Bill on Child Abuse Receives Initial Nod

The Maryland Senate gave preliminary approval yesterday to controversial legislation making it a crime for teachers, nurses, police officers and other professionals to fail to report evidence to authorities if they suspect a child may have been abused.

The Democrat-controlled chamber voted 42 to 4 to support the measure, but the decision came after heated debate about whether the state would be going too far in making failure to report suspicions of child abuse a crime. Critics said the bill places too heavy a burden on state workers, especially teachers, and would subject them unfairly to lawsuits and criminal prosecutions.

Doctors, nurses and social workers can be disciplined by state licensing boards for failure to report evidence of child abuse, but it is not considered a criminal offense. Supporters of the bill cited high-profile cases and said existing law is not strict enough to ensure that evidence of child abuse is reported.

"The fact is that whatever sanctions we have under current law aren't sufficient to protect some of these kids that are being abused," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, which heard testimony on the proposal.

Under the proposal, violators would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum fine of $1,000. The bill was introduced by Sen. Delores G. Kelley (D-Baltimore County) and signed by 11 co-sponsors.

Forty-five states, including Virginia, and the District impose penalties on workers who knowingly fail to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect, legislative analysts said. In 38 of those jurisdictions, violators would be guilty of a misdemeanor and face jail terms of 10 days to five years and fines of as much as $5,000.

Opponents of the Maryland bill said they fear that if there is a major child abuse case, prosecutors could go after teachers and nurses on the grounds that they might have known about the neglect and did not report it.

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), who voted against the bill, said health-care professionals and teachers would have to make a judgment every day about whether "some bruise on an arm is abuse." Zirkin said the measure is "a huge step."

"This is not a small bill," he said. "Quite frankly, somebody who didn't act in a Monday morning quarterback reflection is not a criminal. They may be negligent, but they're not a criminal."

Frosh said the intent of the legislation is to encourage reporting evidence of child abuse.

"Do I think people will be prosecuted on this?" Frosh said. "No."

Sen. Michael G. Lennett (D-Montgomery) said, "We're encouraging the discovery of child abuse."

Sen. J. Lowell Stoltzfus (R-Somerset), an opponent, said he has "great apprehension" about the bill.

"I think the bill goes too far in making criminals out of well-meaning teachers who might, for whatever reason, see something differently than social services or someone else in a trial later on," said Stoltzfus, noting that his wife is a teacher. "I understand and appreciate what the bill is trying to get to, but I think making criminals out of teachers is not right."

Zirkin introduced an amendment to remove the criminal component from the bill, but senators rejected his proposal, 36 to 11.

Yesterday's votes were preliminary, and the Senate has scheduled a final vote tomorrow morning. The House of Delegates has not voted on the matter.