{"id":320,"date":"2019-07-30T20:07:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T20:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=320"},"modified":"2019-08-01T13:55:01","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T13:55:01","slug":"reporting","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/chapter\/reporting\/","title":{"raw":"Reporting","rendered":"Reporting"},"content":{"raw":"<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reporting - Why Do People Hesitate to Report?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>Past Treatment<\/strong>: - 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 \u2013 particularly if within the family. Victims are often sworn to secrecy or made to feel that it is their fault.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Misguided Beliefs<\/strong> - I don\u2019t want to report because of the belief that:<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>the person will find out that I've reported them<\/li>\r\n \t<li>there isn't much that can be done<\/li>\r\n \t<li>the children will automatically be taken out of their home<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ol start=\"3\">\r\n \t<li><strong>Individual Perspectives<\/strong> \u2013 Many people have the tendency to overlook when there are indicators that should be checked out. Yes, it is easier to say, I\u2019ll 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.\u00a0 Maybe there is nothing going on, however, it is always better to rule out any abuse\/neglect.\u00a0 In rarer cases, individuals are hypervigilant and view a situation as abuse\/neglect when it is not.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Someone could view this situation as neglectful.\u00a0 However, if the child has shelter, is safe, being treated well, and is receiving nourishment then this would not be an abuse\/neglect situation.\u00a0 It may not be to everyone\u2019s standard of living, but that is not what we are assessing.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<strong>Remember \u2013 Child abuse and neglect situations are significantly underreported<\/strong>.\u00a0 There have been numerous cases where a child died or was permanently injured and in looking back, there were indicators.\u00a0 There have even been cases with CPS involvement and children have died.\u00a0 It may seem that if you made a report and no action was taken that reporting does no good.\u00a0 That is not true.\u00a0 Sometimes it takes multiple reports for the investigation to uncover abuse or neglect that is occurring.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reporting can be done anonymously<\/strong> 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).\r\n\r\nThe old way of thinking:\u00a0 \"What happens in my house is my business, what happens in their house is their business.\"\u00a0 The new way of thinking:\u00a0 \"Innocent children are being harmed in some homes.\u00a0 Some children have died or suffered immensely because of the old ways of thinking.\u00a0 Children cannot protect themselves, therefore, everyone needs to look out for their best interests.\"\r\n\r\nIs the child protective system perfect?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Even if there is no conclusive evidence regarding a single report, a subsequent report by someone else may help uncover hidden abuse.\r\n\r\n<strong>Offended?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 For the process to work in the best way possible, certain indicators require follow up.\u00a0 Therefore, a situation may arise where you come under investigation when you have not abused a child.\u00a0 For example, if the child is brought to a medical provider with cuts, bruises, broken bones, etc., the caregiver must be questioned.\u00a0 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>Intentional False Reports<\/strong> - Occasionally, someone will make a false report on someone out of revenge or another dysfunctional reason.\u00a0 Because reporters have the option to remain anonymous, it would be difficult to weed out these false reports ahead of time.\r\n\r\nIt is important to remember that to maintain the integrity of the system, occasionally innocent people are going to be questioned.\u00a0 If we want the system to work to protect all of the children of society, we need to keep this in mind.\r\n\r\n<strong>When and How to Report<\/strong> -\r\n\r\nIn 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>How Do I Know When to Report?<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>First, look to see if what indicators (signs) are present. Note that NOT all types of abuse have visible indicators.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>What might be the possible cause of the indicator(s)? Do you need to ask questions to find out more?\u00a0 (Use good judgment with \u201cwho\u201d and \u201cwhat\u201d regarding questioning.\u00a0 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.)<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Does the explanation match the injury? If not, the child may be trying to cover for the abuser. <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>Is there Reasonable Suspicion?<\/strong>\u00a0 In order to make a report, you need to have <strong>Reasonable Suspicion<\/strong>, which consists of asking the following questions.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Do I have information that suggests that the child has been hurt or harmed (or is in imminent danger of harm) by something the parent (or person legally responsible) did or did not do?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If the same information was given to another experienced mandated reporter (your supervisor or a co-worker) would they suspect child abuse or neglect?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIf the answer is \"yes\" to these questions, you have formed a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dorightbykids.org\/how-do-i-recognize-child-abuse-and-neglect\/how-do-i-know-if-my-suspicion-is-reasonable\"><strong>reasonable suspicion<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong> 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.\r\n\r\nIf you have doubt or something doesn't seem right to you, calling Child Protective Services is the best option.\u00a0 Let them do their job and figure out whether there is a need for follow up!\r\n\r\nWhen in doubt \u2013 Report so the situation can be investigated.\r\n\r\n<strong>New York State Child Abuse Hotlines:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Mandated Reporters Call:\u00a0 (800) 635-1522<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>General Public Call: (800) 342-3720<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>National Child Abuse Hotline (US and Canada) (800) 422-4453<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;text-align: initial\">Scenarios:<\/strong>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>1. A six year old boy has a round crusty scab between his fingers.\u00a0 The child says he fell. <\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2. A 15 year old girl discloses to you that she has been engaging in sexual intercourse with her mother's 38 year old live-in boyfriend for the past two months.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>3. You observe a seven year old child with a bruise to the right side of the face and scrapes along the right arm. He claims he fell off his bike.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>4. A ten year old is dressed in a dirty turtleneck shirt and long pants on a 90 degree day.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Your second grade student shows you the bruises that were left from a spanking given by the parent.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>6. Your seven year old child has disclosed that she has been sexually abused by an older brother.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<strong>In all cases:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Respond as calmly as possible<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Do not place blame<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Ask open-ended questions if appropriate<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Reassure the child that you will help<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Below are descriptions of the recommended responses for the specific scenarios:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>In #1<\/strong>, the most obvious sign or indicator is the physical wound.\u00a0 There are many cases where a child sustains a wound and it is NOT a result of abuse or maltreatment.\u00a0 Therefore, we need to take it a little further.\u00a0 He's already offered up an explanation.\u00a0 Does his story match the injury?\u00a0 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?\u00a0 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>In #2<\/strong>, 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.\u00a0 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>In #3,<\/strong> the story is consistent with the injuries. You would document and provide first aid and assistance to the child.\r\n\r\n<strong>In #4,<\/strong> we don't want to automatically assume that abuse is occurring.\u00a0 Could there be other reasons for the child's appearance?\u00a0 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>In #5,<\/strong> although we do not know for sure that the bruising was caused by the spanking, this would need to be called in and investigated.\u00a0 A teacher would be legally required to report this.\u00a0 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>In #6<\/strong>, since it is occurring in the family, there may be hesitation in addressing it.\u00a0 If the brother is 18 or older, then it needs to be reported to authorities.\u00a0 If the sibling is a minor, it still needs to be addressed.\u00a0 Adults are responsible for guiding youth in what behavior is appropriate.\u00a0 If these types of issues are not addressed, there are multiple negative outcomes.\u00a0 Confronting the issue allows the victim to be validated, the abuser to learn what is appropriate and to get help.\u00a0 This can help to break a <em>cycle of<\/em> <em>generational abuse<\/em>.\r\n\r\nReassure 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.\r\n\r\n<strong>Should I talk with the parent about a potential abuse situation? <\/strong>\u00a0The answer to this varies.\u00a0 In some cases, it makes sense to touch base with the parent, particularly if there are issues with resources.\u00a0 Sometimes the family can be helped directly without CPS involvement.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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\u2019s boyfriend, it would be strongly recommended that you do <em>not<\/em> discuss any of it with a parent.\u00a0 Doing so could actually harm the case and possibly prevent the child from being protected.\u00a0 File the report and let the investigators communicate in a way that does not jeopardize the case.","rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>Reporting &#8211; Why Do People Hesitate to Report?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Past Treatment<\/strong>: &#8211; 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&#8217;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 \u2013 particularly if within the family. Victims are often sworn to secrecy or made to feel that it is their fault.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Misguided Beliefs<\/strong> &#8211; I don\u2019t want to report because of the belief that:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>the person will find out that I&#8217;ve reported them<\/li>\n<li>there isn&#8217;t much that can be done<\/li>\n<li>the children will automatically be taken out of their home<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Individual Perspectives<\/strong> \u2013 Many people have the tendency to overlook when there are indicators that should be checked out. Yes, it is easier to say, I\u2019ll 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.\u00a0 Maybe there is nothing going on, however, it is always better to rule out any abuse\/neglect.\u00a0 In rarer cases, individuals are hypervigilant and view a situation as abuse\/neglect when it is not.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Someone could view this situation as neglectful.\u00a0 However, if the child has shelter, is safe, being treated well, and is receiving nourishment then this would not be an abuse\/neglect situation.\u00a0 It may not be to everyone\u2019s standard of living, but that is not what we are assessing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Remember \u2013 Child abuse and neglect situations are significantly underreported<\/strong>.\u00a0 There have been numerous cases where a child died or was permanently injured and in looking back, there were indicators.\u00a0 There have even been cases with CPS involvement and children have died.\u00a0 It may seem that if you made a report and no action was taken that reporting does no good.\u00a0 That is not true.\u00a0 Sometimes it takes multiple reports for the investigation to uncover abuse or neglect that is occurring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reporting can be done anonymously<\/strong> so that people are less hesitant to report. If there is &#8220;reasonable suspicion&#8221;, 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).<\/p>\n<p>The old way of thinking:\u00a0 &#8220;What happens in my house is my business, what happens in their house is their business.&#8221;\u00a0 The new way of thinking:\u00a0 &#8220;Innocent children are being harmed in some homes.\u00a0 Some children have died or suffered immensely because of the old ways of thinking.\u00a0 Children cannot protect themselves, therefore, everyone needs to look out for their best interests.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Is the child protective system perfect?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Even if there is no conclusive evidence regarding a single report, a subsequent report by someone else may help uncover hidden abuse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Offended?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 For the process to work in the best way possible, certain indicators require follow up.\u00a0 Therefore, a situation may arise where you come under investigation when you have not abused a child.\u00a0 For example, if the child is brought to a medical provider with cuts, bruises, broken bones, etc., the caregiver must be questioned.\u00a0 It is easy to feel offended by this, however, we have to remember that if this wasn&#8217;t done across the board, we wouldn&#8217;t be able to help nearly as many children as we do &#8211; and there are still many more who are not getting assistance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Intentional False Reports<\/strong> &#8211; Occasionally, someone will make a false report on someone out of revenge or another dysfunctional reason.\u00a0 Because reporters have the option to remain anonymous, it would be difficult to weed out these false reports ahead of time.<\/p>\n<p>It is important to remember that to maintain the integrity of the system, occasionally innocent people are going to be questioned.\u00a0 If we want the system to work to protect all of the children of society, we need to keep this in mind.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When and How to Report<\/strong> &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Do I Know When to Report?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First, look to see if what indicators (signs) are present. Note that NOT all types of abuse have visible indicators.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What might be the possible cause of the indicator(s)? Do you need to ask questions to find out more?\u00a0 (Use good judgment with \u201cwho\u201d and \u201cwhat\u201d regarding questioning.\u00a0 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.)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Does the explanation match the injury? If not, the child may be trying to cover for the abuser. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Is there Reasonable Suspicion?<\/strong>\u00a0 In order to make a report, you need to have <strong>Reasonable Suspicion<\/strong>, which consists of asking the following questions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do I have information that suggests that the child has been hurt or harmed (or is in imminent danger of harm) by something the parent (or person legally responsible) did or did not do?<\/li>\n<li>If the same information was given to another experienced mandated reporter (your supervisor or a co-worker) would they suspect child abuse or neglect?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>If the answer is &#8220;yes&#8221; to these questions, you have formed a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dorightbykids.org\/how-do-i-recognize-child-abuse-and-neglect\/how-do-i-know-if-my-suspicion-is-reasonable\"><strong>reasonable suspicion<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n<p>If you have doubt or something doesn&#8217;t seem right to you, calling Child Protective Services is the best option.\u00a0 Let them do their job and figure out whether there is a need for follow up!<\/p>\n<p>When in doubt \u2013 Report so the situation can be investigated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New York State Child Abuse Hotlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mandated Reporters Call:\u00a0 (800) 635-1522<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>General Public Call: (800) 342-3720<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>National Child Abuse Hotline (US and Canada) (800) 422-4453<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem;text-align: initial\">Scenarios:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>1. A six year old boy has a round crusty scab between his fingers.\u00a0 The child says he fell. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. A 15 year old girl discloses to you that she has been engaging in sexual intercourse with her mother&#8217;s 38 year old live-in boyfriend for the past two months.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>3. You observe a seven year old child with a bruise to the right side of the face and scrapes along the right arm. He claims he fell off his bike.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. A ten year old is dressed in a dirty turtleneck shirt and long pants on a 90 degree day.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Your second grade student shows you the bruises that were left from a spanking given by the parent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Your seven year old child has disclosed that she has been sexually abused by an older brother.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>In all cases:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Respond as calmly as possible<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not place blame<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ask open-ended questions if appropriate<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Reassure the child that you will help<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Below are descriptions of the recommended responses for the specific scenarios:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In #1<\/strong>, the most obvious sign or indicator is the physical wound.\u00a0 There are many cases where a child sustains a wound and it is NOT a result of abuse or maltreatment.\u00a0 Therefore, we need to take it a little further.\u00a0 He&#8217;s already offered up an explanation.\u00a0 Does his story match the injury?\u00a0 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?\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In #2<\/strong>, 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In #3,<\/strong> the story is consistent with the injuries. You would document and provide first aid and assistance to the child.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In #4,<\/strong> we don&#8217;t want to automatically assume that abuse is occurring.\u00a0 Could there be other reasons for the child&#8217;s appearance?\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In #5,<\/strong> although we do not know for sure that the bruising was caused by the spanking, this would need to be called in and investigated.\u00a0 A teacher would be legally required to report this.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In #6<\/strong>, since it is occurring in the family, there may be hesitation in addressing it.\u00a0 If the brother is 18 or older, then it needs to be reported to authorities.\u00a0 If the sibling is a minor, it still needs to be addressed.\u00a0 Adults are responsible for guiding youth in what behavior is appropriate.\u00a0 If these types of issues are not addressed, there are multiple negative outcomes.\u00a0 Confronting the issue allows the victim to be validated, the abuser to learn what is appropriate and to get help.\u00a0 This can help to break a <em>cycle of<\/em> <em>generational abuse<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Should I talk with the parent about a potential abuse situation? <\/strong>\u00a0The answer to this varies.\u00a0 In some cases, it makes sense to touch base with the parent, particularly if there are issues with resources.\u00a0 Sometimes the family can be helped directly without CPS involvement.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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\u2019s boyfriend, it would be strongly recommended that you do <em>not<\/em> discuss any of it with a parent.\u00a0 Doing so could actually harm the case and possibly prevent the child from being protected.\u00a0 File the report and let the investigators communicate in a way that does not jeopardize the case.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-320\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Child Abuse. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Cristin L Finch. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Monroe Community College. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":186456,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Child Abuse\",\"author\":\"Cristin L Finch\",\"organization\":\"Monroe Community College\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-320","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":316,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186456"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":381,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/320\/revisions\/381"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/316"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/320\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=320"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=320"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}