Child Protection Law
The Michigan Child Protection Law, MCL 722.621 et seq. requires certain persons (commonly referred to as “mandated reporters”) to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Administrators, teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and others identified as mandatory reporters pursuant to Michigan’s Child Protection Law must immediately report all instances of suspected child abuse or neglect to Children’s Protective Services (CPS).
Secretaries are not identified in Child Protection Law as mandated reporters; however, secretaries may still be expected by board policy to make reports to CPS of suspected child abuse or neglect. For Thrun Policy Service subscribers, Board Policy 4202 addresses CPS reporting by school employees.
Reasonable Cause
When a school employee who is a mandated reporter “has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or child neglect,” that employee must:
- immediately make an oral report by telephone to centralized intake or through the online reporting system to CPS;
- if the report was made by telephone, file a written report within 72 hours after making the oral report using Form DHS-3200; and
- notify the person in charge of the school (i.e., building administrator and superintendent) that the report has been made and provide a copy of the written report.
If more than one mandated reporter suspects child abuse or neglect stemming from the same incident, they may file only one written report.
Report Required
Mandated reporters must always report suspected child abuse or neglect to CPS; merely advising the principal or the superintendent of suspected abuse is not sufficient to meet the individual’s legal obligation as a mandated reporter.
Mandated reporters must include the following information in the written report:
- child’s name;
- description of abuse or neglect;
- names and addresses of child’s parents/guardians;
- the persons with whom the child resides;
- child’s age; and
- other information available to the reporting person that may establish the cause of abuse or neglect and the manner in which the abuse or neglect occurred.
“Child Abuse”
Michigan Child Protection Law defines child abuse as “[h]arm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare that occurs through nonaccidental physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment, by a parent, a legal guardian, any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare, a teacher, a teacher’s aide, a member of the clergy, or an individual eighteen years of age or older who is involved with a youth program.”
Common indicators of physical abuse may include:
- questionable, multiple, or recurring bruises or welts on a body, including in the shape of an object (e.g., a belt, an electric cord, a hand);
- burns, including in the shape of an object (e.g., cigarette, cigar, iron, stove burner);
- bite marks;
- bald spots or missing clumps of hair; and
- questionable, multiple, or recurring fractures.
Common indicators of sexual abuse may include:
- age-inappropriate knowledge of sexual behavior;
- age-inappropriate seductive behavior;
- sexually explicit drawings and behavior;
- unexplained fear of a person or a place;
- unexplained itching, pain, bruising or bleeding in the genital area;
- pregnancy 12 years and under; and
- venereal disease, frequent urinary or yeast infections.
“Child Neglect”
Child neglect is defined as harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare by a parent, legal guardian, or any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare that occurs through either of the following:
- negligent treatment, including the failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care, though financially able to do so, or by the failure to seek financial or other reasonable means to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care; or
- placing a child at an unreasonable risk to the child’s health or welfare by failure of the parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare to intervene to eliminate that risk when that person is able to do so and has, or should have, knowledge of the risk.
Common indicators of neglect may include:
- persistent hunger;
- stealing or hoarding food;
- abrupt, dramatic weight change;
- persistent poor hygiene;
- recurring untreated medical issues;
- ongoing lack of supervision;
- consistently inappropriate dress; and
- excessive school absences.
Potential Liability
Mandated reporters who fail to report suspected abuse or neglect can be held liable for that failure under both civil and criminal law. In a civil action, the mandated reporter may be held liable for all damages that any person suffers due to the mandated reporter’s failure to file a report. In a criminal action, the mandated reporter may be found guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 93 days or a fine of up to $500, or both.
Reporter Identity Protection
When a reporter files a report with CPS, the reporter’s identity may not be shared with any person other than CPS, law enforcement agencies investigating the alleged abuse or neglect, and a child advocate appointed under the office of the child advocate unless the reporter consents, or a judge orders such disclosure. Concern that a parent or other suspect could discern the identity of the mandated reporter does not alleviate the legal obligation to file a report.
Adult Protection Law
The Michigan Social Welfare Act, MCL 400.1 et seq., protects the welfare of people in Michigan, and particularly the young, the aged, and disabled. The Michigan Social Welfare Act has been broadly interpreted to require all school employees, which includes secretaries, to report when they have reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult (i.e., a person who is 18 or older) has been abused, neglected, or exploited. “Vulnerable” is defined to include a condition in which an adult is unable to protect himself or herself from abuse, neglect, or exploitation due to mental or physical impairment.
If a school employee suspects abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult, they must immediately make an oral report by telephone to the county department of social services of the county in which the abuse, neglect, or exploitation is suspected to have occurred. When making the report, the reporter must include the following information:
- name of the adult;
- description of the abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and
- information available to the reporter that may establish:
- the cause of abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and
- the manner in which the abuse, neglect, or exploitation is occurring.
The following additional information should also be provided if available:
- adult’s age;
- names and addresses of the adult’s guardian or next of kin; and
- name of persons with whom the adult resides, including their relationship to the adult.
The reporting person may file a written report after making the oral report, but this is not required when reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Secretaries are in a good position to remind mandated reporters of their reporting obligations if there is evidence of possible abuse or neglect of a child observed by a mandatory reporter. While secretaries are not mandated reporters for reporting child abuse or neglect, board policy may still require secretaries to report suspected child abuse or neglect to CPS. Secretaries are mandated reporters for reporting abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults. Importantly, when secretaries make reports, they provide additional protection for children and vulnerable adults who may be experiencing abuse or neglect, and in the case of vulnerable adults, exploitation.