DHS Action???

[maggieo]

Hello,

I was hoping someone here might be able to answer a q? for me. I am a new nurse and dont really know the answer to this - or if there is a straight forward one... So sorry that this is kinda long - takes a bit of explaining on the forefront!

A friend of mine is considering reporting her sister (a RN) to DHS due to her poor parenting skills/current mental state/outbursts/etc...Nothing terrible or major has happened (yet) but she (the mom/nurse) does have some true psych issues and has done some borderline things in the past... I dont believe the child is in immediate danger or else I obviously would urge my friend to take action asap (another sister also lives with the mom/nurse and the kid) and takes care of the child for the most part...

Anyway, I think my friend is basically concerned that she will cause her sister to lose her job/license if the kid were to be taken away and/or just wants to know the full scope of the cascade of events that she might be triggering before she decides what to do...

My thought was that 1)she should take action regardless of what it might do to the sister/her license if she feels the family is actually in danger, 2)DHS would do the investigation and make the decision, so she is not ACTUALLY causing it, only the sis/RN could be the true cause... 3)wouldnt she have to be charged with actual criminal charges/child endangerment/etc for it to affect her license? And even then wouldnt it go before the nursing board (not just be a cut & dry decision)?

Thanks for any light anyone can shed on this matter!!!

[zimsaint]

If the sister has true cause and concern for the child then she should report it. However she needs to realize that the child may be taken out of the home and placed in foster care, some of which are even worst with abusers and pedophiles. The family will then have to go through the rigid screening processes required of everyone to determine if they too are fit to be guardians of the same child that they care for already. Sounds like the sister is mad at the other for being what she consider to be a bad parent. But if the child is not in any danger then she should just compensate by supporting, providing and caring for the child where mom lacks,.......just my 2cts.