Protect Families: Support the Anti-Harassment in Reporting Bill
The Problem
New York State currently allows anyone to make a report of child maltreatment without providing their identifying information. Anonymous reports are used to harass parents through false and malicious reporting. Anonymous reporting allows anyone to make a bad faith report with no accountability for the harm they cause. Such reports trigger extensive investigations of families, which are traumatic even if the case is dropped.
What happens in an investigation?
- Invasive, repeated home searches
- Strip searching children
- Taking kids out of class to question them
- Talking to medical providers, neighbors, and family members
- Separating children from their parents to be interrogated
The Facts
- Over 10,000 New York families are investigated annually because of anonymous reports.
- 93% of parents investigated because of anonymous reports are cleared of all wrongdoing after an initial investigation—even more are cleared after the opportunity to challenge the accusations in court.
The Solution
The Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act would deter harmful reports by requiring that callers leave their name and contact information when making a report to the hotline. This information would be confidential, but could be used internally to identify repeat reporters and avoid unnecessary investigations.
*We use the phrase “family policing system” to describe what has traditionally been called the “child welfare system” or the “childprotection system,” to reflect the system’s prioritization of and roots in exploitation, surveillance, punishment, and control rather thangenuine assistance to and support of families targeted by the system, many of whom are living in poverty.
