If you think a little kid is being abused, but don't have any evidence, what should you do?

Question

I think this one kid is being abused by either his mom/her family or his babysitter. because only after a month without seeing him, he has changed tremendously. He doesn't speak as much or being active like he used to be. He looked very tired and dumb (sad and scared). should i wait for a few more weeks to see anything changes? also, where should i get help? the boy is almost 2, btw.

Answer 1

if that's your only alibi then look for something more...visit there house and look for clues. or just ask the kid, he should be able to talk.

Answer 2

report it to child protective services immediately

Answer 3

report it to child services to investigate it straight away

better safe than sorry

Answer 4

THE MOM IS DUM IF SHE'S DOING THE ABUSEING AND DON'T CARE.I WOULD TRY 2 B HER CLOS FRIEND SO MAYBE U CAN GET A BETTER IDEA,OR LIKE I TOLD MY BRO WHEN HE ASK ME TE SAME AFEW YEARS AGO,CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH HIM,IF YOUR STATE HAS A CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES OR DEPT HUMAN RESOURCES,CALL 1 OF THEM AND TELL THEM WHAT U JUST SAID HERE THEY SHOULD GO CHECK ON IT.

Answer 5

make a report to social services or the police, thats your best bet

Answer 6

It's great that you are so observant and can possible help this child but I would look for more signs...maybe there has been a family drama or trauma or something else that has altered this child.  Can you talk to his family or parents in a casual way to see how they react?

Answer 7

You can report it but...

Being a former CPS worker...they will do what is called a screen out on this report because you have nothing to back up the allegations and there is nothing physical going on.  In fact your report has no actual allegations of abuse or neglect, the child is not lacking in food shelter or clothing, they are not living in filthy conditions, there is no drug abuse going on in the home, the home is not without electricity or running water, there is not bruising, cuts, fractures, bite marks, burn marks, the child has not told you anything is going on in the home.  They will listen to you politely take down all the pertinent information, pass it on to the supervisor for the thumbs up or down and then poof the report will disappear.  

Instead, try to get into the good graces of the family.  Get into the home.  IF you can find any of the above going on then  you have a report.  When you report be honest but at the same time make it sound as bad as you can.  "the fridge is always empty" there are like 10 animals in the house and they pee everywhere, the stink is terrible", there is trash everywhere, piles and bags of it", "the kids are always dirty, there clothes, nails, hair", the house is filthy, dishes in the sink, on the counter, trash, rotten food, dirty diapers" "The mom sleeps all the time, the kid wanders around in his diaper with a rotten bottle of milk", the parents leave an 8 year old in charge of a 2 and 4 year old" or "a 12 year old in charge of a 7 and 2 year old overnight" "the parents smoke mary jane or use meth", "the 2 year old has rotten teeth and the parents are doing nothing about it" , or "he is 2 and can't talk and he only weighs like 18 pounds because they don't feed him enough.  "They never have food in the house and he is always dirty because his mom doesn't take care of him..."  The more you can add and multiple things are better the more likely CPS will come out and investigate.  If you called in on what you have just written here they would throw it out for sure!

As the reporter you can call back and see if the report was followed up on or "screened".  If it was screened then wait, gather more "investigatable evidence" like I mentioned above, and then call back with another report later.  Also don't let them make you think you have to give your name and info, you can stay anonymous!  If you do want to call and check later you have to give your info though.  Now when you do check all they are required to tell you is if they investigated or not, no details are allowed to be released.

I totally understand your concern...when I worked I got so frustrated and would love to have investigated them all...the guidelines are there to protect the innocent from false reporting and such I guess.

Good luck!

Answer 8

If you suspect anything at all you are best to report it.  Think carefully before reporting, make sure that the child hadn't just been ill or something on that day you saw him and then think of all the relevent information you need to tell social services and get it straight in your head so that you don't miss anything out.

Don't worry that you might be wasting somebody's time if they have to come and investigate and find nothing wrong, at least then you know that you did what you needed to to and can be happy that everything is ok.  But, if there is something going on, then the sooner you report it the better.  There are many cases where children have suffered because people didn't know if they should report things or not.