Reporting

When Is It Appropriate to Call Child Protective Services on Another Parent?

Child Protective Services 

The Child Protective Services is the major system of intervention of child abuse and neglect in California. Existing law provides for services to abused and neglected children and their families. The Child Protective Services goal is to keep the child in his/her own home when it is safe, and when the child is at risk, to develop an alternate plan as quickly as possible.

If you suspect that a child has been, or is in danger of, abuse or neglect , contact the county Children’s Protective Services 24-hour emergency response phone. You may also contact the police or county sheriff.

When a referral is received, the social service staff obtains facts from the person making the referral to determine if the referral alleges abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The Emergency Response staff determines if an in-person response is indicated.

Various county of California hotline numbers:

Report Child Abuse (ca.gov)

Mandated Reporter- What Must Be Reported (ca.gov)

Identifying Child Abuse and Maltreatment

Approximately 50 percent of all calls to CPS are made anonymously. Nationally, of those calls, however, less than 2 percent are substantiated by any evidence by CPS after its investigation. Before making a report, it’s important to have some degree of certainty that what you have witnessed is really harmful to a child.

Specific definitions of child abuse and maltreatment vary from state to state, but the general definition is straightforward. Child abuse occurs when a parent, guardian or anyone else legally responsible for the child has:

• inflicted serious physical or mental injury to a child.
• substantially risked a child’s life.
• caused serious or prolonged disfigurement.
• caused prolonged impairment of a child’s physical or emotional health.
• sexually abused a child.
• permitted someone else to do any of the above.

A maltreated child is any child who has been physically, mentally or emotionally harmed when a parent, guardian or anyone else legally responsible for the child has:

• failed to supply the child with adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical care or education.
• unreasonably inflicted harm, or risk of harm, on a child.
• allowed someone else to inflict harm, or risk of harm, on a child.
• misused drugs or alcohol to the point where he loses control of his actions.
• abandoned a child.

Note that any adult living in the same home as a child is usually considered to be legally responsible for that child.

If in doubt, always report and let Child Protection investigate.

Click on the Training and Resources Tab for more information specific to Mandated Reporter Training