(DR. RICHARD GARDNER'S TESTIMONY, CONTINUED, ON REFORM OF THE MONDALE-CAPTA 
BILL IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES)
 
2.  The mandated reporting clause must be dropped. It has resulted in
the reporting of the most frivolous and absurd accusations by two-and-
three-year-olds, vengeful former spouses, hysterical parents of nursery-
school children, and severely disturbed people against their elderly parents. 
Highly skilled examiners, professionals who are extremely knowledgeable about 
sex abuse, examiners who know quite well that the accusation is false, are 
required by law to report the abuse to individuals who they often know to be 
be overzealous, inexperienced, and even incompetent.  Yet they face criminal 
charges if they do not report these accusations.  Mental health professionals 
who are licensed by the state to practice should be given the discretion to 
report or not, depending upon their conclusions.  States that require 
mandated reporting should not be entitled to federal funding for child abuse 
programs. This change would also reduce significantly the flood of false 
referrals being generated at this time, again resulting in a formidable 
savings of federal monies.
 
       3.  The federal law should require investigators and evaluators (both
in the law enforcement and mental health realms) at all levels to routinely
notify and invite for voluntary interview(s) every individual accused of
child abuse or neglect. (These suspects, of course, must first be informed of 
their legal rights.) The failure to routinely extend such invitations should 
deprive the agency of funding.
 
       Each and every investigator and/or evaluator licensed to conduct such
evaluations should be required to interview the accuser, the alleged child
victim, and extend an invitation to the accused to be interviewed as well. In 
some cases the accused will accept the invitation and in others he or she may 
not. Courts of law will only consider admissible evaluations conducted by 
people who have extended invitations to all three parties.
 
       4.  All investigatory and evaluative interviews should be videotaped.
States that do not require videotaping of such interviews should be deprived
of federal funding.  Nonvideotaped evaluations should not be admitted into a
court of law, nor should testimony based on nonvideotaped investigations or
evaluations.
 
5. Interviews in which suggestive materials are used, specifically
anatomically detailed dolls, body charts, and/or other materials that
indicate genital and/or sexual organs should not be admissible in a court of
law.  States that admit such materials into courtroom testimony should be
deprived of federal funding.
 
6. States in which individuals suspected of child abuse are deprived of
constitutional due-process protections should not be provided federal
funding.
 
7.  The federal laws now provide funding for child abuse research, education, 
prevention, identification, prosecution, and treatment. Such educational 
programs must be periodically updated to include new development in all these 
areas. All mental health and legal professionals involved in child abuse 
should be licensed. (CONTINUED)
--- DB 1.58/004910
1:114/74)
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