Child Abuse is any intentional behavior that negatively impacts the safety and wellbeing of a child (typically 0-18 years old). Abuse tends to describe physical or sexual abuse but may include mental and emotional abuse.
Physical abuse may include hitting, kicking, shaking, pinching, slapping, shoving, etc. These may or may not leave marks or bruises. Spanking is technically legal in the state of Indiana, but physical discipline of any type is strongly discouraged. Spanking can be considered abuse if it is done with anything other than an open hand, if it leaves any marks or bruises, and if it is done in excess or with unnecessary force. Abuse could also include other forms of physical punishment, physical labor, or withholding basic needs to discipline (such as not allowing a child to eat dinner because they got into a fight at school).
Sexual abuse is engagement in, or exposure to, sexual intercourse, touching, or content, between an adult and a minor. This is not limited to just sexual contact but could also include exposing private body parts or asking a minor to expose private body parts, showing a minor pornography, or forcing a minor to watch sexual acts.
Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s physical and emotional needs, including housing, food, education, clothing, and access to medical care. This is a much more broad scope and may include things such as failure to provide appropriate childcare (based upon age), using drugs or alcohol while caring for a child, maintaining an unsafe environment (for example, not using age-appropriate car seats, a home contaminated with animal waste, access to firearms or other dangerous items or substances), exposing a child to domestic violence, exposing a child to substances, allowing behaviors that are risky and unsafe, and much more.
Any time abuse or neglect is suspected, a call to the Department of Child Services (DCS) should be made. Suspicion should arise from observation of:
• marks or bruises that do not have a reasonable explanation
• a history of unexplained marks or bruises
• fearful behaviors such as flinching at sudden movement
• anxiety about going home after something “bad”, such as getting a bad grade on a test or ripping a pair of pants
• poor hygiene
• inability to control bladder or bowel functions (as appropriate for age)
• visible lack of needs being met (such as dirty clothing worn repeatedly, not having meals provided, etc.)
These examples do not prove neglect but may be indicators. The more signs, the greater the concern.
Any time a child discloses abuse or neglect, a hotline call should be made, even if you do not think they are telling the truth.
If you witness abuse in public or in a place where you have no details (such as names or addresses) about the people involved, call 911.
Any genuine concern about the safety and wellbeing of a child is serious; please make the call. DCS's role is to investigate, and many situations are like an iceberg: what we see is just the tip and more is going on under the surface.
If abuse or neglect is disclosed by another adult, strongly encourage them to make the report, ideally while you’re in the room. This lets you confirm that the report was made but eliminates the information being transmitted secondhand.
If you have called about a specific incident, there is no need to call again about the same incident. DCS will investigate if necessary. However, you should call again if you have new information about the same child or family. For instance, if you see new marks on a child, additional signs of neglect, or if a child tells you about new instances of abuse.
If you see or hear about signs of abuse or neglect, call the hotline. It is better to report something that has already been reported than to not make a report and it was never reported. DCS has a system that tracks all the calls, assessments, and cases; they will respond as needed.
All hotline callers are anonymous. The hotline will ask for contact information, which they only use if DCS needs to ask further questions. This information is not shared with anyone outside of DCS.
Gather as much information as you can before the call, including names, ages of the children (including birth dates), phone numbers, and addresses if you know them. If not, give the best information you can. You will be asked a number of questions about things such as dangerous pets or weapons in the home. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just say so. You don’t need to have all the answers.
When sharing the information about suspected abuse, give as much detail as possible. For instance, if reporting marks or bruises, be as specific as you can about their location, size, and color.
The hotline employee may say whether the call is being sent for assessment or "screened out." When a call is sent for assessment, the local DCS receives notification of the report and must respond within a timeframe based on the severity of the information. If the concern is urgent, they may respond as soon as they receive the report.
"Screened out" means that there is not enough information for an investigation. This could occur when there is not enough information to investigate (such as not knowing names, schools attended, or where to find the family) or when the concerns don’t rise to the severity level needed to assess. Screened out calls are still filed with the local DCS office. If it has received multiple calls about "minor" concerns, they could accumulate to the point where the office will open an assessment even if the hotline indicates a call will be screened out.
Making a hotline call does not mean that DCS will remove children from the home. Whenever possible, they strive to keep families intact and provide them with supportive services.
If the concern for child safety is high and imminent, such as cases of chronic sexual abuse or physical abuse that may lead to death, children may be removed immediately and placed in emergency care. This is a short-term solution that allows time for a longer-term, more sustainable plan to be determined. More commonly, if the risk is lower, the children are allowed to remain with their parents during the assessment. Assessments may take a few weeks or months, and if no ongoing concern is found, the case will close. Often, DCS will provide support to the family during the assessment to prevent future incidents, such as providing parenting classes, therapy, casework, or connecting them with financial or community resources.
If children need to be removed, DCS strives to place them with a family member or close friend first before putting them into foster care. They will continue to work with the families, and reunifying parents and children is always the goal when it is safe to do so.
