The abolition of the system, which was created as another way to keep abusers away from children, is expected to save the state about $ 1 million this fiscal year.
When DFCS receives a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, a social worker must determine whether there was enough evidence to support the allegation and “substantiate” the allegation.
“It worked in such a way that it greatly undermined those goals for the system,” said Melissa Carter, director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University, who campaigned for the repeal to be passed. “It had a chilling effect on the ‘justification’. ”
If the claim were substantiated, the perpetrator would be placed on the child abuse register, which could discourage someone from caring for, adopting, or working with children, regardless of the severity of the alleged abuse or neglect.
The vast majority of cases monitored by DFCS involve neglect, which Carter says often occurs when a parent leaves a child unattended to go to work.
“The vast majority of the children and families entering the system are there for reasons of neglect, often surrounded by poverty,” Carter said. “That restricted people’s opportunities to pursue certain professions or build a family.”
In the first month of the Register Act’s entry into force, July 2016, the number of cases where there is enough evidence to support an allegation decreased by more than 50%. Social workers investigating an allegation began to weigh a child’s current safety against evidence of abuse – for example, if a friend committed the abuse but is no longer in the picture. If the child is safe, the case cannot be considered a “justified” case of abuse.
A report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year found that the number of reported suspected abuse cases, most of those legally required to report suspicions, nearly doubled between 2012 and 2018, but the rate of the “substantiated” allegations fell further than half.
State law requires anyone who is an employee or volunteer with a public agency or private or nonprofit company that oversees children to report suspected abuse.
In the most egregious cases of abuse or neglect, when prosecuting a criminal complaint, prosecutors required that names be entered into the register only after the trial was over, which can take years.
Carter said this essentially voided the registry’s full value.
“The worst offenders, those who are the small but very serious number of cases, offenders of this type of behavior, weren’t even named in the registry,” she said.
Carter said there are other ways to prevent children from coming into contact with them who are at risk of harming children.
“People who pose a persistent threat to children should not be approved as daycare operators, bus drivers or teachers, or foster parents,” she said. “If you have an arrest history, there are other law enforcement databases that are also checked when you apply for a childcare license or become adoptive or foster parents. So we absolutely know who these people are. “
