Intro
Reporting Requirements
Types
Talking to
a Youth
Making the
Report
Conclusion
Threatened Abuse and Neglect
Define
Recognize
Practice
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There is no statutory definition for the phrase “threatened abuse and neglect,” so common-sense definitions are applied. “Threatened abuse and neglect” refers to behaviors or conditions the youth is exposed to that are dangerous to the youth and likely to result in abuse or neglect. Remember when we were defining physical abuse—the example of a correctional officer pushing a youth who is refusing to return to her room and the youth falling and hitting her head? If the youth is injured, it is physical abuse. If the youth is not injured, it may be threatened abuse, as a reasonable person could predict such behavior could result in serious injury to the youth.
Threatened abuse or neglect also includes instances when someone verbally threatens to injure a youth, if you believe he or she is serious about carrying out the threat.
Threatened abuse or neglect can be very serious. If a report includes information that indicates a vulnerable youth is in immediate danger, CPS and law enforcement respond very quickly. The purpose of giving CPS and law enforcement agencies the authority to intervene in cases of threatened abuse or neglect is to prevent serious harm to a youth, whenever possible.
Here are two examples:
- Verbal “threats,” such as “You know, sometimes I could just throttle that kid,” where it is clear someone is just making an exaggerated comment and has no intention whatsoever of following through.
- A youth who is going through a stressful situation, like a disagreement with a peer, if there is no reasonable cause to suspect that abuse or neglect will occur.
Threatened Abuse/Neglect Scenarios
1) You are a correctional officer at a juvenile correctional facility and you walk in on another staff member, Andre, who is alone in a room with a 16-year-old boy, Abel. Andre is screaming at Abel that if he continues to disobey him in front of the other staff and embarrass him Andre will “give him a good beating and no one will ever believe that it was him.” Andre is standing just inches away from Abel while he is saying this and gesturing in a threatening manner. You see that Abel is shaking and crying.
Are you required to report?
Correct: You are required to report.
Although Abel does not have a physical injury – yet – the way that Andre is acting and speaking makes it clear that he is serious about his threat to beat up Abel and that he is not just making a joke. Therefore, you have reasonable cause to suspect that he is going to physically abuse Abel in the future.
Incorrect: You are required to report.
Although Abel does not have a physical injury – yet – the way that Andre is acting and speaking makes it clear that he is serious about his threat to beat up Abel and that he is not just making a joke. Therefore, you have reasonable cause to suspect that he is going to physically abuse Abel in the future.
2) You are conducting intake at a detention facility and you are surprised when 15-year-old Samara says that she is relieved to be entering detention. You ask her why and she says that she has been terrified at home for the past month because her mom’s boyfriend has been getting physical with her. Although she says that nothing he has done has left a mark, she tells you that the way he has acted to her over the past weeks have gotten worse and worse and she is afraid of what he may do to her when she gets out of detention. Are you required to report?
Are you required to report?
Correct: You are required to report.
The behavior that Samara described fits within the definition of threatened physical abuse. Although her mother’s boyfriend has not yet done something to Samara that constitutes physical abuse, because she has not been injured, the fact that he is being physical with her and that it is escalating suggests that he may physically abuse her in the future. This needs to be reported so that Samara can be protected from potential abuse by her mother’s boyfriend when she returns home.
Incorrect: You are required to report.
The behavior that Samara described fits within the definition of threatened physical abuse. Although her mother’s boyfriend has not yet done something to Samara that constitutes physical abuse, because she has not been injured, the fact that he is being physical with her and that it is escalating suggests that he may physically abuse her in the future. This needs to be reported so that Samara can be protected from potential abuse by her mother’s boyfriend when she returns home.
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