Eliza is a retired former pediatrician who now works as a private language tutor. She often spends time bringing her grandchildren, ages eight and five, to their nearby playground. Her grandchildren recently struck up a friendship with a new six year old girl on the playground, who told them that her mother had “banged her up” at her home for playing on the stairs, so much so that she was in pain on the playground. After hearing about this from both her grandchildren, Eliza is not sure what to do. As a pediatrician, she was a mandated reporter, required to report any child abuse to the required authorities. But she also knows that children can exaggerate or make mistakes; perhaps the mother was trying to keep the child safe, or she had fallen on her own. Eliza is told by a child welfare hotline that it is her decision whether to report or not. Her pediatrician friends urge her to report, and she feels obligated to as a former doctor. But Eliza worries the child could end up in a foster home where she might not be cared for.
Eliza is a former pediatrician who retired ten years ago. She let her medical license lapse, and instead she now works as a private tutor at her church for adults interested in learning English as another language. Recently, Eliza was put into a situation where her former responsibilities as a doctor for children clashed with her desire to act with kindness and charity towards a parent of a young child.
Eliza is the grandmother of an eight year old and a five year old, and she often frequents the local playground with the children near their home in the city. The playground is often busy, and Eliza and her grandchildren have struck up several small friendships with other families in the neighborhood. Recently, Eliza’s grandchildren began playing with a new six year old girl at the playground. Eliza noticed that the child often comes to the playground with her father, and although she had struck up some friendly conversations with the girl’s dad, Eliza has not gotten to know him well.
One day after coming home from the playground, Eliza’s five year old granddaughter told Eliza that her new friend had said that her mother had “banged her up” so much for playing on her stairs at home that she didn’t want to go down the slide that day because it would “hurt.” Eliza reminded her granddaughter that this was a serious thing to accuse somebody of. She asked her eight year old grandson if he had heard the girl say this, and he confirmed he had heard the girl say it too. Both children reflected that they were glad their mother wasn’t that mean to them.
Eliza wasn’t sure what to do. As a pediatrician, she had been a mandated reporter, meaning that she had to report any signs of abuse of children to appropriate authorities; a child saying they’d been “banged up” and reporting an injury to the point where they felt they couldn’t go down a slide were clear red flags of possible abuse to Eliza. “Once a doctor, always a doctor,” Eliza thought; she felt that her mandated reporting responsibilities still applied to her, even though she now worked exclusively with adults and no longer practiced medicine.
On the other hand, she wondered whether she was misinterpreting the situation. As a grandparent to young children herself, she knew kids were prone to misrepresenting and exaggerating at times. Her grandchildren had said their friend had been playing on the stairs-- perhaps the parent was trying to keep the child safe, or she had fallen on her own? Eliza thought maybe the kinder, more charitable route might be to hold on to this information and to get to know the family better before taking any action.
In an effort to receive guidance, she called a local hotline related to child welfare reporting. She explained the situation and asked whether the information she had about the girl’s statement was serious enough to warrant a report. The hotline operator was unhelpful and told her that it was her decision whether to file a report or not. Eliza also consulted a few of her former colleagues, who told her that, in similar circumstances, they would feel obligated to file a report with family services.
Eliza faced a dilemma. She worried that, if she reported the incident, it could be very disruptive to the family and the girl’s home life. In the past, she had seen other children removed from their families by social workers and placed in foster homes where they were still not appropriately cared for. However, Eliza also worried that the girl could potentially be in danger and that, if she didn’t report, something bad could happen. She also felt obligated to fulfill her responsibility to protect children as a former mandated reporter and pediatrician.
What would you do in this situation, if you were Eliza? Who would you consult if you had to make a difficult decision?