Arkansas lawmakers say they’re going to reexamine child abuse investigation protocols after a family said they were wrongly accused. Josie Leonora with Little Rock Public Radio has this report.
An Arkansas family presented troubling testimony at a legislative hearing Wednesday. In February, a 5-year-old girl was taken to a pediatrician for a skin disease. The family said the issue was genetic, but a doctor believed the skin issues could be the result of possible child abuse.
The state investigated the family, ruling out child abuse and finding a pattern of the same skin illness in the girl’s three siblings. The family says their daughter was pressured into a pelvic exam even after the family was cleared of child abuse suspicions.
Republican Representative Mary Bentley urged lawmakers to review current investigation protocols. This comes after public controversy over a Mountain Home child abuse case that went uninvestigated despite more than 20 calls to a child abuse hotline.
The study Bentley proposed will examine standardization procedures and create a more consistent interpretation of mandatory reporter laws.
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