CAFETY takes the position that the process for reporting abuse must be simplified and that youth must be given the opportunity to make claims on their own behalf, in addition to making claims about events that happened in the distant past.
Under current law, each state has a different mechanism for reporting abuse that goes on in residential facilities. In each case it isn’t terribly clear where a report should be made. This makes it difficult for youth to report abused against a particular facility. Common roadblocks to effective reporting include obvious obstacles inherent to placement, including limited or censored contact with anyone not employed by the facility, but many are also as a result of overall confusion among agencies. The variances in state policy within Child Protective Services, for instance has led to inconsistent results. Where CAFETY has contacted CPS most states indicate they lack jurisdiction over private facilities. Other obstacles include policies that require the person reporting the abuse to be an adult or require the reporter to be in current danger or knows of someone being abused in a program at the time of reporting, thereby failing to properly investigate reports of abuse if the reporter has since graduated, and limits on time between report of abuse and abuse itself, etc. Additionally, in some states, action that may be taken is only directed at the person who committed the abuse, not to the facility as a whole and, in so doing, fail to address the overall evironment or culture of abuse.
Most states direct reporting to the licensure agency. However, some states do not regulate certain types of programs. Yet, in other states the regulating agency may be ill equipped to handle reports of abuse, as is the case in Montana where the Dept of Labor oversees therapeutic programs.
It is one of the goals of CAFETY to make sure each state provides the simplest route to reporting abuse that is inclusive of those who delay reporting the abuse and the agency responsible is capable to respond appropriately.
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