Mandated reporting:In 18 states everyone is a mandated reporter

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Professionals Required to Report

Approximately 48 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands designate professions whose members are mandated by law to report child maltreatment.¹ Individuals designated as mandatory reporters typically have frequent contact with children. Such individuals may include:

• Social workers
• Teachers and other school personnel
• Physicians and other health-care workers
• Mental health professionals
• Child care providers
• Medical examiners or coroners
• Law enforcement officers

Some other professions frequently mandated across the States include commercial film or photograph processors (in 11 States, Guam, and Puerto Rico), substance abuse counselors (in 14 States), and probation or parole officers (in 17 States).² Seven States and the District of Columbia include domestic violence workers on the list of mandated reporters, while seven States and the District of Columbia include animal control or humane officers.³ Court-appointed special advocates are mandatory reporters in nine States.⁴ Members of the clergy now are required to report in 26 States.⁵

Reporting by Other Persons

In approximately 18 States and Puerto Rico, any person who suspects child abuse or neglect is required to report. Of these 18 States, 16 States and Puerto Rico specify certain professionals who must report but also require all persons to report suspected abuse or neglect, regardless of profession.⁶ New Jersey and Wyoming require all persons to report without specifying any professions. In all other States, territories, and the District of Columbia, any person is permitted to report. These voluntary reporters of abuse are often referred to as "permissive reporters."

Shut HaRid: Truth is more important than authority

Shut HaRid(#62): "Whatever does not make sense to me – then even if Yehoshua ben Nun said I would not agree [Chullin 124a]. And I don’t stop myself from expressing what appears correct to me according to my limited intellect. Thus I do what it says in Tehilim (119:46), I speak regarding Your words even against kings and I am not ashamed…. Because even when it appears to me that I have successfully refuted the words of the early authorities – G‑d forbid for me to be so arrogant to say that it is because of my superior wisdom (Koheles 2:9). Rather the reason that I can argue with the early authorities is because of the rationale provided by philosophers. I heard that a group of philosophers asked the greatest amongst them, “We acknowledge that the early scholars were wiser and more intelligent than us. But at the same time we acknowledge that we argue with their ideas and refute them in many issues and in fact our criticisms of them are correct. How could that be?” He replied to them, “Who can see farther – a midget or a giant? It is obviously a giant because his eyes are much higher than a midget. However if a midget stands on the shoulder of a giant – who can see farther? Obviously it is the midget because his eyes are now higher than the eyes of the giant. So it is with us. We are midgets riding on the shoulders of giants because we know that it is their wisdom that elevates us. Therefore our wisdom is based on their wisdom.” Thus what we say is not because we are greater than them. We can comment regarding the early scholars in a situation where we see that they disagree with each other – one permitting and the other prohibiting. So which authority should we rely on? … We cannot simply say that one is greater and therefore the words of the others are refuted. Rather we must analyze all their words because they are the words of the living G‑d. We need to debate and investigate their words to see which way the law seems to be going. That in fact is what the sages of the Mishna and Talmud did. We see the later Talmudic scholars did not refrain from disagreeing with the early scholars and to decide amongst what the early sages disagreed with each other as well as to contradict their words. We find that the Amoraim would refute a Mishna and say that it was not the halacha. The fact is the wisdom transcends the individual sage and there is no sage who is free from error. Only G‑d is free of error.

Hurricane 2011 - Close call in Lawrence NY

Paving the Way for Condoning Child Rape

Fox News by Dr. Keith Ablow

There were those who scoffed at my contention that Abercrombie and Fitch, the edgy retailer, was paving the way for mainstream pedophilia when it began marketing breast enhancing bikinis to girls as young as eight. 

There were those who railed against my contention that the French edition of Vogue was kindling pedophilia and embracing it with its racy depictions of 10-year-old Thylane Lena-Rose Loubry-Blondeau in heavy makeup, a plunging neckline and stiletto heels. 

There were others who suggested that I had a problem with breastfeeding, in general, when I took issue with The Breast Milk Baby, which encourages little girls to wear a vest that has flowers in place of larger nipples and nurse the doll.

But, now, there should be no doubt that our culture is poised to begin embracing pedophilia as a lifestyle choice, just like homosexuality. A group of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals called B4U-Act, which has representatives from Harvard and Johns Hopkins, gathered recently in Baltimore to organize their push to change the negative perception of pedophiles and encourage them to get help in a nonjudgmental environment. [....]

Delaware pediatrician jailed for life for abusing patients

AP

A Delaware pediatrician who decorated his office with Disney characters and miniature amusement park rides, is convicted of abusing scores of young patients over more than a decade will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Earl Bradley, 58, showed no emotion as a judge sentenced him Friday to 14 life sentences for 14 counts of first-degree rape

Bradley was also sentenced to 165 years for multiple counts of assault and continuous sexual exploitation of a child. Bradley was arrested in Dec. 2009 after a 2-year-old girl complained to her mother after an office visit that the doctor had hurt her.

Recently published manuscript - falsely attributed to Malbim - written by maskil

BHOL

בשנת תשס"ט התבשר עולם התורה על הדפסת עותק ראשוני של פירוש המלבי"ם לספר קהלת שעד אז לא היה בנמצא. 'עוז והדר', שהדפיסו את הפירוש, טענו כי מדובר בכתב-יד שמעולם לא נדפס.

אלא שכבר עם הדפסת הספר טענו תלמידי חכמים רבים כי לא יתכן שהמלבי"ם כתב את הפירוש המכיל דברי כפירה רבים ואשר בתוכו אף מצוטט משה מנדלסון - אבי ההשכלה.

אחד מאותם תלמידי חכמים - אברך ב'מיר' - נזעק לספריה הלאומית שם נעזר ברב דוד קמינצקי (נכדו של הגר"י קמינצקי זצ"ל) והרב משה אייזיק בלוי - מעורכי המוסף התורני 'קולמוס', כאשר אף הם לא פיללו לתוצאה שכזו.

לאחר מחקר מעמיק נתגלה כי הפירוש שייך לאחד מראשי המשכילים בשם יונה ברד"ח - מידידיו של משה מנדלסון. יתר על כן - ברד"ח כבר הדפיס את הפירוש המדובר בשנת תר"י בלבוב.

Pinny Taub abuse survivor - criticizes rabbis for betrayal