“My daughter's friend is abused by her parents. What should I do?”
My daughter told me that one of her friends at school told her that she was being abused by her parents. I want to do something, but I'm not really sure where to start. Can you help me?
17 Answers
You can file a claim for children protective services for the state in which you live (just google children protective services with the name of your state right after it) They are sponsored by the department of health and human resources. You can call or fill out a form online. Your identity is kept confidential. It is always better to report and let them do their investigation than wonder. You can also contact the school to see if they have a social worker or counselor on staff that could talk to the child of the allege abuse. If enough information is obtained and they suspect abuse, being a mandated reporter they will file a claim. Kind Regards, Virginia A. Krolczyk D.M., Ed.S., LPC Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message and any documents attached to it are confidential and may contain information that is protected from disclosure by various federal and state laws, including the HIPAA privacy rule (45 C.F.R., Part 164). This information is intended to be used solely by the entity or individual to whom this message is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this message without the sender's written permission is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Accordingly, if you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail or call 800-693-1916, and then delete this message
Hello, child abuse and neglect should be reported to your state’s child abuse hotline. If your child knows what the harm is that would be better to relay to the workers. Often times you can remain anonymous if that makes you feel comfortable. Try to provide as much details as possible.
There are multiple ways to handle this. 1. Encourage your daughter's friend to report it to the school (safe place from home environment). 2. You can make a report to CPS even if allegations are not confirmed to be true. Any suspected abuse is reportable and you let the authorities handle that. Here is information on reporting, please be prepared to have as much identifying information on this individual as possible to help them investigate including full name, address, contact number, and their alleged abuser(s) information.
https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Contact_Us/report_abuse.asp
https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Contact_Us/report_abuse.asp
I would report this to the CPS entity in your area, so that there can be help brought to this child and family to ensure safety to the best of our ability.
You can report it to the school as they are mandated reporters, or you could call child protective services and report anonymously.
Hi, There are several things you can do. Encourage your daughter's friend to talk to the school counselor and tell the counselor what is going on at home. Counselors are mandated reporters, meaning they are legally bound to report all allegations of abuse to the the police or CPS, or both. You can also encourage your daughter's friend to talk to a trusted teacher. Teachers are also mandated reporters. The other option is for you to make a report online to CPS. You will need the child's address, full name, date of birth, and as much other information as you can get. Hope this helps, and good luck to your daughter's friend! Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
If she is being abused by her parents you need to call the abuse hotline and have your daughter explain to them that her friend parents are abusing her and then they will call cps and the police will be there also so I would take my advice and call them so this won’t continue and if you have to tell your daughter to ask her parents if she can stay the weekend with you that way she won’t be over there to witness her parents getting arrested for abusing their child
Hello, if your daughter's school has a school counselor they would be able to a good place to start as they are mandated reporters.
It's a big step for the friend to have said something, which means she's asking for help. It also means she trusts your daughter. Encourage the friend to see the counselor at school or tell a teacher she trusts. Counselors, social workers, psychologists, and teachers have all mandated reporters. What that means is that if there is even 'suspicion of abuse', they are required to report it. If she needs your daughter to go with her initially, that's ok.
If the friend does not want to go tell, you can either call yourself (look up child abuse hotline for your state) or go tell any counselor, teacher, etc. Offer to go with a friend as well if needed. It's best if she's present when reporting because if you report then they will go straight to
her anyways to ask questions. You're simply reporting what you were told and any other information that might be helpful.
If the friend does not want to go tell, you can either call yourself (look up child abuse hotline for your state) or go tell any counselor, teacher, etc. Offer to go with a friend as well if needed. It's best if she's present when reporting because if you report then they will go straight to
her anyways to ask questions. You're simply reporting what you were told and any other information that might be helpful.
Call the Department of Social Services immediately.
As a mandated reporter, I would say you need to report it to child protective services (Department of Child and Family Services). It is not up to us to determine whether the accusation is true or not. Child protective services will investigate and the reporter will be kept anonymous. The reporter will be advised as to the outcome of the investigation as founded or unfounded.
If you have concerns about the safety and welfare of a vulnerable person (child/adult/elderly person/disabled person), the best thing to do is to call Protective Services. A quick Google search should help you find the phone number to Protective Services in your area.
Thank you for the question,
I would start by encouraging your daughter to help her go to the counseling office at school and report it or you could call the counselor at school and let them know what you have heard. That way it can be investigated and processed through the right channels. I hope that this helps you.
Sara Cole LPC CACIII NCC
I would start by encouraging your daughter to help her go to the counseling office at school and report it or you could call the counselor at school and let them know what you have heard. That way it can be investigated and processed through the right channels. I hope that this helps you.
Sara Cole LPC CACIII NCC
Typically, the place to start is child protective services. Sometimes they investigate right away, and sometimes you need more proof. Can you get more information from your daughter? Was she given details or just, "my friend said she is being abused?" It's definitely a difficult position to be in. You could also call CPS and ask them what is needed in order to place a complaint. You may also ask at your daughter's school to speak with the school social worker, maybe they are aware already and are handling it.
You can always call Child line and you should not have to report your name. They should investigate.
Not knowing all of the details, the best thing to do would be to call your local CPS department or police to report it with as much detail as you can and let them do the investigation. If you are not comfortable with that, talk to a school counselor or administrator, as they are mandated reporters and will have to place the call. If you go that route, it would be best if you discuss it with your daughter, as it may affect her relationship.
If you suspect any child abuse, please call DCFS or child protective services. They can begin an investigation and your information can remain anonymous.
