Reporting child neglect/abuse

LegacyUser

I can't go into much detail here, but it's gotten to the stage where I cannot with a clear conscience ignore this any longer.

I feel that I should report a close relation of my husbands. Her children are unquestionably seriously neglected .... borderline abuse? I'm not sure, but I've seen strange injuries, and who knows what else goes on behind closed doors.

I'm not prepared to get involved as a witness etc, however, for various reasons. I want to anonymously report this. If someone were to go to the house, then they will certainly be able to see the situation for themselves.

Can anyone tell me where I can send an anonymous letter to in relation to this?

Thanks.

LegacyUser

Im sure you havent written this post lightly. If you're absolutley convinced and there's no one in the family you can talk to about this you could try the child's school.

Write a letter to the principal of the school the child attends. They can have an investigation initiated extremely quickly and the details you give might resonate with something the child's teacher may have noticed. The school will have a staff member in charge of this. Be very discreet and mark it confidential for the principal only. This is one option and might be less intimidating for you than the police. Social services are greatly under resourced in this country so it could take some time for them to investigate "anonymous letters" but if it's at the request of a school principal it might hurry things along.

annon123

Agree with previous poster. You have to be very careful. Unfortuntely they can't investigate wat you think might be happening,they can only investigate fact, ie i saw cigarette burns on arm,can't say this,but can say saw small 2 cm abrasions on arm. Do u see what i mean? I hope this works out for you and all involved,good luck

LegacyUser

I am the principal of a school and just wanted to warn you that there is no way of reporting anonymously. There are very strict child protection guidelines now which have to be strictly followed both inside and outside schools- www.education.ie. All principals have been trained on this recently. You cannot log a report without a name. If you speak to a principal they will contact the H.S.E. and both you and the D.L.P.(designated liasion person appointed within the school - usually the principal) will be named under the freedom of information act. Even if you ask for it not to go any further the principal as the D.L.P. is obliged to tell you that he/she may not be able to honour your request. Reporting this to a school will be termed as a 'disclosure' and logged immediately. Anon letters without foundation will not be followed up. Unfortunately there is no way around that, I have been involved in this process more than once over the years. Once a report is logged it is up to social workers etc to get involved and the case will remain open until they decide to close it. You will not be made aware of how the case is progressing. At any stage during that time or indeed afterwards the parents are entitled to request the name of the person who reports.

However, this should not put you off reporting, if the child/children are at risk it is your moral obligation to do something about it. Whether it is through the school or on your own it doesn't matter, just be aware that once it is logged you cannot take it back so proceed with caution -but do the right thing. If some things have already been noticed in school they may already be logged and once there is a certain amount of evidence in place a report will be made, all teachers are aware of this and should be taking their child protection responsibilities seriously. However, while it is a hard fact to take -you may be the only person who has witnessed problems with this family and things may have been missed in school for whatever reason, some families are very good at covering things up outside the school. If this is the case then maybe it is just down to you. It is never, ever easy to make a report but it is always easier than living with the guilt of not making a report. Best of luck and Happy Christmas.

LadyMayBelle

Do it now.
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/Children_and_Family_Services/Worriedaboutachild/Child%20abuse/How_to_report_abuse/

You can report anonymously and you are doing the right thing whether or not abuse/neglect is being carried out.

deisemum

I've reported 2 cases without having to give my name or contact details but would have done so if it was considered necessary. Once I reported my concerns with the duty social worker and the other time I contacted the PHN.

I think the PHN is the easiest option because children under 18 still fall under the care of PHNs if needs be and PHNs have access to most of the care services.

You can do it in such a way that that you're not accusing anyone of something but you're raising your concerns and as long as you're doing it "in good faith" then you've covered yourself legally (if you give your name). It's then up to the PHN to pay a visit and access the situation and if there is evidence then it's up to the PHN to progress it to the relevent services.

There are those who make malicious allegations against people and there are also those who abuse their position of employment to threaten parents that they'll report them to the HSE to intimidate them.

dolliemix

LadyPennyworth wrote: »

Do it now.
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/Children_and_Family_Services/Worriedaboutachild/Child%20abuse/How_to_report_abuse/

You can report anonymously and you are doing the right thing whether or not abuse/neglect is being carried out.

You can call social services anonymously and you will be given advice as to what to do next.

You should do this OP. Generally if you have a gut feeling that abuse\ neglect is taking place - you are probably correct as it is such a shocking thing most people give the parents the benefit of the doubt.

You may not be the only person who has noticed this and indeed, reported it. So if you do report it, you may be helping the case for social services or the gardaí, and ultimately helping these children finally be given the opportunity to live in a safe environment