All bark and no bite
Legal and professional consequences for failing to report child maltreatment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11338757 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Henry Bergen (0000-0001-6599-6871), Heather Bergen (York University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 181 |
| Pages | 108740 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children and Youth Services Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-7409 • E-ISSN: 1873-7765 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108740 |
| OpenAlex | W7117316452 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 38 |
The duty to report child maltreatment is a key legal and professional responsibility. Over time this duty to report has expanded and increasing numbers of families experience investigations by the child protection system. However, research shows that the vast majority of reports are not substantiated, and that broader mandated reporting legislation does not lead to more substantiation of child maltreatment (Rosenberg et al., 2024). This suggests there is a need to adjust reporting decisions to decrease unnecessary intrusive investigations for families and decrease resources used for investigation by an already over-burdened child protection system. One potentially fruitful area for decreasing unnecessary reports is to decrease those made by social workers to meet legal or professional responsibilities, rather than based on a genuine child protection concern. Fearing potential legal or professional disciplinary consequences mandated reporters may over-report and this research focuses on cases where mandated reporters faced legal or professional disciplinary consequences for failing in the duty to report to decrease fear-based reporting. Examining cases in Ontario, Canada only one person was found guilty in court and three social workers faced discipline. These cases involved failing to report direct disclosures of abuse, rather than suspicion. This is not meant to deter reporting based on genuine child protection concerns. This research aims to provide concrete information about the risk social workers face in cases where they do not report a situation that falls within the duty to report legislation but where they do not have a meaningful concern about child maltreatment
Child abuse · Child protection · Discipline · Duty · Duty to protect · Face (sociological concept · Legislation · Poison control · Child Abuse and Related Trauma · Child Abuse and Trauma · Military, Security, and Education Studies
Mandated Reporting and Child Welfare Surveillance
Are Mandated Reporting Policies Contributing to Disparities in Child Welfare? A Discussion of Their History and Unintended Consequences
Disrupting the Continuities Among Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop, and Child Welfare
Investigations involving urgent protection concerns vs. chronic needs
Recognizing complex trauma in child welfare‐affected mothers of colour
Child protection as surveillance of African American families
The Long Shadow of Family Separation
The Impact of Mandatory Reporting Laws on Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
A Good Call
Family members’ perspectives of child protection services, a metasynthesis of the literature
First Nations children and disparities in transfers to ongoing child welfare services in Ontario following a child protection investigation
People just don't look at you the same way”
Calling child protectives services is a form of community policing that should be used appropriately
Racial disparity in the Ontario child welfare system
Examining decision-making tools and child welfare involvement among Black families in Ontario, Canada
Basically, I look at it like combat”
Children’s Pathways of Exposure to Child Protective Services Over the Life Course and by Race/Ethnicity
Nuance as Praxis for Teaching About Mandated Reporting
Adding Friction to Mandatory Reporting
How Do Families Experience and Interact with CPS
Getting Eyes in the Home
The Case for Mandatory Reporting as an Ethical Dilemma for Social Workers
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |