Erin is a 22-year-old single parent with two children (Stacie, age 5 years, and Monica, age 2 years). Erin dropped out of high school to marry Andrew when she was 17 years old and pregnant.

She recently divorced Andrew because of his drinking, affairs, and lack of support for her and the children. Andrew has a part-time job delivering newspapers and spends most of his free time with friends. He only sporadically provides monetary support.

Erin and the girls live in a small apartment. Because she only has a minimum wage job, Erin relies on food stamps and other types of assistance. Babysitters and rent are major expenses, and Erin continually worries about being able to pay her bills. She would like to earn her GED to get a better job, but she lacks the time and resources to make that happen. Andrew sees the girls only occasionally - usually when Erin asks him to keep the girls so she can work extra shifts. He dislikes spending his time babysitting the girls and openly verbalizes his frustration with the "whiny girls." Erin has a strained relationship with her parents. They were angry when she became pregnant, they were against her dropping out of high school to get married, and they consider Andrew a "deadbeat." They do not help Erin financially, citing concerns for their own retirement. Although they live in the same community, they don't babysit the girls very often and have been critical of Erin's parenting style. Erin has always believed that her parents liked her older brother, Dominic, better. He is married and has three children who spend a great deal of time with Erin's and Dominic's parents. Dominic rarely interacts with Erin because they "don't have anything in common." Recently, after the girls spent time with their father, Erin noticed bruises on the arms and the buttocks of Monica. When she asked the girls what happened, Stacie said, "Daddy got mad when Monica wet her pants and spanked her." A week later, while at a free health clinic getting Stacie immunized for school, Erin shared with the nurse practitioner details of her life and situation: lack of money and support, working too many hours, fear of losing her apartment, and now - Andrew hurting Monica. She said she doesn't know what to do and began crying.

Question 2

Describe the law of mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse in the state of Maryland. Identify if nurses and what other professions are mandated reporters. Describe what suspected child abuse is. Give your personal opinion about how would feel reporting this case.

Please cite your references