The toughest child abuse reporting law in the nation went into effect in Florida last October. It used to be that only parents or caregivers suspected of abuse had to be reported.
Now anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected is required to report it regardless or face a possible felony. So, the Department of Children and Families has launched a public awareness campaign called “Don’t Miss the Signs.”
It was developed in partnership with Lauren’s Kids. Founder Lauren Book describes some signs of abuse in children.
“If they startle easily, if they were at one point completely potty trained and now have regressed and are wetting the bed, sucking their thumb, show regression in age; those are a lot of signs that something is up and that you need to look into reporting something that you may suspect is going on”, described Book.
Book was sexually abused by her former nanny, who is now serving 25 years in prison.
The state’s child abuse hotline receives over 300,000 calls a year. About 20% of them lead to formal investigations.