![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Children, elders and dependent adults are considered a “protected class,” meaning they are protected under the law, as discussed above. For more information about elder and dependent adult abuse reporting please see David Jensen’s article, “The Fundamentals of Reporting Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse” in the March/ April 2006 issue of The Therapist. LMFTs, while acting within their professional capacity are mandated reporters of elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect. Mandated reporters are required to report any reasonable suspicion or knowledge of physical abuse, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, neglect, and the failure of a care custodian to provide goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical or mental suffering. 3 The intent of the Act is to protect elders, persons who are 65 years or older, living in California and dependent adults, persons between the ages of 18-64 who reside in California and who have physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities or protect his or her rights, or a person between the ages of 18-64 who is admitted into a twenty-four hour health facility. The other reporting law in California is the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (the Act). For more information about a therapist’s obligations to report child abuse or neglect please see Ann Tran-Lien’s article, “A Look at the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act” in the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of The Therapist. LMFTs, while acting within their professional capacity are mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect. The following are types of “abuse” under this law: physical abuse, sexual abuse (including both sexual assault and sexual exploitation), willful harming of injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of the child, unlawful corporal punishment or injury, and neglect. 2 Under CANRA, mandated reporters who have reasonable suspicion or knowledge of child abuse or neglect of a minor must file a report to a Child Protective Services agency or local law enforcement. First, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) has the primary intent of protecting children (a person under the age of 18). There are two significant laws in California that mandate reporting instances of abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities. The distinction that must be made is between health practitioners who provide medical services for a physical condition, such as physicians and nurses, and health practitioners who do not provide those types of medical services, such as psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs. This article will discuss the relevant law that affects the mandated reporting of domestic violence, explain the reporting obligations owed to “protected classes” of people such as minors, dependent adults and elders, and will provide a review of two vignettes.Ĭalifornia Penal Code §11160(a) states, “any health practitioner employed in a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, local or state public health department, or a clinic or other type of facility operated by a local or state public health department who, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, provides medical services for a physical condition (emphasis added) to a patient whom he or she knows or reasonable suspects is a person suffering from any wound or other physical injury inflicted by his or her own act or inflicted by another where the injury is by means of a firearm or by assaultive or abusive conduct, shall immediately make a report…” Since LMFTs do not provide medical services for physical conditions, LMFTs are not included in this group of health practitioners who report knowledge of or reasonable suspicion of a person who is suffering from the described injury. There are, however, some important distinctions to make in regard to this general rule. As a general rule, LMFTs are not mandated reporters of domestic violence if, in their professional capacity, they have knowledge of or suspicion of injury inflicted by a spouse, partner or cohabitant, in a domestic setting. 1 As such, it is imperative for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists to understand their reporting obligations surrounding domestic violence. Some surveys and studies suggest there are more domestic violence victims in California than the national average. This article reviews the reporting duties that may arise for MFTs in such scenarios.ĭomestic violence, or intimate partner violence as it is also called, is a problem nationwide. While reporting domestic violence is not mandated for MFTs, there are other reporting duties that may be triggered by a domestic violence situation. ![]() Crisis Response Education and Resources Program. ![]()
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