1. Past Treatment: – An individual may not realize that they were abused in the past and have a hard time seeing certain acts as abusive. If an individual is raised in a household where abuse occurs regularly, they don’t necessarily have any way of knowing that the treatment they were subjected to is not normal or healthy. A victim may be hesitant to report due to fears of not being believed, upsetting others – particularly if within the family. Victims are often sworn to secrecy or made to feel that it is their fault.
2. Misguided Beliefs – I don’t want to report because of the belief that:

• the person will find out that I’ve reported them
• there isn’t much that can be done
• the children will automatically be taken out of their home

3. Individual Perspectives – Many people have the tendency to overlook when there are indicators that should be checked out. Yes, it is easier to say, I’ll document it and see if it happens again. This is not helpful for a child who has no way to advocate for their own safety.  Maybe there is nothing going on, however, it is always better to rule out any abuse/neglect.  In rarer cases, individuals are hypervigilant and view a situation as abuse/neglect when it is not.  For example, you might visit a home where there are many dirty dishes, a dirty highchair tray and a mattress on the floor in the living room for a bed.  Someone could view this situation as neglectful.  However, if the child has shelter, is safe, being treated well, and is receiving nourishment then this would not be an abuse/neglect situation.  It may not be to everyone’s standard of living, but that is not what we are assessing.

Remember – Child abuse and neglect situations are significantly underreported.  There have been numerous cases where a child died or was permanently injured and in looking back, there were indicators.  There have even been cases with CPS involvement and children have died.  It may seem that if you made a report and no action was taken that reporting does no good.  That is not true.  Sometimes it takes multiple reports for the investigation to uncover abuse or neglect that is occurring.

Reporting can be done anonymously so that people are less hesitant to report. If there is “reasonable suspicion”, a report will trigger an investigation. The children will not automatically be taken from the parent. A thorough assessment of the situation will be done and the parent will be assisted with resources whenever possible. The children are only taken if there is solid evidence that abuse or neglect is occurring and the child is at risk of imminent harm, meaning they are at risk of harm in the immediate future. If the children are taken out of the home, a plan will be made to help the parent(s) regain custody of their child(ren).

The old way of thinking:  “What happens in my house is my business, what happens in their house is their business.”  The new way of thinking:  “Innocent children are being harmed in some homes.  Some children have died or suffered immensely because of the old ways of thinking.  Children cannot protect themselves, therefore, everyone needs to look out for their best interests.”

Is the child protective system perfect?  No, but making a report and having a situation investigated is the best way to identify issues to try to get the family the help they need. In some cases, your report may save a family or even save a life.  Even if there is no conclusive evidence regarding a single report, a subsequent report by someone else may help uncover hidden abuse.

Offended?   For the process to work in the best way possible, certain indicators require follow up.  Therefore, a situation may arise where you come under investigation when you have not abused a child.  For example, if the child is brought to a medical provider with cuts, bruises, broken bones, etc., the caregiver must be questioned.  It is easy to feel offended by this, however, we have to remember that if this wasn’t done across the board, we wouldn’t be able to help nearly as many children as we do – and there are still many more who are not getting assistance.

Intentional False Reports – Occasionally, someone will make a false report on someone out of revenge or another dysfunctional reason.  Because reporters have the option to remain anonymous, it would be difficult to weed out these false reports ahead of time.

It is important to remember that to maintain the integrity of the system, occasionally innocent people are going to be questioned.  If we want the system to work to protect all of the children of society, we need to keep this in mind.

When and How to Report –

In this chapter, you will find sample scenarios and the recommended course of action for each. Questioning and documentation can be key aspects in determining whether or not a situation should be reported.

How Do I Know When to Report?

• First, look to see if what indicators (signs) are present. Note that NOT all types of abuse have visible indicators.
• What might be the possible cause of the indicator(s)? Do you need to ask questions to find out more?  (Use good judgment with “who” and “what” regarding questioning.  If a child is being abused, questioning the parents can make the situation worse for the child and can even ruin the investigation and allow the abuse to continue.)
• Does the explanation match the injury? If not, the child may be trying to cover for the abuser.

If the answer is “yes” to these questions, you have formed a reasonable suspicion. If there is reasonable suspicion, then contact the Child Abuse Hotline. In cases where you are really still unsure, call anyway for a CPS consultation. If there is not reasonable suspicion, then you should document and follow up at a later date.

If you have doubt or something doesn’t seem right to you, calling Child Protective Services is the best option.  Let them do their job and figure out whether there is a need for follow up!

When in doubt – Report so the situation can be investigated.

New York State Child Abuse Hotlines:

Mandated Reporters Call:  (800) 635-1522

General Public Call: (800) 342-3720

National Child Abuse Hotline (US and Canada) (800) 422-4453

Scenarios:

In all cases:

• Respond as calmly as possible
• Do not place blame
• Ask open-ended questions if appropriate
• Reassure the child that you will help

Below are descriptions of the recommended responses for the specific scenarios:

In #1, the most obvious sign or indicator is the physical wound.  There are many cases where a child sustains a wound and it is NOT a result of abuse or maltreatment.  Therefore, we need to take it a little further.  He’s already offered up an explanation.  Does his story match the injury?  You can certainly have the child explain further and tell you exactly how he fell, but it is unlikely that there is any way he could fall that would result in this type of injury. A round, crusty burn could be a cigarette burn. This is a story that is inconsistent with the injury and would be reportable. Are you required to ask the parent about the injury?  By law, you are not. It depends on the situation as to whether you confront the parent. Some organizations may require it. For example, daycares often have policies requiring workers to complete a report if they see anything suspicious and the parent must sign off. However, in some situations, it may not be helpful to address the caregiver and you certainly do not need their consent to file a report.

In #2, you have a disclosure of sexual abuse perpetrated by an adult. It is critical that your initial response is to remain calm and receptive when receiving this disclosure. This disclosure would warrant reporting right away. In situations involving sexual abuse disclosures, it is best that you do not question the child regarding details and do not involve the alleged abuser.  There are people who are specially trained to do this questioning and it is imperative that the questioning be done appropriately, especially from a legal standpoint.

In #3, the story is consistent with the injuries. You would document and provide first aid and assistance to the child.

In #4, we don’t want to automatically assume that abuse is occurring.  Could there be other reasons for the child’s appearance?  Many times, families experiencing poverty may benefit from community resources that can provide clothing or other temporary assistance. Although dirty or inappropriate clothing can be a sign of abuse or neglect, we would want to make sure it is not simply a lack of resources. You would want to follow up with open-ended questions to obtain more information.

In #5, although we do not know for sure that the bruising was caused by the spanking, this would need to be called in and investigated.  A teacher would be legally required to report this.  Although we are not 100% sure the bruising was caused by the parent, this is a flag that needs to be addressed. More information regarding spanking is discussed later in this chapter.

In #6, since it is occurring in the family, there may be hesitation in addressing it.  If the brother is 18 or older, then it needs to be reported to authorities.  If the sibling is a minor, it still needs to be addressed.  Adults are responsible for guiding youth in what behavior is appropriate.  If these types of issues are not addressed, there are multiple negative outcomes.  Confronting the issue allows the victim to be validated, the abuser to learn what is appropriate and to get help.  This can help to break a cycle of generational abuse.

Reassure that keeping a secret like this will only make things worse. It could even have the unintended effect of encouraging a repeat offense or endangering other potential victims. Explain that addressing it is an important first step in the direction of taking back control of her own life.

Should I talk with the parent about a potential abuse situation?  The answer to this varies.  In some cases, it makes sense to touch base with the parent, particularly if there are issues with resources.  Sometimes the family can be helped directly without CPS involvement.  Sometimes institutional protocol will mandate that parents need to be involved with an incident report if an indicator is found. If there is no protocol for that, there can be cases where talking with the parent can make things worse for the child.  The parent could make up a story preventing an investigation and the abuse would continue. In the scenario with the alleged sexual abuse with the mother’s boyfriend, it would be strongly recommended that you do not discuss any of it with a parent.  Doing so could actually harm the case and possibly prevent the child from being protected.  File the report and let the investigators communicate in a way that does not jeopardize the case.