By Jennifer Bloom and Sally Revak

This lesson from LegalWays curriculum defines types of abuse, neglect, and endangerment and discusses mandated reporters and what happens when a report is made.  Students use guiding questions and a matching activity to apply the law presented in a short student reading. The “You Decide” activity asks them to decide if a situation is neglect, endangerment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or an accident.  Many of the cases are actual stories. This lesson uses Minnesota law but can be easily adapted.

Objectives

• Understand the function of the people involved in the juvenile protection area.
• Become familiar with the laws of abuse and neglect.
• Learn about the legal rights and responsibilities of parents and children.
• Understand the various ways in which the juvenile system attempts to take of care of juveniles and their families.
• Learn where to go for help.

Time to Complete

One class period

Materials Needed

• LegalWays Curriculum Overview ^[1]
• Juvenile Protection Teaching Guide ^[2]
• Student Handout Child Abuse and Neglect ^[3]

Procedure

See Juvenile Protection Teaching Guide