The National Institute of Child Abuse states that more than 600,000 children suffer from abuse each year. Such abuse occurs for various reasons, including poor parenting education, stress, and mental illness. Fortunately, many laws can help protect children in these matters. The following are some legal measures you can take if you believe your child is in danger of suffering physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
1. Contact Child Protective Services
Most states and counties have a division that puts all of its efforts into protecting children. You can find the information on your state or county’s website and call them if you’re concerned about your child or a child you are interested in. They will visit the home where the child stays and investigate the report to see if danger exists.
The organization will take steps to remove the child from harm’s way if the investigation confirms abuse. That may mean removing him or her from home and into foster care or having an interested relative assume the responsibility.
Ensure you have a genuine concern when you call such an organization, as child abuse accusations are a serious offense. Legal Jobs reports that five of six custodial parents are the mother, and many co-parenting relationships are strained or estranged. No one should ever call child protective services as a means to get the upper hand in a custody battle or to forge vengeance against an innocent parent.
2. Call the Police
You may also contact the police if you believe your child is in imminent danger. The police can inspect sexual or physical abuse and remove the little one from the home. Furthermore, they can place criminal charges on the offending parent or caretaker. If you’re in a marriage and find that you’re both struggling to keep yourself or your child safe, it’s important to make a judgment call.
Criminal charges can’t be brought against a nursing home for elder abuse cases in Kansas, but they can be brought against child abuse within schools or parental homes. You may seek assistance through the civil court system for elder abuse cases in Kansas.
3. Ensure Your Child’s School Is Certified
Many schools are now trained to recognize children who experience emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in their homes. You can check a prospective school’s procedures and processes before enrolling your son or daughter into one of their programs. Stop by the administrative or guidance office when you visit the school to take a tour and choose the school best equipped to handle such situations.
4. Get Assistance for a Child’s Disability
Some children experience borderline abuse because of a disability or mental illness their parents aren’t equipped to handle. The CDC says that one in every five children suffers from at least one mental illness. It would be in your best interest as a parent to obtain specialized parenting skills and education to be better equipped to raise a child with a developmental hindrance. You can also suggest that the other parent take such courses, too.
5. Arrange Supervised Visitations
You can arrange supervised visitations through the legal system if you believe your child is in danger. You typically have to prove that no one can trust the other parent to spend time with the child alone and that he or she poses a genuine threat to the little one. In most cases, you would have a court date during which the accused parent would have the opportunity to defend himself or herself. A judge would rule after reviewing both sides of the case and looking at the history between the parties.
6. File for a Restraining Order
You have every right to file for a restraining order if you believe someone is a threat to your child’s welfare. However, you must have evidence of physical or emotional abuse to receive a permanent restraining order. A judge must believe that the parent or caretaker threatens the child’s well-being and development. The offender may be barred from visiting the child if the judge rules in the complainant’s favor.
Those are a few things you can do to protect a young person in danger. Take the tips mentioned above and use them if you need to.
