When a report is made that a child is experiencing abuse or neglect, the police or a social worker will investigate, so they can determine if your child is safe or not. If the social worker or the police determine that your child is unsafe, they will place the child in temporary foster care to protect them. A child may be taken away from their parents because they were not being watched over or take care of, they were neglected, abused, or molested, or if they were left with someone who did not take good care of them.
After your child is taken away, the social worker assigned to your case will investigate you, your house, and your child in order to better understand the situation. The social worker will do whatever they deem necessary to keep the child safe. The child may be sent to live with the other legal parent (if you do not live together), with a relative, or in a foster home or shelter. You will be required to tell the social worker any names, addresses, and phone numbers of the other legal parent or of relatives who are able to take care of the child. The social worker will contact them, and ideally the child would not have to live with a stranger.
If after the initial investigation the social worker decides your child is not safe, they will file a petition with the court requesting that you child become a dependent of the court. The social worker has two days after they take the child from your home to file a petition. The social worker has more time to file if your child is not removed from your home during that time.
Next, there will be a court hearing that you are required to go to. The judge will make court orders about the care, custody, and supervision of your child.
Currently, every state has laws protecting children from abuse. Abuse typically comes in the following forms:
- Physical abuse. Physical abuse is defined as any non-accidental injury to the child, including striking, kicking, burning, biting, or anything that causes physical impairment of the child.
- Neglect. Neglect is the failure of a parent or guardian to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision for the child to such a degree that is harms the child’s health, safety, and well-being.
- Sexual abuse. Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation is included in every state’s definition of child abuse.
- Emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is the injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of the child, as evidenced by an observable or substantial change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition.
- Abandonment. Abandonment is any situation where the child’s parent’s whereabouts or identity is unknown, and the child has been left in harmful and unsafe circumstances.
- Parental substance abuse. Parental substance abuse includes manufacturing of a controlled substance while a child is present or in the child’s house, selling or giving drugs or alcohol to a child, or use of a controlled substance by the parent that impairs their ability to adequately care for the child.
There are a variety of resources available for parents and youth about abuse, the foster care system, and what to do next.
