If I call CPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

I really don't want to give that information on a public forum.

It's dangerous because this person has a history of violence and of seeking revenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

I really don't want to give that information on a public forum.

It's dangerous because this person has a history of violence and of seeking revenge.

But it's ok with you to keep a child in harm's way
sigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a mandated reporter who makes 1-2 reports/week.

1. They don't tell who made the report, and in some cases it is very evident, in other cases it isn't. I have families mad at me because they think I called (I didn't, but won't disclose who did, if I know.)

2. Not all calls are investigated. Some calls get screened out. Some calls are taken as I&R calls (information and referral.) But even if a case isn't opened, the report is documented in case they get additional/future calls there will be a paper trail of reports.

Not true. To what jurisdiction are you referring? Where we live, CPS is mandated by law to go out and investigate, which involves ALL members of the household AND the school.

If you call and report something that even if it's found to be true would not be illegal then they screen those reports out. So if you call and report your neighbor for not feeding their child organic produce they would not investigate that. You would be surprised the crazy things people call and report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

Buy a cheap phone from CVS and pay for the minimum amount of minutes. Use the phone for the call and any follow-up calls. Then throw it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, every single call to CPS - no matter how "minimal", has to be followed up with an in home interview, including the children. The school records are also checked, to make sure the children are in school, as per law. It would be relatively easy to find out who reported; and the person you reported can proceed against you, if the report is unfounded.

Unless you know for absolute certain that the child is in imminent danger, you need to think twice.

I have posted here before. My neighbor (A) showed me the exact CPS documentation she received from another neighbor (B) having called. (B) called CPS because the child (A) was not wearing a helmet in their own driveway. I would not have believed it, had I not seen the official documentation myself, with my own eyes. It happens. (A) knew who reported (A), and I think (A) might have proceeded forward against (B) (not sure if it is through CPS or through the courts), but I am not certain, and did not want to press further.

The answer to your question is yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

I really don't want to give that information on a public forum.

It's dangerous because this person has a history of violence and of seeking revenge.

But it's ok with you to keep a child in harm's way
sigh

I have children I need to keep out of harms way too.


If I thought this situation was okay I wouldn't be trying to figure out a way to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a mandated reporter who makes 1-2 reports/week.

1. They don't tell who made the report, and in some cases it is very evident, in other cases it isn't. I have families mad at me because they think I called (I didn't, but won't disclose who did, if I know.)

2. Not all calls are investigated. Some calls get screened out. Some calls are taken as I&R calls (information and referral.) But even if a case isn't opened, the report is documented in case they get additional/future calls there will be a paper trail of reports.

Not true. To what jurisdiction are you referring? Where we live, CPS is mandated by law to go out and investigate, which involves ALL members of the household AND the school.

The OP of this reply is correct. I called CPS recently and they were awful to deal with. I know for a fact that the kids are neglected, at the very least. The woman who took the call was very flip, and she told me that it wasn't a crime to be "poor". The things I was reporting were more than just being poor.

In another instance, the school called CPS to report marks and bruises on the child. This was AFTER the school warned the mother that they would call CPS if they saw any more marks. I don't even know how this is legal. CPS contacted the mother to arrange an in home visit, and I thought that might finally bring things to light. She had her mother (kids' grandmother) call the case worker to say she witnessed the "event" and that the child was making up stories, it was an accident. The case worker was satisfied with that explanation and they never came to the home. So if CPS doesn't even follow through when a school makes the report, I absolutely believe that calls get screened out.

Sorry, OP. I'm not sure what the exact answer is, but I know that I was told they can keep it anonymous. This was in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a mandated reporter who makes 1-2 reports/week.

1. They don't tell who made the report, and in some cases it is very evident, in other cases it isn't. I have families mad at me because they think I called (I didn't, but won't disclose who did, if I know.)

2. Not all calls are investigated. Some calls get screened out. Some calls are taken as I&R calls (information and referral.) But even if a case isn't opened, the report is documented in case they get additional/future calls there will be a paper trail of reports.

Not true. To what jurisdiction are you referring? Where we live, CPS is mandated by law to go out and investigate, which involves ALL members of the household AND the school.

The OP of this reply is correct. I called CPS recently and they were awful to deal with. I know for a fact that the kids are neglected, at the very least. The woman who took the call was very flip, and she told me that it wasn't a crime to be "poor". The things I was reporting were more than just being poor.

In another instance, the school called CPS to report marks and bruises on the child. This was AFTER the school warned the mother that they would call CPS if they saw any more marks. I don't even know how this is legal. CPS contacted the mother to arrange an in home visit, and I thought that might finally bring things to light. She had her mother (kids' grandmother) call the case worker to say she witnessed the "event" and that the child was making up stories, it was an accident. The case worker was satisfied with that explanation and they never came to the home. So if CPS doesn't even follow through when a school makes the report, I absolutely believe that calls get screened out.

Sorry, OP. I'm not sure what the exact answer is, but I know that I was told they can keep it anonymous. This was in Maryland.

How do you know all this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, every single call to CPS - no matter how "minimal", has to be followed up with an in home interview, including the children. The school records are also checked, to make sure the children are in school, as per law. It would be relatively easy to find out who reported; and the person you reported can proceed against you, if the report is unfounded.

Unless you know for absolute certain that the child is in imminent danger, you need to think twice.

I have posted here before. My neighbor (A) showed me the exact CPS documentation she received from another neighbor (B) having called. (B) called CPS because the child (A) was not wearing a helmet in their own driveway. I would not have believed it, had I not seen the official documentation myself, with my own eyes. It happens. (A) knew who reported (A), and I think (A) might have proceeded forward against (B) (not sure if it is through CPS or through the courts), but I am not certain, and did not want to press further.

The answer to your question is yes.

PP here. If you think you are shocked reading about this - think of how the other neighbors with children felt! Mostly because we know we could easily be next. It is not a crime to have children, but apparently, this neighbor (B) thought/thinks that children were/are the worst thing ever. I suppose that told us more about her (B), than the family she unjustifiably reported. Anyway, now we have her number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a mandated reporter who makes 1-2 reports/week.

1. They don't tell who made the report, and in some cases it is very evident, in other cases it isn't. I have families mad at me because they think I called (I didn't, but won't disclose who did, if I know.)

2. Not all calls are investigated. Some calls get screened out. Some calls are taken as I&R calls (information and referral.) But even if a case isn't opened, the report is documented in case they get additional/future calls there will be a paper trail of reports.

Not true. To what jurisdiction are you referring? Where we live, CPS is mandated by law to go out and investigate, which involves ALL members of the household AND the school.

If you call and report something that even if it's found to be true would not be illegal then they screen those reports out. So if you call and report your neighbor for not feeding their child organic produce they would not investigate that. You would be surprised the crazy things people call and report.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're willing to call, you should be willing to own up to it if they find out it's you. Calling CPS is a big deal for the family you call about. So either it's something that needs to be reported, in which case you're fine putting your name to that, or it isn't, and you don't want anyone to know your name for that reason. I am a firm believer in calling if a call seems necessary but I'm also a believer in owning it if you call.

I agree with this. I think if they claims are unfounded, the person who called should be revealed. It would be too easy to use the system to damage someone's life otherwise. We have neighbors who always call the county to complain about other neighbor's "waste" in the yard (i.e., they have things in their yard that this particular person would not choose to have in their own yard). People like this are kooks with telephones and it's just too easy for them to make anonymous complaints. If a child is involved, you should be committed to letting people know who you are. I would.

+1

PP here. There is definitely a procedure for this, in many places. OP, is it a genuine report? If not, you could find yourself in hot water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

OP, we can't help you unless we know how serious the claim is. Is it non-organic food? Or a real claim?

[Anonymous]

OP, just get the cheap pay-as-you-go phone. They are anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

I really don't want to give that information on a public forum.

It's dangerous because this person has a history of violence and of seeking revenge.

But it's ok with you to keep a child in harm's way
sigh

I understand why Op wouldn't want to put her own children in harms way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not making a false claim.

I asked because I feel my own family would be in danger if it was known who called.

What is claim? And why do you feel your family would be in danger?

I really don't want to give that information on a public forum.

It's dangerous because this person has a history of violence and of seeking revenge.

But it's ok with you to keep a child in harm's way
sigh

I understand why Op wouldn't want to put her own children in harms way.

Yes, and she is trying to figure out what to do. If she didn't care, she wouldn't be doing that.