How to Document Concerns About Child Abuse or Neglect
One of the biggest misconceptions about child protective services agencies is that they do not adequately respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Our justice system requires solid evidence that abuse is occurring before investigators can intervene to protect a child. Therefore it is imperative that any concerns about the welfare of a child be adequately and vigorously documented.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Record your concerns immediately. Always include the date and time of the incident.
-
2
Document facts, not opinions. If a child has a bruise, for example, write down the color, location and size of the bruise. It is unnecessary to include your opinion about how you think it may have occurred.
-
-
3
Write down what the caregiver told you about the incident or injury. You'll also want to include what the child, sibling or other witness said about the incident.
-
4
Collect the names and contact information of everyone involved in the incident. While it is not your job to investigate a report, you'll want to provide all of this information to the child services agency investigator or law enforcement officer to ensure that they can gather all of the necessary information and evidence.
-
5
Sign, date and include the time of each entry.
-
6
Report your concerns to the appropriate child protection agency in your state and make sure you write down the name of the person you spoke with along with any suggestions or advice they offered. Write down the date and time of your formal report.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Always document your concerns using pen and your own handwriting. If you need to change an entry, cross it out with a single line and initial it. It is important to stay away from using white out to correct entries.
Keep your written recordings in a safe place. The court system or investigator may request them during a formal investigation.
If you have any suspicion whatsoever that a child is being abused or neglected it is imperative that you call your local child protective services hot line immediately. Proceed to the resources section for a link to the contact number in your state.
Documentation can be used as a means for supporting your concerns in the event of a formal child abuse investigation. It is imperative that you follow up any documented concerns with a formal report to your local child abuse and neglect hot line.
If the child is injured or the situation requires immediate attention, do not take the time to document your concerns. Call 911 right away.
Resources
More Like This
Comments
-
sch7355
May 26, 2009
So you say that "Our justice system requires solid evidence that abuse is occurring before investigators can intervene to protect a child;" however, what happens when neither Social Services or the Police Department will take the time to look at the evidence? What do you do when you try for a year to get somebody to watch videos of a baby left in bed for a week straight and is only taken out out 5 minutes before the father of the child gets home from work for lunch and is put back in five minutes after he leaves again, and then again taken out five minutes before he gets home from work at the end of the day leaving the father under the impression that he's been out of bed all day? What do you do when you see a child with diaper rashes so bad that they are blistering time and time again after returning from his mother's? And that is just the beginning.. What do you do when all thi... -
tassie
Jun 27, 2008
Great article. Many people are afraid to get into someone else's business and what the out come could be for the child in the long run, but this is good information that people should know and take seriously.
-
tassie
Jun 27, 2008
Great article. Many people are afraid to get into someone else's business and what the out come could be for the child in the long run, but this is good information that people should know and take seriously.
