ethical and legal requirement, often stirs emotions in mental health professionals that may prevent them from making the report. Fear, anxiety and countertransference may all interfere with good judgment. The Clinical Supervisor maintains the responsibility to ensure reports are made but must also address the clinician’s emotional concerns. This article presents two case studies that illustrate ways a supervisor can support the supervisee through mandated reporting, and what can happen when a supervisee fails to comply with the legal mandate

Future Mandated Reporters: Understanding the Role

Graduate students in the medical, mental health, and educational fields have in common that they all will become future mandated reporters. As part of their graduate training, these professionals receive minimal training at best as to how to proceed when faced with reasonable suspicion that maltreatment has occurred. Unfortunately, specific training is not common, leaving graduates exposed and putting the children they serve at further risk. The purpose of this pilot study was to obtain direct feedback from graduate educators and graduate students as to the way the topics of child maltreatment and mandated reporting are incorporated into training programs. Using a survey questionnaire tailored to the level of training for the different respondents, researchers seek to delineate and document the critical need for direct training in these areas. The long-term goals are to provide an exploratory and evaluative study of the strengths and weaknesses of current training practices, all serving to provide a basis to develop and disseminate necessary recommendations to improve preservice training, protect graduates from liability, and reduce placing children and families at further risk of harm