I can't imagine almost any scenario under which I'd do this. I would have to witness something absolutely awful to even consider making a phone call.
Under what circumstances would you call Child Protective Services on someone?
You might also enjoy...
-
I'm a mandatory reporter, so if it's abuse or suspected abuse, I'm calling
-
I'm also considered a mandatory reporter even though I'm not yet licensed (Marriage & Family Therapist).
However, I have called in the past on someone I knew. It was December and among 1937498734 other things I won't list here, they had infant twins in an apartment with no heat. That was the tipping point for myself and DH (then BF) to call and report. Nothing happened as a result, which sucked.
-
I'm also a mandated reporter, so if I even suspect it, I'm on the phone.
-
But for people who aren't mandated reporters, my advice is always this: If your gut is telling you that something isn't right in a situation, call and make an anonymous report. It is not up to you to be right or wrong. Once you make the report, it is up to CPS to determine if abuse is present. Just go with your gut.
-
I've never seen anything that would even come close to concerning me from someone I know. Sometimes out in public I'll see something that upsets me (yelling at a kid or worse being at all physical with them) but in those situations there is really nothing you can do because I don't know the person so how exactly could I report something? If I saw something that really really concerned me I would hope I was with my husband (who is a large guy) and make him intervene and then assess what to do from there.
-
If I suspected abuse. My pediatrician always opens Lo's diaper to look at her baby parts. I really like that she does a thorough check to make sure her patients are all a-ok!
-
@chopsuey119: ours too!
-
I was a mandated reporter as a teacher and once had to call when a child "confided" something in me. I say it in quotes because the child had a mental health history and what he said was quite outlandish and had it been true there would have been a significant amount of proof. It was still really scary and upsetting, I was petrified his parents were going to be upset with me but thankfully they handled it with a lot of grace.
It was definitely the right thing to do because clearly when you have a child with a lot of issues life is even harder than it would be typically and even though his story was outlandish if it had had any basis in truth it would have been important to get all of them the help they needed.
-
@chopsuey119: mine does that too
I am a mandatory reporter; haven't had to do it myself but one of my co-workers had to call three times (twice on one person).
-
If it was someone I knew and suspected I would call, I would hate for something to happen and me not have said anything. I once told a lady to calm down at Target who was screaming at her son while pulling his arm too hard for me to stand aside. She jsut glared at me but I kept a no-nonsense look on my face and had my phone in my hand..and she then changed her demanor toward her child and started to talk to him calmly.
-
As a teacher, I'm a mandated reporter. I haven't had to call yet, but we're trained to look for signs. I've had coworkers that have had to call before.
-
It would have to be obvious abuse. I have called once.
I saw a man, in a walmart parking lot, shove his 11-12 year old daughter onto the side of the car, grab her breast, and then tell her to shut up when she whimpered. It was sickening. -
@arden: OMG! That just makes me so sick to my stomach...:(
I would call if I suspected something...I wouldn't have any problems picking up the phone.
-
As a teacher and now lawyer, all my jobs make me a mandatory reporter. I personally have only had to call one time though.
-
I would call if it was someone I knew and I have first hand evidence. Knowing me, if I saw someone abuse their child in public, I would call 911.
@chopsuey119: That's why they do that?! I had no idea..I always thought it was because she wanted to make sure her lady bits weren't closing up. That makes a lot more sense than my theory.
-
@MrsHotDog: We check for many reasons. You can't necessarily see the signs of abuse by looking in the diaper actually.
-
@Arden: THis brings tears to my eyes, that poor girl and what she probably lived with is so sad. I would have called 911 too and gotten plate numbers and anything to get that dirtbag behind bars!!
-
@jessiejo17: I did get plate numbers, and gave them to them over the phone.
-
I have been a mandatory reporter for several jobs (not currently) and have never had to call, but definitely would. I would much rather err on the side of the child - if there's nothing there for CPS to find.. they won't find it.
I'll never forget a magazine article I read about a bride from overseas who was brought over and married into an abusive relationship. She had no family here, no knowledge of local policies/organizations and was kept very sheltered. A stranger called the police when her husband yanked their child's ear in a store, and that was the out she needed to get out of the marriage and to safety.
I don't ever, ever want to be a bystander and find out something terrible happened when I could've done something to help or stop.
-
@MrsHotDog: Don't know about physical abuse, but figured she was checking for bad diaper rash or other signs of neglect, etc! I should ask what exactly she's looking for next time. Or maybe @Mrs. Jacks: Can clue us in?
-
@chopsuey119: We do check for rash, but we want to make sure things are growing and developing normally as well. It's good to check for any signs of labial fusion, descended testes, any lymphadenopathy, birthmarks, or precocious puberty (yup, it really happens). When babies are young I check their hips at every visit too.
Many ethnic hair care products can contain "placenta" or "hormones" and this can induce development of early puberty in infants and toddlers. (Or there can be an endogenous endocrine disorder).
-
@Mrs. Jacks: ooh thank you! Yikes to the precocious puberty!!
-
@chopsuey119: If it's obvious sexual trauma, we'll let the authorities know, but we are trained to always refer to a specialist because hymens can be broken for all sorts of reasons and common things can be misinterpreted. No one wants to be accused of sexual abuse, so we are very cautious!
-
I am a mandated reporter and have called once. It was more so for neglect/a unsafe and not so clean living environment rather than physical abuse
-
I am a mandatory reporter and have called a couple times. Once when I worked in the paeds psych unit, a suicidal girl disclosed sexual abuse to me, and once working in NICU, I came around the corner into a room to check on a baby and witnessed a parent punch the sibling (about 3) in the side of the head (he hit the child hard enough that he fell to the ground). Actually, in both cases the children ended up apprehended.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
25 comments