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Lesson Seven:
Overcoming Concerns About Follow-Up or Consequences
Contents:
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Follow-up Procedures by Law Enforcement, Social Services and the Courts
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Reports involving out-of-home perpetrators
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In-home and out-of-home placements of the child
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Objectives: Upon completion of this module, the mandated reporter will be able to…
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Describe, in general, the follow-up procedures by social services, law enforcement
and the courts in the case of suspected child abuse or neglect
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Describe, in general, the criteria used by social services in determining
the seriousness of the initial report
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Describe the circumstances which justify the removal of a child from
his/her home, and the conditions surrounding the return of the child
to his/her home or continued out-of-home placement
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What happens after a report is made?
The primary purpose of the report is to make child protective agencies
aware of possible abuse. When receiving a report about suspected child
abuse or neglect, the social worker or law enforcement officer on duty
will speak to the person making the report in order to obtain information
about the child. The kind of information needed includes answers to such
questions as: What type of abuse has occurred? Who or what caused the
abuse? Most importantly, the person receiving the call will need to
ask: “Is the child still in a dangerous situation or in need of
medical care?“
Child protective agencies (county welfare or probation department,
police or sheriff’s department) are responsible for investigating
the referral once it is made. The child protective agency will investigate
to determine if the child is being protected in his/her home. Once the
agency has determined that the child is safe at home, and then it may
refer the family for counseling or medical care and to appropriate local
community resources.
Reports are investigated either by the local law enforcement agency
and/or by the county child welfare (child protective services) agency.
Reports received by county probation or child welfare agencies, except
for reports involving general neglect, shall be cross-reported
immediately, or as soon as possible, to the local law enforcement agency
and district attorney’s office having jurisdiction. Law enforcement
is also required to cross-report immediately, or as soon as possible, to
child welfare agencies and the district attorney’s office.
The reporting law is designed to ensure that law enforcement, child
welfare agencies, and district attorney offices receive ad review all
reports whether initially reported to them or to another child protective
agency. (Pen. Code, 11166, subd. (i).)
Emergency response (ER) staff from the child welfare or probation agency
and law enforcement will work together, although their investigations will
be separate. When abuse has occurred within a family, ER’s emphasis in
intervention is to assure the safety of a child and provide services to
keep the family together.
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