It was a Friday when I was sitting in my Psychology class. It was an open discussion and we were talking about child abuse. That topic already puts me on my toes, because as a daycare worker, even the thought of such an act tugs at every fiber of my heart.
However, I knew that it was a topic that needed to be discussed. As with everything else in life, nothing will change if we don’t start talking about it. So in a way, I was glad it was brought up.
The discussion was going well until somebody brought up mandated reporters. For me, this is kind of a heavy topic. I have had a bad experience as being one, and I have had my fair share of emotions, and feelings about being a mandated reported.
Still, I was really interested to hear what everyone had to say. And to my disbelief, the class did nothing but put down mandated reporters, and refused to acknowledge any good that we might do.
The one comment that stood out, in particular, was a boy who said, “Mandated reporters are just trying to get people in trouble. You could spank a child, and they would call the cops immediately; even with the smallest of things, they’re screaming abuse.”
For me, it was hard to even process that comment. So, I decided to let the world know the truth about being a mandated report.
Being a mandated reporter isn’t fun. We don’t enjoy calling CPS. We don’t enjoy having that responsibility on our shoulders, knowing that if something was happening, and we didn’t notice it, we would blame ourselves. We’re constantly wondering if we could’ve done more, or if we can do more.
We aren’t out to get people in trouble – we are out to stop harm, and save a child’s life. We don’t scream “abuse” at a scrap that happened from falling down. We don’t purposely put this on a family. And, we absolutely don’t like the idea of a child being harmed in any sort of way.
However, with that being said. We do it with good intentions. We do it knowing that we are doing good, and doing what is right. We do it knowing that we could be the lifeline this child is looking for. We do it for the child. We do it to help – not to hurt. We do it, and we won’t apologize for it. We won’t apologize for trying to help. We won’t apologize for being too cautious.
And, we won’t apologize for looking out for a child. Because to us, every child in our care is like a child of our own, and we will protect them as such. We won’t apologize for that.
You see, being a mandated reporter is probably my least favorite thing. It’s hard, it’s scary, and it’s a lot to carry. Being a mandated reporter is one of the reasons I don’t have one of the most important people in my life. I sometimes feel like I lost everything just because I was doing my job. It’s hard. It's hard to process. It’s hard to pick up the phone and dial CPS.
It’s hard to bear the thought of a child possibly going through the unthinkable. It’s hard knowing that maybe you are putting an innocent family in the limelight. But, it’s not hard to save a child’s life – it’s not hard to choose whether or not you want to try and save their life, to save their childhood. It’s not hard; it’s the easiest thing in the world.
Yes, being a mandated reporter sometimes feels like the worst thing in the world. It’s not the easiest thing; it’s truly one of the hardest. But, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I wouldn’t take back one phone call I’ve made. I wouldn’t take back trying to help a child in any way that I could. I would do it all over again, again and again. I wish I wouldn’t have to, but it’s a part of me – a part of my job, my life, and these children’s life.
Don’t waste time saying we’re bad people with no good intentions, because that’s far from the truth. We’re good people, trying to stop bad people – trying to let a child live free, loved, and happy. With all my heart, I won’t apologize for being a mandated reporter.
