Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Lecture Notes

Flashcards about child abuse and domestic violence laws

Mary Ellen Wilson

An abused child whose case was represented at trial by an attorney for the ASPCA in 1874, leading to the creation of the first child protection society in NYC.

Kayden's Law

A law restricting expert testimony to qualified individuals, incentivizing states to protect at-risk children in custody laws, limiting reunification camps and therapies without proven safety/effectiveness, and providing training to judges/court personnel on family violence.

Maryland v. Craig (1990)

A 1990 case that addresses the confrontation clause of the 6th amendment in relation to child witnesses in child abuse cases.

Crawford v. Washington (2004)

A 2004 case that made it more difficult to prosecute elder abuse due to the unconstitutionality of using video or prerecorded statements by victims or witnesses.

Jeffrey Mancuso

• Father killed daughter in murder suicide after custody battle

• Mom already had a restraining order against the dad 

• Kayden (daughter) was forced to stay overnight with him through the court order

Frankie Williams 

• Father in custody battle 

• Shot daughter and mother in a murder sucicide pact 

• Father granted shared custody despite already threatening to kill the child’s mother and family if she filed for custody

Carola Arnau

• Mother in custody battle with estranged husband . Shared custody 

• Shot her 2 children in their sleep , killed dog and then killed herself 

• Mother had filed for a PFA against husband but then withdrew it 

Rudy north & Rennie

• Rennie had cancer , nurse came to help them sometimes 

• A woman from a private company came to their home saying she had a court order that said she needed to remove them from their home and take them to an assistant living facility 

• Court order stated that the North’s were at a substantial risk for mismanagement of medications , financial loss and physical harm 

• Their daughter who lived 10miles away could not get in touch with her parents 

• Parks ( the person who was their guardian) was indicted for perjury and theft ; sentenced to 16-40 years and to pay $500k in restitution

Mark short

• 3 children killed 

• Husband and wife also killed 

• Murder suicide note found 

• Couple was in the process of separating

Laws on ipv impact on children

• In DE and puerto rico the need to protect and care for the children who witness domestic violence in their home 

• 15 states say the child has to be present 

Couseling for child

• Connecticut , chicago , louisiana and nevada requires the person who was involved in DV to pay for any counseling the child may require 

• In DELAWARE a person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child when the person commits any violeny felony

Reporting child abuse

DE 

• Police have to investigate every case that is reported 

• Case has to be tracked or monitored 

• Must be reported to delaware’s division of family services 

NJ 

• Police have 24hrs to start an investigation after getting the report 

• Within 72hrs the division must forward a report to the child abuse registry

PA

• A multidisciplinary investigative team works with the police

Sexual abuse 

• Child abuse prevention treatment act : all states must assessall reports involving children and sex trafficking 

• PA Laws : anything that involves exposing yourself to a child and raping a child is illegal 

Laws on abuse & neglegct

Delaware state law on physical abuse 

• Any person that has care,custody or control of the kid and causes any physical harm 

NJ state law on physical abuse 

• Inflicts to be inflicted upon such child physical injury by other than accidental means that causes risk of death 

Pennsylvania state laws physical abuse 

• Causing bodily injury to a child through an recent act or failure to act

• Leaving a child unsupervised with a registered person as Tier 1 or 3 sex offender 

Emotional abuse laws 

• DE : threats to inflict emotional harm 

• NJ : abuse if the child who have been institutionalized inapporpriatley for a continued periods of time 

Child neglect laws 

• Most states allow religious exemptions from child abuse and neglect laws 

Reporters of elder abuse laws 

PA state law 

• When an adult of any age is deemed incapacitated by a court , a professional or a family guardian can take over to make decisions on behalf of that person 

PA  as of december 2019

• Mandatory reporter : any employee or administrator that provide services for incapacitated adults 

• When to report : when any of the listed persons as reasonable cause to suspect that a person is a victim of abuse (statewide elder abuse hotline)

NJ law 

• Mandated reporters : a healthcare professional , law enforcment officer, firefighter , paramedic or emergency medical technician 

• When to report : when any of the listed persons has reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is the subject of abuse , neglect or exploitation (NJ adult protective services hotline)

Delaware law 

• Anyone must report when their is reasonable cause to believe that an adult person is impaired or incapacitated and is in need of protective services 

• Reports should be made to the department of health services for adging and adults with physical disabilities hotline

State reporting laws - financial abuse 

• PA : any person as reporters of finanical abuse 

• DE : any person has the duty to report ;  financial institutions must report within the five law