The number of professionals reporting child abuse will only serve to widen the safety net. The bill was introduced by Sen. Deanna Hanna D-Jefferson County, a former public school nurse, on January 11, 2001. The bill was originally assigned to the Health, Environment, Children and Families Committee. The bill passed unamended to the Senate Committee of the Whole on January 24, 2001. It s protection that we need to have, said Carol Holloman, a licensed therapist and director of Alternatives to Family Violence and Women and Children s Treatment.
Children are always the most innocent victims.
There is no fiscal impact tied to the bill. There should be no increase in reported cases of child abuse, because most professionals in these fields already report cases of child abuse or suspected child abuse as a matter of practice, although it is not statutorily required. There are very few people who oppose Senate Bill 47. The only thing that is wrong with child abuse reporting is that people who come to get help are immediately reported to the authorities, said Rick Cleveland, M.A., LMFT, LPC, head of Kinesis Counseling. It needs to be done because the more people we have reporting child abuse, the more people we will be able to stop.