4 days ago
Kansas teachers left in the dark when reporting suspected child abuse, neglect
Marcus Stratton, a school counselor in Wakarusa, tells a legislative committee on June 2, 2025, in Topeka about his experience as a mandatory reporter of suspected child abuse and neglect. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of the Kansas Legislature You Tube channel)
TOPEKA — Filing reports of suspected child abuse or neglect is the most difficult part of Marcus Stratton's job as a school counselor at a Kansas middle school.
Stratton is a mandatory reporter, the title given to educators, health care workers, social workers and members of law enforcement who are required by law to report any suspicion of neglect or abuse. Teachers and school staff are the most frequent reporters of child neglect and abuse in Kansas, but minimal feedback, communication and transparency from the state foster care agency have left more questions than answers.
Testifying before the Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight, Stratton asked lawmakers Monday for more training for mandatory reporters and greater clarity on how the process of investigating allegations of abuse or neglect works within the state's foster care agency, the Kansas Department for Children and Families.
'When I get to a point where I have to make a mandatory report for a child, I can no longer meet the needs of the child in a public school setting,' Stratton told lawmakers.
Teachers are taught not to investigate when they suspect potential abuse or neglect. Once a report is made, Stratton said he rarely knows the outcome. He only knows whether or not it has been assigned for investigation.
'Once we make the report, we may be meeting our legal obligations to do that, but we still have the relationship with the student that we have to maintain,' he said.
Stratton is a counselor at Pauline South Intermediate School in Wakarusa, and he was not speaking as an official representative of the school. With concern for the wellbeing of students, he regularly questions how to navigate the opaque mandatory reporting process. He said the process can only be as good as those who are making the reports and those who are receiving them.
Of the 71,000 reports of potential abuse, neglect or a family in need of assessment to the Kansas Protection Report Center in 2024, about half are assigned to an investigator, according to DCF data. Almost 30% of reports come from educators.
In his nine years as a counselor, Stratton has never been called to court to testify in a child's case after filing a report. His experience with the Kansas Department for Children and Families has been good about 90% of the time, he said.
'In the years that I've been making mandated reports, I haven't come up with a magic formula,' Stratton said. 'There's so many different types of situations, so many different types of people. There's just no way that I think you can perfectly legislate something like this.'
The more information, the better, he said. He suggested training for mandatory reporters to understand how DCF's process of investigation works and what qualifications and training an investigator might have.
Eudora Republican Sen. Beverly Gossage, a former teacher and chair of the committee, said Stratton's concerns resonated with her. She relayed her experience with an old student who came to her sixth-grade class with a 'belt mark' across his face. He always had a story, Gossage said.
After the second time, she filed a report.
'It does put you in an awkward position,' she said.
The process can be a gray area for mandatory reporters, who may not know the consequences of filing a report and whether their anonymity will be maintained.
It can be difficult to be specific when filing reports, said Monique Young, a Missouri educator who has also worked in Kansas. In Missouri, counselors, teachers and administrators participate in required training to recognize when a student needs help, but it can be a tough balance, Young said, when no central system exists within schools to ensure the best outcomes for both reporters and students.
Often, information regarding investigations is confidential, said Tanya Keys, the deputy secretary of DCF. But she took Stratton's suggestions in stride, indicating there might be opportunities for educators to gain insight into the mandatory reporting system.
Before Stratton left the committee room Monday, Gossage gave Keys and Stratton homework. She requested they meet again outside of the committee setting to discuss Stratton's concerns and find solutions that can apply to all mandatory reporters.
