child neglect

superbad50

hi ,

not sure if I am in the right thread . mod-- feel free to move

How do I go about reporting child neglect/ abuse. I have concerns for kids of a relative in my family. I am talking emotional abuse . kids often miss school and been screamed at.

I know this is a sensitive area but i do feel it's my responsibilty to report. I want to highlight but not sure on the procedure . Do I contact the school of the children , the gards ?

any help appreciated

CarMe

I would say a phone call to social services would be your best bet.

Roselm

...at your local health centre. If there aren't any social workers based there then there will be another health centre close by that you should be able to be directed to

LegacyUser

I just googled it there and according to citizens information you report it to the "HSE's Child Protection and Social Work Services" in your area. Each local health office should have an on duty social worker.

I hope this helps x

Catari Jaguar

You could arrange to talk to the kids principal/ teacher in confidence. They may have put 2 + 2 together and have some notes kept for their own records. Schools have better access to child protection services and would know the correct procedure to follow

Morag

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/Children_and_Family_Services/childrenfirst/adviceguidancesupports/adviceguidancesupports.html

Use the link above to find out where the nearest social workers to you are based and ring them to talk to them about the issues.

superbad50

cherub rock wrote: »

You could arrange to talk to the kids principal/ teacher in confidence. They may have put 2 + 2 together and have some notes kept for their own records. Schools have better access to child protection services and would know the correct procedure to follow

yes my thoughts exactly . you would imagine this to be the case . i hope it is so . it would be so hard to believe if they were not on top of issues such as attendance and general well being

thank you

qwertytlk

Hi, each area has their social work depatment so you should ring the one in the area your relative lives and make the complaint. But if the kids are missing alot of school, chances are there is already a social worker involved. Even so it wouldnt hurt to raise your concerns because every issue, not matter how small, that is reported to the social services, they are obligated to investigate. Good luck

LegacyUser

Hi about 13 years ago i had to report my own sister for child neglect, it was hard but she was badly abusing him like our mother had us, she hadnt taken him to school for a whole month and he was never washed or fed right, but it was hard to do about a sister but i just couldn't watch my nephew be compromised any more, when i did the idea was that they try help the mother first before taking the child away, i do think reporting it will create awareness and shed a light on the issue which is a good thing.

deisemum

I've reported child abuse in the past though it wasn't a family member. I just phoned and spoke with the duty social worker.

Another option would be to speak with the local Public Health Nurse as PHN's can call and see for themselves what's going on and can see if support systems or other interventions can be put in place.

superbad50

thank you all very much for all your advice . i have a much better idea how to go about this issue now.

hopefully the issue can be resolved in an amicable manner