Reporting abuse and neglect of children, elders, and vulnerable populations.

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Being a volunteer for organizations like Meals On Wheels means that that you are a link to the outside world for the clients of that organization.
In some cases, volunteers for Meals On Wheels are the only link a client has to the outside world, and that makes it the responsibility of each volunteer to act professionally, but also compassionately and wisely, which means that being able to correctly identify abuse and neglect, and being able to report abuse and neglect are both necessary qualities in a Meals On Wheels volunteer.
It is the duty of every citizen to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and for that reason, all citizens should report abuse when witnessed or under suspicion. That being said, for many professions in Oregon, reporting abuse when witnessed is mandatory, and employees of organizations providing community services, such as Meals On Wheels, are required to report abuse when witnessed.
In Oregon, there are multiple methods used to correctly identify and report cases of abuse and neglect among the clients of Meals On Wheels. For children, it is important to be able to identify what a child is. In the state of Oregon, a child is legally defined as someone, married or unmarried, under the age of 18, but can also be as old as 20 if they live in or receive care from a child caring agency. The presence of a spouse or the appearance of being an adult should not hinder the decision to report abuse or neglect. There are multiple departments to report specific types of abuse. For cases of abuse and neglect, Children are reported to the Department of Human Services Child Welfare office, elders are reported to the Department of Human Services, adults with developmental disabilities are reported to the Multnomah County Developmental Disability Program (or whatever local developmental disability program), and adults with mental illnesses are reported to a local mental health program.

To stress again, it is not only the requirement of many professions, but is also a duty of every citizen to protect those who cannot protect themselves. To report any case of abuse or neglect of a child or adult, call 1-855-503-SAFE (1-855-503-7233), or call 911.

Find out more, such as what other professions require its employees to report abuse, and where to report abuse, in the following links:
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/abuse/Pages/index.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ABUSE/Pages/mandatory_report.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/CHILDREN/CHILD-ABUSE/Pages/Reporting-Numbers.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/Offices/Pages/Seniors-Disabilities.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/Offices/Pages/Seniors-Disabilities.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/oha/hsd/amh/pages/index.aspx

 Or watch the video below to learn more about the roles of mandatory reporters:
Gillis Sorg

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