DOCTORS AND CITIZENS ARE MANDATED CAAS REPORTERS

 Athlete Welfare is a wider world of Child Welfare.

Coaches are “Temporary Substitute Caretakers” while coaching Child and Youth in amateur Sports, Recreation and Exercise (SRE).

Coaches are responsible for the Care and Welfare of their Athletes, while they have custody and control of Children and Youth during SRE participation.

Coaches have a professional duty and standard of care. Abuse, Negligent Supervision, Harassment, Cruelty and Human Rights Disorders persist at all levels of athletic competition.

SRE Athletes’ serious Injuries and Deaths have recently increased, because of Win-At-All-Costs attitudes.

The goals for the Athletic Community should be Proper, Athlete Safety 1st Coaching Child and Youth Custody, Control and Supervision fostering safe practice and competition environments.

Setting Public Policy on Verbal, Physical, Psychological (Emotional) and Sexual Abuse will decrease Child and Youth Athlete Serious Injuries and Deaths. Policy concerning Athlete Sexual Abuse and Harassment has drawn more recent attention and measures have been taken, though not sufficient.

Recognition and Public Policy of the Complete Role of the Coach as “Temporary Substitute Caretaker” during SRE Child and Youth participation is essential.

Doctors are the eyes and ears of Child and Youth Athlete Care and Welfare.

The doctor should elicit the history and then examine and treat the injured Athlete. If the Doctor suspects the Athlete’s Serious Injury or Death was the result of Abuse, Negligent Supervision and/or Human Rights Disorder by the Coach, the Doctor is require by Law to report the incident to the local County Attorney, Child Protective Services (CPS), State Police or other Authorities, depending on the Injury and/or Death seriousness and emergency. Death should also be reported to the Coroner.

Federal and State Laws require Doctors to Report all forms of Child Maltreatment or risk charges of Failure to Report and Malpractice Negligence Claims if they fail to Report.

The suspected Child and Youth Amateur Athlete Abuse Report by the Doctor is not an accusation. It is a call for an investigation into the circumstances of the injury.

If the history of the incident strongly implicates directly the Endangerment by the Coach, the Doctor should record the ICD-9 Code for Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Abuse and Negligence and ICD-9 Code for the Offender or Perpetrator known, the Coach. That ICD-9 Code will be Archived in the Medical Records and Insurance Billing Accounts.

The Doctor Report includes the doctors’ immunity and anonymity. The Report is not a violation of HIPPA. The Doctor’s name cannot be released without a judge’s court order.

Child Athlete Abuse Syndrome (CAAS) HAS BEEN DEFINED. See: athletesafety1st.xyz

Citizen Reporting of CAAS varies from state to state and must be investigated by the potential Reporter on a state requirement basis. To Report Child Abuse call 1-800-Children and they will provide the central intake number in your state and area. Then Call your central intake number inquire about your Reporting Duty and file a Report if appropriate. Intake Officers are more than willing to provide you with Reporting Information.

“The circumstances under which a mandatory reporter must make a report vary from State to State. Typically, a report must be made when the reporter, in his or her official capacity, suspects or has reasons to believe that a child has been abused or neglected. Another standard frequently used is in situations in which the reporter has knowledge of, or observes a child being subjected to, conditions that would reasonably result in harm to the child. Permissive reporters follow the same standards when electing to make a report.”

“Approximately 48 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands designate professions whose members are mandated by law to report child maltreatment.1 Individuals designated as mandatory reporters typically have frequent contact with children. Such individuals may include:

Social workers
Teachers, principals, and other school personnel
Physicians, nurses, and other health-care workers
Counselors, therapists, and other mental health professionals
Child care providers
Medical examiners or coroners
Law enforcement officers

“Some other professions frequently mandated across the States include commercial film or photograph processors (in 12 States, Guam, and Puerto Rico), substance abuse counselors (in 14 States), and probation or parole officers (in 17 States).2 Directors, employees, and volunteers at entities that provide organized activities for children, such as camps, day camps, youth centers, and recreation centers, are required to report in 11 States.3 Seven States and the District of Columbia include domestic violence workers on the list of mandated reporters, while seven States and the District of Columbia include animal control or humane officers.4 Court appointed special advocates are mandatory reporters in 10 States.5 Members of the clergy now are required to report in 27 States and Guam.6

Four States now have designated as mandatory reporters faculty, administrators, athletics staff, and other employees and volunteers at institutions of higher learning, including public and private colleges and universities and vocational and technical schools.7

“Mandatory reporting statutes also may specify when a communication is privileged. “Privileged communications” is the statutory recognition of the right to maintain confidential communications between professionals and their clients, patients, or congregants. To enable States to provide protection to maltreated children, the reporting laws in most States and territories restrict this privilege for mandated reporters. All but three States and Puerto Rico currently address the issue of privileged communications within their reporting laws, either affirming the privilege or denying it (i.e., not allowing privilege to be grounds for failing to report).9 For instance:

The physician-patient and husband-wife privileges are the most common to be denied by States.
The attorney-client privilege is most commonly affirmed.

The clergy-penitent privilege is also widely affirmed, although that privilege usually is limited to confessional communications and, in some States, denied altogether.10

See the following for references:
[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau

https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf]

When identifying data, landmarks, home address and Perpetrator or Offender identification ware unknown and the Perpetrators or Offenders and the Victim are walking or moving around, the report should follow the following sequential order to get the necessary Law Enforcement Agency response – local Police Department or Officer, County Sheriff, State Police and possibly 911. After a police report is obtained, follow-up with the County Attorney and Child Protective Services.

Reporting International Violations of the U.N. Treaty on Human Rights of The Child, that includes CAAS, such as Olympic Competions outside the Athlete’s country, have posed complicated problems for Athletes. The Athlete or Athlete’s representative can report to their home United State’s U.S. Attorney and the appropriate U.N.Human Rights Committee.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

Anyone may bring a human rights problem to the attention of the United Nations and thousands of people around the world do so every year.

There are proper procedures outlined on the United Nations Website and the page concentrates on the procedures open to individuals and groups who want bring complaints directly under international human rights treaties.

Any individual who claims that her or his rights have been violated by a State party to that treaty, under the Covenant or Convention On The Rights of The Child (CRC 1989), may bring a communication before the relevant committee, provided that the State has recognized the competence of the committee to receive such complaints.Complaints may also be brought by third parties on behalf of individuals provided they have given their written consent or where they are incapable of giving such consent.

General inquiries:
Telephone: +41 22 917 9220
Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org

Postal address:

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Increased awareness, prevention and eradication of CAAS will assist an overburdened health care system and protect the health, welfare and human rights of Child (<18) and Youth (15-24) Athletes, our most precious assets. Protected, Healthy Child and Youth Athletes of today are our Leaders of tomorrow