Question

1. Within your workplace, establish what the requirements are for suspected abuse or neglect situations.

Answer 1

For suspecting abuses. For example :- child abuse , elderly abuse and physical abuse . ; Reporting is mandatory.

Procedures to Follow if You Suspect Abuse or
Neglect:-

While reporting possible child abuse or neglect can be a very sensitive issue, you only need to
suspect abuse or neglect to report the case. You are not expected to be an investigator since that
is the job of the Child Protective Service agency. If you suspect possible abuse or neglect, there
are specific steps you must take in your role as an educator. If you suspect possible abuse or
neglect, follow the following steps:
1.) Gather all the information you can about the suspected incident or incidents and write it up in
factual and behavioral terminology (this means no opinions, interpretations, assumptions or
guesses, just factual observations or information i.e. The child said.... I directly observed... There
were black and blue marks on his/her legs.)
2.) Notify your direct administrator (usually a building principal) of the information you have
that caused you to suspect abuse or neglect. Here again verbalize only facts. At this point the
administrator will usually call the Child Abuse Hotline or assign someone to call. If you are
assigned to call keep the following in mind:
• Make sure you call the mandated reporters hotline. Many states have two lines, one for
the public to report cases and one for mandated reporters. The numbers can be found in
the phone book or by calling 800-555-1212 and asking for the State Child Abuse and
Neglect Hotline for Mandated Reporters since most of these hotlines are 800 numbers.
• Once you have a counselor on the phone immediately ask for his/her name and note the
time and date of your call.
• Inform the counselor that you believe you have a suspected case of abuse or neglect.
He/she will ask you some basic questions for their records and then ask you what
evidence you have to suspect that something has taken place.
• Again, report only facts and direct observations. At this point the counselor may indicate
that it is either reportable or not a reportable case.
• If the case is reportable, the counselor will ask you more questions so be prepared with
the following information:
o the child's full name
o the address of the child
o the child's birth date
o the parent's/guardian's first and last names (if different)
o the child's telephone number
o the parent's/guardian's work number if known
o other siblings in the house and their ages
o the grade of the child
o the school and school district of the child

3.) After he/she gathers all the information they may assign a case number so be prepared to jot
this down. They will inform you that they will be passing the case on to a local case worker who
will be in touch with the school.
4.) Ask the counselor if he/she feels that the child can go home or if the school should retain
him/her until the case worker appears. The school has this right if the child's health or safety will
be compromised in any way by returning home after school. Many times the case worker will
come immediately if it is deemed a serious case and will speak with the child before the end of
the school day. A home visit is usually made within 24 hours or less if the case is considered
serious.
5.) The school nurse under the direction of the building administrator may photograph any
obvious marks or contusions for evidence.
6.) Once the case is reported you will probable receive a Report of Suspected Child Abuse or
Maltreatment form from the Department of Social Services. The school must fill this out and
return it within 24 hours. Here again, the person who made the original contact with the state
counselor may be the one who fills out the form. An example of this type of form appears at the
end of this chapter. Keep in mind that this is a legal requirement.
7.) In some instances, the counselor may indicate that a case does not sound reportable as abuse
or neglect. They may indicate that it does represent poor judgment on the part of parents but does
not constitute abuse or neglect. At this point you can ask why and ask their advice for the next
step. However, if it is not reportable, write your administrator a letter indicating the time, date
and the name of the counselor to which you spoke, and the reasons why the case was not
accepted as reportable. Your legal responsibilities are now covered. However, your moral
responsibilities have just begun.
8.) If the administrator listens to the facts and does not see it as a reportable case, you should ask
the reasons why and suggest that the case be presented to the Child Abuse counselor for their
input. However, if the administrator continues to indicate that he/she does not feel it needs to go
any further inform him/her that as a mandated reporter you feel a responsibility to call the Child
Abuse Hotline and ask the counselor on call if he/she feels it is a reportable case. If an
administrator does not want to report a case and you go along , and it is later determined that
abuse or neglect was taking place, you may find yourself in very serious trouble. It is not
acceptable to use the excuse "I told my administrator". Remember you are a mandated reporter
and directly responsible for actions taken or not taken.