British Expatriate Network

By reporting possible child abuse to CPS does not necessarily mean a child will be moved from their home. It does mean though that CPS are then aware that their is a possible risk factor in that home for the child and certain preventitive measures can be put in motion to help the family as a whole. A home study will be run and if it appears the child is at possible risk then other family members will be notified and often the child is temporarily placed with an aunt/grandparent until the childs parent/s have proven they are able to take care of the child in a safe and secure environment. Parenting classes, anger management classes, drug and alcohol abuse classes are often mandated by the court for the parents before the child is returned.


Working as a guardian ad litem means the best interest of the child is important and this is what I strive to do. In some instances staying in the home and helping the parents to be "parents" is best, letting the child live with family members and giving the parents some access to the child also works sometimes but also removing the child, short or long term is often the only solution. Its sad because as badly as some children are treated they still want mum or dad but the childs wellbeing and saftey are the most important factor.

If you are truly concerned about the welfare of a child doing nothing at all about it could be a bad decision for that child in my opinion.

Cel, sorry, I was forgetting that some departments have their act together. We had problems in PA and you've probably heard of DYFS over in NJ. It seemed for a while that unless the house was perfect, they put the snatch on the kids, if they actually found time to look.

DYFS just proudly announced that it was only taking a few days now to process kids who needed medical or psych programs, or even foster homes compared with the 100, or so, it was taking before. For many of those kids the hundred days was spent in prison because they had nowhere else to store them.