Interdisciplinary Education for Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse

Domestic Violence is an important public health issue, with state mandated continuing medical education for physicians inConnecticut. We plan to develop an interdisciplinary educational program for Department of Children and Family (DCF) workers, physicians, veterinarians, animal control officers (ACO) and others. Evidence demonstrates an association between domestic violence and animal abuse1. Connecticut passed a law that took effect October 2011, mandating cross reporting of suspected child abuse and animal abuse or neglect between the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Agriculture, who oversee animal control officers. The law mandates developing education for DCF employees to “identify cruelty to or neglect of animals and their relationship to child welfare cases.” ACO need to be trained to identify and report child abuse and neglect. We propose to develop an educational program in one community:Stamford,CT. This program would include DCF workers, ACO, as well as physicians, veterinarians, prosecutors, social workers and law enforcement officers. There are limited studies that document the outcome of such legislation, and none that we are aware of from theUnited States. We hope to collect data from theStamfordarea and compare to other locations in the state to determine if the intervention has had an impact on reporting. Recommendations for future investigations would be dependent on the initial findings. Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will: Identify three signs of child abuse Identify three signs of cruelty to or neglect of domestic animals Outline the link between domestic violence and animal abuse Recognize an individual’s obligations for reporting suspected cases under the law 1Long, Dennis: Interpersonal Violence and Animals: Mandated Cross-Sector Reporting. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 2007