Becoming a Mandated Reporter

Child maltreatment is physical or sexual or emotional abuse. the most common is negligence. This neglect would be in the form of a failure to provide basic needs which includes physical or emotional neglect; absence of intervention; emotional abuse; and mental mistreatment. Physical neglect is when a child doesn't receive proper food, education, clothing, food, sufficient shelter. Emotional is when a child doesn't receive attention or affection they need. Lack of intervention: lack of dental care

In the state of New York the Child Protective System identifies certain professional a vital purpose in reporting child abuse, a code of ethic is used here B.2.a., Probable Harm and Legal requirements under the ACA code of ethics (Counseling, 2015). It is mandated to certain professionals to report

abuse or suspected abuse of vulnerable individuals is mandated to be reported in most states

If any professional becomes concerned that a child might be at risk of abuse, be it physical, sexual, emotional or neglect, it is their legal duty to pass on such concerns to the appropriate professionals who can assess if and what action should be taken. In cases where it will not put the child at greater risk or danger, the parents / carers of the child will be informed that such action has been taken.

Sometimes the family/carer of the child may be hurting them so its important to report any signs as early as possible so that the case can be looked further into without the possible abuse escalating.

          There are many different types of child abuse. There is maltreatment and sexual abuse. Maltreatment is an area that encompasses many different things, such as physical abuse, child neglect, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse may begin with “shaken – baby syndrome” and

Sexual abuse is usually identified by disclosure to. Recognising potential signs of abuse with in the child’s behaviour is essential. Physical signs include pain or itching in the genital area, bruising or bleeding near genital area, sexually transmitted disease, vaginal discharge or infection, stomach pains, discomfort when sitting or walking, pregnancy. Changes in behaviour which can indicate sexual abuse include, sudden or unexplained changes in behaviour e.g. becoming aggressive or withdrawn, fear of being left with specific person or group of people, nightmares, running away, sexual knowledge beyond their age, sexual drawings or language, saying they have a secret they cannot talk about, not allowed to have friends, acting in a sexually explicit way towards adults.

It can be very difficult to recognise signs of abuse in a child or young person. They are some signs, which could alert staff to the fact that the child or young person might be being abused at home, for example constant bruising, or having unusual injuries for the child or young person. This may have an affect on their

Child Protective Services (CPS) is a complex system of assessments, investigations, and conclusions. CPS is the central agency in each communities child abuse and neglect service system. It is responsible for ensuring that preventative, investigative, and treatment services are available to children and families endangered by child abuse and neglect. As a result, CPS workers must perform a variety of functions when responding to situations of child maltreatment and play a variety of roles throughout their involvement with child protective clients. Reporting a suspective case of child maltreatment to the local CPS agency (or a family member’s own request for help with the problem) initiates

Most commonly, the suspected abuser is kin to the abused child, therefore triggers a complex, often conflicting relationship between the schools, the social workers and the family involved. Which in some cases makes protecting the child even more difficult. Sometimes the first attempt to securing

The two main ways which you can spot signs of maltreatment is physically and via the child's behaviour. Indicators of maltreatment which would be physical on the children would be constant bruising on their skin, if you see one bruise you can’t automatically assume there is maltreatment going on within their family home as all children at a young age have bruises every now and then from falling over, however if you are constantly seeing bruises that aren’t going and instead getting worse, that can be a indicator of maltreatment. That ties in with any unexplained injuries that may be spotted on the child at any given time. If you happen to see the child has an injury which is considered as unexplained as it may not be a normal everyday injury, that can indicate maltreatment within the child's family home. Soreness in places which shouldn’t be sore can be a big indicator of maltreatment occurring within the family home. If the child seems underweight or may not be the average size for a child of their age can be an indicator of maltreatment within the family home, whereby they aren’t being fed the right amount of food or are going hungry at home from being ignored. With the child having poor personal hygiene, it can be an indicator of maltreatment happening within the family home where they aren’t getting treated how they should be and may have to fend for themselves and at the age they are at they don’t really understand what they

* The parent/carer are normally the first point of contact, except where the Local Safeguarding Children Board does not allow this. This is usually the case where the parent is the likely abuser. In these cases the investigating officers will inform

Sharing information is the solution to improving beneficial outcomes for all children. It is essential to facilitate early intervention and preventative work for safeguarding children. All professionals involved with children must know and understand what to do and the most effective ways of sharing information about children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. In some situations, sharing information with a family about their child could seem good practice, but it is not crucial e.g. where evidence of abuse or neglect could be destroyed or removed by a parent/carer or where a child could be placed at an increased risk when parents/carers have this knowledge.

Physical abuse - Punching, Kicking Scratching, Slapping, Biting, Scalding, Pulling hair, Poking Pinching, Pushing, Shoving, Burning, Binding limbs, Tripping over, Choking, Beating, Cutting, Imprisonment, Starvation, Forced feeding, Deliberate dehydration, Twisting arms, Sleep deprivation, Torture, Drowning, Bruising, Scalding.

It is likely that the Childs behaviour would be the indicator to sexual abuse, although physical signs may also be present, it is also important to remember that it is not just men who sexually abuse children, allegations against women, young people, and other children are becoming more common.