...In Pennsylvania, a teacher is required to report suspected child abuse to an administrator who in turn is required to notify the police and the district attorney. No school officials are required to call the state's child abuse hot line.
By contrast, in most cases, non-school child-care professionals such as doctors or day care workers are required to report suspected cases of abuse by a parent to the state hot line. If doctors and others suspect abuse by a teacher they are required to call the police.
"The sticking point in Pennsylvania is where does that first call go," said Ms. Palm, of the Protect Our Children Committee.
Last year, roughly 120,000 calls were made to the state hot line for child abuse calls administered by the state Department of Public Welfare. About 24,000 cases were investigated, three-quarters of which came from mandatory reporters, and 3,600 cases were substantiated as abuse.
In 2009, the rate of investigations in Pennsylvania, 8.3 per 1,000 children is lower than the national average of 40.3 per 1,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The rate of rate of substantiated cases of child abuse was also lower: 1.4 per 1,000 in Pennsylvania compared with 9.3 per 1,000 nationally.
Ms. Palm attributed the lower rates in Pennsylvania to how the state defines abuse and handles cases. For instance, even a child who is injured is not considered abused if a perpetrator can't be identified, she said.