Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 25, 1993 TAG: 9305250083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When an 11-year-old student arrived at Hurt Park Elementary School last month with her face covered with unusual bruises, four teachers suspected child abuse and promptly reported the case to their principal.
Yet at least three hours passed before someone placed a call to Child Protective Services to report the suspected abuse, Roanoke Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said.
When the call did come in, she said, it wasn't from Principal William Shepherd or anyone else at Hurt Park.
The school never reported the case at all - a relative did. Criminal charges since have been brought against the girl's mother.
Whether Shepherd, too, will be charged remains to be determined.
"I have nothing to say at all," Shepherd said Monday from his office, where he continues to work while police and school administrators investigate his actions. "No comments at all."
Anthony said she hopes to decide within a few days whether to charge Shepherd, who was required under Virginia law to report the suspected abuse "immediately."
Failure to report suspected child abuse is a misdemeanor which carries up to a $500 fine for a first offense and from $100 to $1,000 fine for repeated offenses. A conviction carries no jail time.
But convictions - even charges - for failing to report suspected abuse are rare, said Janine Tondrowski, a child protective services program specialist with the state Department of Social Services.
She knows of "maybe a handful" in her 14 years with the department.
In fact, school employees report cases of suspected child abuse more often than any other group, said Social Services spokesman DeAnn Hubicsak.
Of 33,055 complaints lodged in Virginia during fiscal year 1990-91, the last period for which statistics were available, 5,894 came from public schools, she said. Another 111 came from private-school personnel, who are also required to report suspicions of abuse.
Those figures were not available for Roanoke, but Social Services Acting Superintendent Doris Kinsey said schools or day-care centers accounted for 14 percent of the 727 complaints of suspected abuse during the past 10 months. The largest group of complaints came from anonymous callers.
No more than 10 percent of those complaints result in convictions, she said.
Virginia law requires a range of professionals who come into contact with children - doctors, psychologists, teachers, police officers - to report suspected abuse as soon as they see it, Kinsey said.
She interprets "immediately" to mean just that - "as soon as possible. As soon as they are aware of it."
In July, there will be less confusion over the word. During its most recent session, the General Assembly passed a law that will require cases of suspected abuse to be reported within 72 hours. The law goes into effect July 1.
But that shouldn't deter people from reporting harmful situations sooner, Tondrowski said.
" `Immediately' to most of us does not mean 72 hours," she said.
Including Roanoke schools.
Richard Kelley, executive for business affairs for the school system, said administrative policy calls for teachers to report abuse to their principals as soon as they see it, and for principals to report it to Child Protective Services after a short investigation that might include questioning the child or observing the injuries.
"As soon as the principal has determined in his own mind that there are grounds for suspicion, then he should call Child Protective Services," Kelley said.
The principal is not required to prove abuse, Kelley said, just suspect it.
"In this case, I don't think there was any doubt from the type of injuries on the child's body that they were caused by [anything but] child abuse," he said.
Some feel the suspicions of the teacher ought to suffice.
As Tondrowski reads the law, once a teacher suspects wrongdoing and reports it to her superior, that person must contact Child Protective Services.
"It doesn't say that they must first investigate and then report," she said. "It says they should report all suspicions."
Teachers may contact Child Protective Services directly, she said. But the law allows for institutions such as schools or hospitals to set up reporting procedures that channel complaints through superiors.
Teachers and other school employees receive state training to help them identify possible cases of abuse or neglect, Hubicsak said.
"They are taught what to look for, in terms of changes in behavior or warning signs," she said. "They have probably more opportunity than any single group for day-to-day contact with the kids."
Shepherd will continue to have that contact until Anthony issues a decision, Kelley said. If Shepherd is charged, Superintendent Frank Tota and the personnel department will recommend to the School Board what action to take, if any.
by CNB