It is everyone's responsibility to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Any person who makes a report of suspected child abuse or neglect cannot be sued unless they make such a report maliciously or without reasonable grounds.
If you call to report suspected child abuse or neglect, or to request assistance, you will initially speak with an intake worker or an Emergency Duty Worker. Based on the information gathered by the worker the matter may be investigated further, referred to another area of the agency or to another community service provider.
When we receive a report of suspected physical or sexual abuse of a child, the intake worker and a supervisor will review the referral, and a plan will be established for immediate investigation.
If the matter is a case of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse, the local police will be contacted prior to the investigation. In such cases, the F&CS worker and a police officer will jointly investigate the situation. The police will investigate the situation to determine if a criminal act has occurred. Throughout any investigation, our agency's primary focus and responsibility is the safety and well being of the child.
There are a number of other reasons that a Children's Aid Society may become involved with a family. Some examples of these situations include:
- domestic violence
- substance abuse by the caregiver
- mental health problems of the caregiver
- abandonment of a child
- caregiver lacks the necessary skills to parent a child
- child suffers from severe depression or developmental delays and the caregiver is unable to meet the child's needs.
In some cases, caregivers themselves contact us for help if they are having difficulty properly caring for their child.
