Child Physical/Sexual Abuse and Pornography

Generally, when someone calls a state’s child abuse hotline, a caseworker from a state agency will do an investigation. The agency may be called “child protective services” or another similar name, depending on the state. If the caseworker finds that the child is in immediate danger, the child might be removed from the situation and placed with the other parent, another relative, or a foster family. If this happens, then an abuse or neglect petition generally has to be filed in court against one or both parents/caregivers soon after. If the child is not in immediate danger, then the investigation will continue. At the end, the report will either be:

• “indicated,” meaning the caseworker thinks there is evidence to suggest that the child was abused/neglected, or
• “unfounded,” meaning the caseworker did not find evidence of abuse/neglect.

There may be different words used for these terms, depending on the state.

If a child abuse report is indicated, it generally then gets referred to the attorney who handles child abuse cases for that county. This attorney will usually decide if it is appropriate to file an abuse or neglect petition. An abuse or neglect petition might ask for different solutions, such as:

• the child be removed from the family;
• the parents take parenting classes, drug treatment classes, or enroll in some other kind of services; or
• request some other outcome to prevent future abuse and neglect, like starting a preventative case with the Dept. of Social Services.

Like other court petitions or cases, the parties involved (the parents or guardians) will have a chance to fight against (contest) the claims that are made against them.

If a child is removed from the parents, the court case will generally stay open while the agency that removed the child makes efforts to put the parents and the child back together. A caseworker will generally be assigned to help get the parents the services that they need to support and properly care for the child. If the parents are not able to, or do not show an interest in, reuniting with the child, or the child is in foster care for an extended amount of time, then the agency might file to terminate the parent’s rights. Generally, if a child is in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the agency will file to terminate parental rights, but this time might be shorter in some states. There may also be other factors might cause an agency to file to terminate parental rights that have nothing to do with the time spent in foster care. In general, it is always best to talk to a lawyer if an abuse or neglect petition has been filed against you and/or your child has been placed in foster care. You can find free and paid lawyers in STATE on our website. (EMBED LINK)

[ADD THIS IF IT IS ONE OF THE PARENTS WHO IS ASKING ABOUT CALLING CPS] A parent who is thinking about calling child protective services on the other parent may want to talk to a lawyer first before calling a child abuse hotline. If a parent makes a report and then that report is unfounded, it may be used against the parent who made the report in a future custody case by the other parent. The other parent may claim that the parent is calling CPS unnecessarily. If it turns out that the report is indicated, there might be a question of whether the parent who made the report might be somehow at fault. For instance, CPS may fault the parent for “allowing” the child to go to the other parent’s house knowing that the parent was abusive or neglectful. In those cases, CPS might require that the parent who called the child abuse hotline to:

• file to modify an existing custody order,
• file for custody if there is no existing order,
• go into a domestic violence shelter if they live with the abusive parent,
• seek a protection order against the other parent,
• or make other demands/requirements of the parents to keep the child safe.

If a parent is concerned about their child’s safety, they may want to call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline. Childhelp is available to offer referrals and other support if needed, and may be a good first call to talk through options for someone who is considering reporting child abuse or does not know where to begin. However, it is important to note that while the phone call to Childhelp is confidential, if the caller gives identifying information about the child or themselves, the appropriate state CPS agency could be notified in cases where there is an extreme danger to the child or another person. If the caller is worried about CPS being notified, it is best to speak in hypotheticals without giving identifying information (names, addresses, etc.). The Childhelp staff will have access to the caller’s phone number when they call, but will not see the caller’s full phone number if they text the hotline number.

You can find more information about modifying a custody order on our website. (EMBED LINK TO QUESTION “HOW DO I CHANGE A CUSTODY ORDER”) You can see other information about custody in STATE on our website as well. (EMBED LINK). You can also find information about protection orders on our website. (EMBED LINK)