Spencer Letizia
- Mar 29
- 1 min read

Children or Family First: Navigating the Ethical Conflict of Child Protection vs. Parental Rights

More than half of child maltreatment suspicions do not get reported to child

protective services. Contributing to the quandaries professional reporters face

when making the decision to report is concern for infringing on family autonomy.

These concerns largely relate to the ethical conflict between protecting children

and respecting parental rights. This session will explore the history and ethical

application of parental, child and family rights schemas in an effort to help

prepare professional reporters of suspected child maltreatment with the tools to

report, when necessary, and respect family autonomy whenever possible.

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