Hundreds of parents accused of child abuse by doctors come forward

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by  Mike Hixenbaugh Dec. 5, 2019

Parents in Michigan lost custody of their 6-week-old son after a doctor observed marks on the baby’s abdomen and reported them as “diagnostic of physical abuse.” A judge ordered the child and a sibling to be returned months later, however, after hearing evidence that the lesions were likely caused by the straps of a baby swing.

A special education teacher in Florida and her paramedic husband were separated from their 4-month-old son after a doctor told child welfare workers that bleeding in the boy’s brain must have been the result of violent shaking. But the doctor had overlooked an underlying medical cause.

About this series

Reporters from the Houston Chronicle and NBC News spent a year investigating cases of children taken from parents and guardians after a doctor reported abuse. The reporters revealed that some doctors diagnosed abuse with a degree of certainty that critics say is not supported by science. In response, some Texas lawmakers have begun calling for additional safeguards to protect families.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Hundreds-of-families-accused-of-child-abuse-by-14882290.php

[GrouchoTex]

My son is 35 now.
When he was around two, he had a high fever over a weekend, so we had to take him to an emergency room.
The doctors noticed bruising on his legs, the front of them.
They were in the same area on both legs, between his knees and feet, about 1/3 that way up.
They asked my wife and I where they had come from and we honestly did not know.
They didn't do anything, like take him away, but they did give us some cross-ways looks.

About a week later, when he was feeling better, I took him outside to ride his tricycle.
He didn't quite get the concept, so he propelled it with his feet.
Every other revolution or so, he would bang his shins into the pedals.
That's where the bruising came from.
I taught him to use the pedals that day, and the bruises went away.
I would say it was my fault for not picking it up earlier, but at least we found and corrected the problem.

I'm all for protecting kids, but sometimes, there is an explanation for things that isn't related to abuse or neglect.

[PeteS in CA]

With no reference to the cases in the OP article, current child abuse reporting laws have two serious flaws that can screw up innocent families:

* Anonymous reports of abuse must be investigated as seriously as when the identity of the one reporting is known (Thank you Walter MonDULL!); one nasty relative or neighbor or bigot plus a mini-tyrant CPS worker can create a year or two or ??? for a decent family;

* Professions like doctors, nurses, teachers, and school bus drivers (state laws may vary) are mandatory reporters, and often are forbidden to investigate further or ask explanations ("No-Thought policy"!) before reporting "possible abuse".

Twenty five or thirty years ago or so California came close to passing a law requiring that: 1. unpaid volunteers who came into contact with children, such as Sunday School teachers, would be mandatory reporters; 2. those unpaid volunteers would have to follow the "No-Thought policy" described above. Thankfully, it did not pass. At the time, I was a teacher's assistant at my church. Had I seen what looked like abuse, I would have reported it to the Children's Ministry leaders, who would then report to police. But being required to report to the police, without inquiry, any odd bruise or scratch would be stupid and violate the trust of decent parents.