Attorneys hear ethics, rules fo reporting child abuse

By JENNIFER DIRECTOR KNUDSEN

article created on: 2008-10-01T00:00:00

Citing Torah, lawyer and Congregation Beit Haverim’s rabbi, Annette Koch, J.D., traced key reasons a Jewish lawyer is duty bound to report a suspected case of child abuse.

Koch quoted from Leviticus 19:16, “Don’t stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.” Indeed, she added, “We (legal professionals) are commanded to help out, not stand idly by” where child abuse is suspected.

Nearly 60 Jewish lawyers listened intently over a mixed-green salad and salmon fillet lunch to Rabbi Koch and other speakers during a recent Solomon’s Legacy program, “Child Abuse Reporting: A Jewish Perspective.”

Organized by trial lawyer and Solomon’s Legacy Chair Chuck Tauman and held at the Hilton Executive Tower, the docket offered lawyers continuing legal education units for learning comprehensive information about—and their role in preventing—child abuse.

Solomon’s Legacy is the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s group for attorneys.

Sylvia E. Stevens, general counsel to the Oregon State Bar, kicked off the early afternoon session delineating Oregon’s dense Child Abuse Reporting Law and defining who is legally obligated to report suspected abuse.

In an accompanying document Stevens wrote, “Mandatory reporters are a critical link in the state’s system of child protection and account for 75 percent of reports received.”

While all 50 states have a mandatory reporting law, Oregon is one of only four states requiring lawyers to comply with it. As such, and since 1991, compliance is a “24/7 obligation” and one often fulfilled off-duty, she said.

“Often we’ll see (abuse) not in the course of our jobs, but when out and about,” she said, referencing slides projected onto a large screen highlighting her points.

Such as the awful statistics that bear out the law’s importance.

In 2006, nearly 12,050 children were child-abuse victims, half of whom were under 6 years old, and 17 kids died from extreme harm, Stevens reported.

“Kids under 5 are our most vulnerable population,” she said, emphasizing the fundamental reason for the mandatory reporting law: Not to prosecute, but to protect children.

From physical and sexual abuse; neglect or maltreatment; exposure to “controlled substances”; and many more examples of real or threats of harm.

However, the law does not require lawyers become child-abuse experts, Stevens said.

So, the more aware, the better.

Barbara Kollmar, licensed clinical social worker representing Jewish Family and Child Service, a Federation recipient agency, offered in her follow-on remarks scenarios often at the root of child abuse. And outward signs abused children show of what’s really going on behind closed doors.

Perhaps a parent has lost a job. Has had a new baby. Has separated from a spouse. Is dealing poorly with an ill loved one.

Each scenario can throw an adult with few coping skills over the edge; to cope, the parent may turn his or her rage on the child, Kollmar said.

“Any time the family is under stress ... the kids are at greater risk” of being abused, she reported, adding, “Children ... don’t have the language to let us know that something is wrong.”

Their behavior may speak for them: A previously gregarious child may withdraw; become an excessive worrier; complain often of head or stomachaches; and daydream excessively.

Turning to scripture, Koch emphasized while one is not to speak evil (lashon hara), Judaism also holds that saving a life trumps everything.

“If we can violate Shabbat,” Koch said, “we can violate (the rule against) lashon hara.”

Indeed, to fail saving another’s life is tantamount to murder. And therein lies the burden and the import of being a mandatory reporter, she summarized.

Following the program, intellectual property lawyer Kenneth Kwartler said child abuse “is not familiar territory” for him and so learned a lot from the lunchtime session. “It’s valuable to hear ... very well-presented perspectives on this issue,” he said.

Don Stephens, also an intellectual property specialist largely unfamiliar with the day’s topic, said lawyers’ duty as mandatory reporters “is an immensely important function in our society.”

He added a refrain common among the attendees: “It’s interesting to hear the rabbi’s point of view.”