Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting

States can protect victims by requiring local child protective services to identify military families and develop reporting and information-sharing procedures with the department’s Family Advocacy Program. State statutes directing the collection of military affiliation as part of the child abuse and neglect response process, and sharing pertinent case file information with the appropriate military authorities, can provide consistency and complement the statutory responsibility of the DOD.

A 2020 Government Accountability Office report to Congress highlighted the importance of state statutes that require the collection and reporting of military affiliation to the appropriate military authorities as part of state child abuse cases. The bottom line, particularly for those who do not know the military way of life, is that unlike civilian employers, the military services have the obligation to know what is happening with our service members and families 24/7.