I work as an ER nurse. I encountered a parent who brought a child in to be evaluated because the child suddenly developed heart palpitations. The child was complaining of a racing heart. After evaluation it turned out their heart was beating well above the normal range. The child was awake, and responding appropriately, the other vitals were good.
I informed the doctor immediately and was later given verbal orders. I then let the parent know that we needed labs, I was informed by the parent that the child admitted to taking a piece of an Edible brownie laced with marijuana.
The parent states that they themselves had consumed the brownie but wasn't aware that the child had come in contact with it. I told the doctor that I needed to contact DCFS due to the fact that a minor ingested a drug laced brownie. The doctor didn't think it was necessary and wanted to immediately discharge. Drug test was positive for THC. I contacted DCFS.
What could have been done differently?
Staff note.... This has been edited and may not reflect in the initial replies
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
2 hours ago, hppygr8ful said:
I am playing out scenario's. Which I stated. A hypothetical if you will. What I stated could happen I am not trying to spread fear though all nurses should practice to the highest standard of their license knowing full well that the BON is quiet capricious and they (Nurses) could have their license to practice challenged at anytime.
As for Scenario be having never happened: Check out this link;
I did not say I think every event when a child or adolescent harms themself is reportable. I quoted California Law (Penal code 15610.63) which states a mandated reporter is "Required to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect or endangerment" It further states: "Failure to report, or impeding or inhibiting a report of, physical abuse defined in Section 15610.63 of Welfare and Institutions Code, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect of an elder, dependent adult or minor in violation of this section, is a misdemeanor, punishable by not more than six months in county jail, by a fine not more one thousand dollars ($1000) or by both that fine and imprisonment. Any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report and the abuse results in death or great bodily harm, shall be punished by not more than one year in county jail, by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5000), or by both that fines and imprisonment. "
There is not much wiggle room in that. I have seen more cases than I care to count over the last 20 years where parent's were directly responsible for adolescent's being put in harm's way. It is not my job to decide what is or is not reportable - In fact in California you can call a DCFS hotline and give a brief description of a questionable occurrence and DCFS will tell if the event is or is not reportable. They can also check to see if there are any open or closed cases involving the suspected persons.
I am not sure if you practice with adolescent's but even cutting and self harm behavior which are endemic rarely come about out of the blue.
So again yes I would report the case under "Reasonable Suspicion."
I am actually not trying to have an argument I merely stated how I would act to the original post and defended my answer as requested. Each person makes their own decision and is responsible for the consequences. So do whatever you feel is your duty but don't try to tell me my interpretation of the law if false.
Hppy
The first case you cited was head trauma, obviously inflicted by someone. That was a failure to report abuse.
The second was of a severely handicapped child who was covered in feces and bedsores and weighed 28 lbs. That was failure to report abuse.
Your third citation is an opinion piece.
Yes, I worked in child and adolescent psych and you are doing it wrong. You are supposed to be engaging the parent as a partner in care of the child, not creating a hostile relationship between yourself and the parent.
You are right that in cases of self harm, something is going on with that child. That's why the child is in the hospital. For you to automatically blame the parent is extremely ignorant and you ought to know better in your position.
Yes, it is your job to decide what's reportable. How do you not know that? It is not your job to decide what is abuse. It is your job to look at the facts of the situation and decide whether you suspect abuse. Your job to check yourself for bias and stereotyping. Your job to assess your patient. Your job to decide whether or not you have a reasonable suspicion.
The first case you cited was head trauma, obviously inflicted by someone. That was a failure to report abuse.
The second was of a severely handicapped child who was covered in feces and bedsores and weighed 28 lbs. That was failure to report abuse.
Your third citation is an opinion piece.
Yes, I worked in child and adolescent psych and you are doing it wrong. You are supposed to be engaging the parent as a partner in care of the child, not creating a hostile relationship between yourself and the parent.
You are right that in cases of self harm, something is going on with that child. That's why the child is in the hospital. For you to automatically blame the parent is extremely ignorant and you ought to know better in your position.
Yes, it is your job to decide what's reportable. How do you not know that? It is not your job to decide what is abuse. It is your job to look at the facts of the situation and decide whether you suspect abuse. Your job to check yourself for bias and stereotyping. Your job to assess your patient. Your job to decide whether or not you have a reasonable suspicion.
Hey listen, reporting a child to CPS isn’t always easy, heck it isn’t easy at all. I agree with you that you have to check yourself for bias, I agree with you that you have to look at the facts, I agree that you need to engage the parent in partnership. However you also need to use common sense and not worry about ruining your relationship with the parent, your top priority is the WELFARE OF THE CHILD ONLY. Look at each scenario and ask yourself if what your are observing makes sense. Look at things from a broad perspective and take into account the entire picture. Think about the worst thing that could happen. In my case I reported to CPS because I was worried that the child could have access to other drugs in the household. What if the child came back into my ER in cardiac arrest for overdosing On another drug. Guess who license will be at risk for not reporting! The father stated that he was doing drugs at the time the child got a hold of the brownie. Imagine if it was something else. Even though it was just a brownie, it could have been heroin, ectasy, cocaine, ANYTHING. Parent can and will get pissed that you called CPS but you shouldn’t worry about that! Your priority is the Child’s safety alone and nothing more. Child abuse cases get missed all the time because people are too nervous to report and too scared to upset the parent. Remember people can and will LIE. You are not a detective. If something doesn’t seem right I don’t care what it is, you need to report !
and your right it’s not our job to decide if it was abuse it’s CPS job. I think you have the wrong idea here my friend!
In my state of Michigan marijuana is legal but that doesn’t mean that parents should leave their brownies around easily accessible to children. Heck that Brownie could have been laced with something else. Parents and children could be good actors. If your depending on a CHILD to tell you the truth about something your crazy. It’s OK to interview a child but sometimes children are scared of their parents. Keep that in mind as well. We are not fortune tellers. Let’s remind ourselves that CPS is basically a liaison between ourselves and the child’s home. Just because you report doesn’t mean the child will be taken away it just simply means they are doing a well being check to ensure kids are safe. They are not evil. They are life savers.
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
3 hours ago, FolksBtrippin said:
Yes, it is your job to decide what's reportable. How do you not know that? It is not your job to decide what is abuse. It is your job to look at the facts of the situation and decide whether you suspect abuse. Your job to check yourself for bias and stereotyping. Your job to assess your patient. Your job to decide whether or not you have a reasonable suspicion.
You assume I always blame the parent in these instances which I never said. I have spent countless hours in person and on the phone educating parents about self harm, drugs, proper storage of medication etc... When the situation rises to "Reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect or endangerment." I am required to report it's that simple.
It is my job to decide if there is Reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect or endangerment as defined by California law and act accordingly as a Mandated reported. The definition of reasonable suspicion is what a reasonably prudent person in the same circumstances would suspect.
You are right it is not my job to prove abuse - it is my job to report reasonable suspicion and act accordingly. I have met many practitioners who don't report because it is a pain in the butt to do so.
My job is not to advocate for the parent but for the minor under my care. Often (At least in California) the result of a report is increased education for parents and oversite for the child.
I will continue to practice as I have done for years with a clear conscience. Don't assume I am a bad nurse because I am practicing in this manner. I have not made assumptions about this with regard to your views.
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
So I checked with one of our psychiatrists at my facility - gave him the case info including that the patient was an adolescent, positive for marijuana and symptomatic and had eaten an edibles possibly left within reach by adults. Asked if he would report this under reasonable suspicioun. He stated that it is inconceivable that any competent clinician would not see this as a reportable event.
This is great physician - one of the top adolescent psychiatrists in Los Angeles County. He very good with the patients and their families.
Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.
I think context plays an important role here too. In the ED, you usually don't have the chance to develop a long-term relationship with your patient. You're with them for the short time they are in your ED and often times you don't have much of an idea of the environment you're releasing them to. I agree that a positive THC drug screening on a symptomatic ED patient is reportable.
I have many adolescents tell me that they have experimented with marijuana. I have a few who will admit to more frequent use. It is not legal in my state. Most of my patients are open to admitting to drug use and sex if they have done these things - even when they don't want their parents to know about it. By law, at 14 in my state, these kids have a right to confidentiality. I have to walk the line between confidentiality, maintaining their trust, and appropriate reporting. In this case, with a teen I have an entire chart of documented care and history on, even with a mildly symptomatic patient, I likely would not report for a single instance. This would be a conversation with the parent and the teen and a follow-up visit to recheck the symptoms and situation.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
On 4/30/2020 at 1:42 PM, hppygr8ful said:
I am playing out scenario's. Which I stated. A hypothetical if you will. What I stated could happen I am not trying to spread fear though all nurses should practice to the highest standard of their license knowing full well that the BON is quiet capricious and they (Nurses) could have their license to practice challenged at anytime.
As for Scenario be having never happened: Check out this link;
I did not say I think every event when a child or adolescent harms themself is reportable. I quoted California Law (Penal code 15610.63) which states a mandated reporter is "Required to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect or endangerment" It further states: "Failure to report, or impeding or inhibiting a report of, physical abuse defined in Section 15610.63 of Welfare and Institutions Code, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect of an elder, dependent adult or minor in violation of this section, is a misdemeanor, punishable by not more than six months in county jail, by a fine not more one thousand dollars ($1000) or by both that fine and imprisonment. Any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report and the abuse results in death or great bodily harm, shall be punished by not more than one year in county jail, by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5000), or by both that fines and imprisonment. "
There is not much wiggle room in that. I have seen more cases than I care to count over the last 20 years where parent's were directly responsible for adolescent's being put in harm's way. It is not my job to decide what is or is not reportable - In fact in California you can call a DCFS hotline and give a brief description of a questionable occurrence and DCFS will tell if the event is or is not reportable. They can also check to see if there are any open or closed cases involving the suspected persons.
I am not sure if you practice with adolescent's but even cutting and self harm behavior which are endemic rarely come about out of the blue.
So again yes I would report the case under "Reasonable Suspicion."
I am actually not trying to have an argument I merely stated how I would act to the original post and defended my answer as requested. Each person makes their own decision and is responsible for the consequences. So do whatever you feel is your duty but don't try to tell me my interpretation of the law if false.
Hppy
You are wrong if you are overreporting people with the false idea that if you don't over report, you will get in trouble. This is cover - your - *** culture, which is detrimental to your integrity, the integrity of our profession and of society as a whole.
You are wrong if you approach every situation with worst first thinking and/or the slippery slope fallacy. That is a failure to think logically about the situation.
You are a professional and your opinions carry weight. That is why you can't just go running around reporting every non- event to DFS.
It is assinine to presume that a kid who takes a bite of a pot brownie will one day die of a heroin overdose. I know I'm being harsh right now, but that is just ridiculous and I am mortified for our profession when I see statements like that. Of course if that kid dies from a heroin overdose one day, it has nothing to do with the nurse who took care of him after he ate a pot brownie.
Your patient comes first, and when your patient is a child, you must recognize that the wellbeing of the parent is intricately connected to the wellbeing being of the child. Every time you call DFS you upend life for parents and children. An investigation is a traumatic experience. If it is necessary, then it is a necessary pain, and so be it. But from what I am seeing here it is most certainly happening unnecessarily. It is happening because a nurse is poorly educated, has poor logic, is paranoid, vindictive, covers her *** at others expense or for some other reason is incapable of personally understanding reasonable suspicion. That's wrong.
To those who say it is not our job to consider whether DFS is overburdened, yes it is. We are stewards of resources. We have an ethical responsibility to not be wasteful of state resources. Cover your own *** mentality has led to tremendous waste-- of time, money, energy. This hurts people in so many ways, it leads to burnout, erodes trust, and creates a situation where workers have to sift through so much *** that they can miss real problems.
Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.
Also, the Administration for Children and Families with the Department of Health and Human Services does not define teen drug use as a reportable event but rather a 'behavior of concern' per their Mandatory Reporting and Keeping Youth Safe (2013) webinar and I cannot find evidence where this has changed since. This can vary by state. The only concern with this particular case is if the parent left the brownie out in the reach of children for the teen to unknowingly consume, then it which would meet the basic definition of neglect for leaving a substance within reach of a child, but I doubt many social workers would truly pursue that. It depends heavily on context. If the teen ate the brownie knowingly, they absolutely would dismiss it and you will have wasted time and resources.
Marijuana is rampant in society even in states where it is illegal. I have families come into the office all the time for care reeking of skunk weed and denying anyone in the family smokes anything. Should I report all of them? All that does is make these families hesitate to seek care out of fear of being reported.
You asked what could have been done better. Did you have a conversation about whether or not this was a child knowingly eating the brownie?
2 hours ago, FolksBtrippin said:
To those who say it is not our job to consider whether DFS is overburdened, yes it is. We are stewards of resources. We have an ethical responsibility to not be wasteful of state resources. Cover your own *** mentality has led to tremendous waste-- of time, money, energy. This hurts people in so many ways, it leads to burnout, erodes trust, and creates a situation where workers have to sift through so much *** that they can miss real problems.
I'm glad you mentioned that. Yes, we are mandated reporters, but we have to be judicious in what we report. People keep mentioning all cases of children dying from child abuse and neglect. How many of those kids were already known by the system? Gabriel Fernandez (8 years old, died 2013)? LeBrawn Rankin (8 years old, died 2018)? Noah Cuatro (4 years old, died 2019)? All of them with open cases because multiple people reported signs of actual abuse. Every time you report a case just to cover your ***, a case worker has to stop and decide if it's worth investigating or to investigate it. In some places, by law, they have to investigate it in order to close it. Every single child listed above who died had the case workers involved sued for neglect of duty. Every single case worker listed the case load and the number of cases as a causative factor in their failure to protect those kids.
It is DFS's job to investigate suspected abuse and ours to reasonably report it. You mentioned the mother seemed reasonable. They admitted what happened without hiding information. Yes, you had the minimal grounds to report for neglect if the child did not knowingly eat the brownie, but at what potential outcome? Was the child in immediate or potential danger with a reasonable parent who sought care and told the truth as to the facts leading up to it?
You did what you thought was right and no one can fault you for that, but I caution you that reporting every single incidence of questionable behavior just because it's questionable contributes to the case loads which results in severe cases being missed. Don't mistake that. I have called cases of severe physical or sexual abuse in myself only to have it be weeks before they contact me for additional information. Why? The number of cases they have to investigate and they have to treat each one the same. You have to develop judgement on these cases.
Also, the Administration for Children and Families with the Department of Health and Human Services does not define teen drug use as a reportable event but rather a 'behavior of concern' per their Mandatory Reporting and Keeping Youth Safe (2013) webinar and I cannot find evidence where this has changed since. This can vary by state. The only concern with this particular case is if the parent left the brownie out in the reach of children for the teen to unknowingly consume, then it which would meet the basic definition of neglect for leaving a substance within reach of a child, but I doubt many social workers would truly pursue that. It depends heavily on context. If the teen ate the brownie knowingly, they absolutely would dismiss it and you will have wasted time and resources.
Marijuana is rampant in society even in states where it is illegal. I have families come into the office all the time for care reeking of skunk weed and denying anyone in the family smokes anything. Should I report all of them? All that does is make these families hesitate to seek care out of fear of being reported.
You asked what could have been done better. Did you have a conversation about whether or not this was a child knowingly eating the brownie?
I'm glad you mentioned that. Yes, we are mandated reporters, but we have to be judicious in what we report. People keep mentioning all cases of children dying from child abuse and neglect. How many of those kids were already known by the system? Gabriel Fernandez (8 years old, died 2013)? LeBrawn Rankin (8 years old, died 2018)? Noah Cuatro (4 years old, died 2019)? All of them with open cases because multiple people reported signs of actual abuse. Every time you report a case just to cover your ***, a case worker has to stop and decide if it's worth investigating or to investigate it. In some places, by law, they have to investigate it in order to close it. Every single child listed above who died had the case workers involved sued for neglect of duty. Every single case worker listed the case load and the number of cases as a causative factor in their failure to protect those kids.
It is DFS's job to investigate suspected abuse and ours to reasonably report it. You mentioned the mother seemed reasonable. They admitted what happened without hiding information. Yes, you had the minimal grounds to report for neglect if the child did not knowingly eat the brownie, but at what potential outcome? Was the child in immediate or potential danger with a reasonable parent who sought care and told the truth as to the facts leading up to it?
You did what you thought was right and no one can fault you for that, but I caution you that reporting every single incidence of questionable behavior just because it's questionable contributes to the case loads which results in severe cases being missed. Don't mistake that. I have called cases of severe physical or sexual abuse in myself only to have it be weeks before they contact me for additional information. Why? The number of cases they have to investigate and they have to treat each one the same. You have to develop judgement on these cases.
How can you know the parent or child is being truthful?
That’s where a lot of nurses mess up because they assume what they are being told is truthful.
People lie all the time and I’ve seen some parents threatened kids to lie about a situation.
I’m not saying that this happened in my case but it does happen.
What if the father gave the child the brownie and then got scared when the child became symptomatic, brought the patient to the ER and then lied and said they didn’t know the child got a hold of the brownie?
What if he threatened the child to stick to the story?
What if the father left the brownie out within reach of the child to obtain?
What if there were other drugs In the household that the child could have gotten a hold of?
What happens if the child gets a hold of something else in the future with detrimental outcomes because you didn’t report it the first time?
How could you live with yourself?
What I am saying is we don’t know what is going on In the household! Child neglect and abuse can be very subtle and you have to be keen on what’s being presented in front of you. Always report when something just doesn’t seem right. Especially when you have a symptomatic child in your care as a result of ingesting a legal or illegal recreational DRUG.
Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.
6 minutes ago, Rasberry_RN_ said:
How can you know the parent or child is being truthful? That’s where a lot of nurses mess up because they assume what they are being told is truthful. People lie all the time and I’ve seen some parents threatened kids to lie about a situation.
I’m not saying that this happened in my case but it does happen.
You have posed a lot of 'what ifs' that you then say are probably not applicable to your case. You admit the parent was reasonable. Did the child seem fearful or anxious around the parent at all for you to think that was the case?
10 minutes ago, Rasberry_RN_ said:
What if the father gave the child the brownie and then got scared brought the patient to the ER and then lied and said they didn’t know the child got a hold of it and then threatened the child to stick to the story?
What if the father left the brownie out within reach of the child to obtain. What if there were other drugs In the household that the child could have gotten a hold of?
Again, drug use in adolescents is considered a behavior of concern and not a reportable event by the Department of Health and Human Services at a national level. Furthermore, adolescents if they are drug users themselves, are patients who have a right to confidentiality by law. Even if the parent gave this 13 year old the brownie, the 13 year could have very well chosen on their own to eat it knowing what it was. I'm not saying that is right. I'm just saying that is a case that will be opened and closed.
16 minutes ago, Rasberry_RN_ said:
What happens if the child gets a hold of something else in the future with detrimental outcomes because you didn’t report it the first time.
An investigative case can go into this child's home and do full evaluation and not be able to predict this outcome. You work ED. How many children come in with overdoses intentionally self-inflicted even after hours upon hours spent with psychiatrists and counselors? How many toddlers come in because their parents or grandparents accidentally dropped one of their medications on the floor which they could not find but the toddler did? How many come in because the pills were within reach and the parent turned their back for a moment to find the bottle opened? Do you report all of these cases? You reasonably make judgements based on who is at risk based on the information you have at the time. No one can fault you for not predicting the future based a reasonable assessment that a child is not in a situation that causes recurrent potential danger. Otherwise, you might as well report every parent who walks through your ED because these things can and do happen.
24 minutes ago, Rasberry_RN_ said:
How could you live with yourself?
I live with myself because I have learned to not question my judgment for things outside of my control. I have diagnosed children with a simple AOM with an attentive mother in office to later receive a phone call from an ED because her boyfriend got angry at the crying and shook the baby to the point of subdural hematoma. You can't predict everything.
I am a PNP. I work closely with DFS. I do the examinations when children come into their custody or to document when there are allegations of physical or sexual abuse. I often have to report cases that they are not aware of when they come to the office with trusted adults to report the abuse for the first time. And as I mentioned earlier, some times those new cases take weeks to be investigated because there are so many reports for DFS to sift through. So for every child who ate a pot brownie that is reported to DFS there is another whose family member or family friend is physically or sexually abusing them. All of these cases are treated by law the same until the investigation evaluates the full extent of danger.
For every DFS working chasing after the case of a child with a reasonable parent seen in the ED after the ingestion of a single known pot brownie, there is a child waiting in a documented nightmare for someone with the power to take them out of it. I don't have that power. Like you, all I can do is report and make recommendations to keep the child away from the abuser. If the abuser is the legal guardian, all I can do is report. I can't kidnap a child. How do I live with that?
I asked three of the pediatricians in my office about this case. All three agreed with your ED physician that it is not a reportable incident. One went so far as to say it is a waste of resources and a breech of this child's confidentiality. These are pediatricians who see patients in the ED, the hospital, and the primary care office and all who have over 25 years experience in Peds. We live with ourselves because we have learned to trust our judgement and to make judicious decisions based on the information available to us so that children in situation where they are actually in potential danger get the help they need.
You did what you thought was right. I'm not arguing that. I am just asking that not report things to just report them so that you don't get in trouble in some unforeseen future if you have a reasonable belief the child is not in potential danger. I am asking you for the sake of the kids that are. If your only reason to report someone is "what if" or to cover your ***, you don't have a reason to report. Point blank.
You have posed a lot of 'what ifs' that you then say are probably not applicable to your case. You admit the parent was reasonable. Did the child seem fearful or anxious around the parent at all for you to think that was the case?
Again, drug use in adolescents is considered a behavior of concern and not a reportable event by the Department of Health and Human Services at a national level. Furthermore, adolescents if they are drug users themselves, are patients who have a right to confidentiality by law. Even if the parent gave this 13 year old the brownie, the 13 year could have very well chosen on their own to eat it knowing what it was. I'm not saying that is right. I'm just saying that is a case that will be opened and closed.
An investigative case can go into this child's home and do full evaluation and not be able to predict this outcome. You work ED. How many children come in with overdoses intentionally self-inflicted even after hours upon hours spent with psychiatrists and counselors? How many toddlers come in because their parents or grandparents accidentally dropped one of their medications on the floor which they could not find but the toddler did? How many come in because the pills were within reach and the parent turned their back for a moment to find the bottle opened? Do you report all of these cases? You reasonably make judgements based on who is at risk based on the information you have at the time. No one can fault you for not predicting the future based a reasonable assessment that a child is not in a situation that causes recurrent potential danger. Otherwise, you might as well report every parent who walks through your ED because these things can and do happen.
I live with myself because I have learned to not question my judgment for things outside of my control. I have diagnosed children with a simple AOM with an attentive mother in office to later receive a phone call from an ED because her boyfriend got angry at the crying and shook the baby to the point of subdural hematoma. You can't predict everything.
I am a PNP. I work closely with DFS. I do the examinations when children come into their custody or to document when there are allegations of physical or sexual abuse. I often have to report cases that they are not aware of when they come to the office with trusted adults to report the abuse for the first time. And as I mentioned earlier, some times those new cases take weeks to be investigated because there are so many reports for DFS to sift through. So for every child who ate a pot brownie that is reported to DFS there is another whose family member or family friend is physically or sexually abusing them. All of these cases are treated by law the same until the investigation evaluates the full extent of danger.
For every DFS working chasing after the case of a child with a reasonable parent seen in the ED after the ingestion of a single known pot brownie, there is a child waiting in a documented nightmare for someone with the power to take them out of it. I don't have that power. Like you, all I can do is report and make recommendations to keep the child away from the abuser. If the abuser is the legal guardian, all I can do is report. I can't kidnap a child. How do I live with that?
I asked three of the pediatricians in my office about this case. All three agreed with your ED physician that it is not a reportable incident. One went so far as to say it is a waste of resources and a breech of this child's confidentiality. These are pediatricians who see patients in the ED, the hospital, and the primary care office and all who have over 25 years experience in Peds. We live with ourselves because we have learned to trust our judgement and to make judicious decisions based on the information available to us so that children in situation where they are actually in potential danger get the help they need.
You did what you thought was right. I'm not arguing that. I am just asking that not report things to just report them so that you don't get in trouble in some unforeseen future if you have a reasonable belief the child is not in potential danger. I am asking you for the sake of the kids that are. If your only reason to report someone is "what if" or to cover your ***, you don't have a reason to report. Point blank.
Well as a mandated reported I immediately felt obligated to report. I’ve asked this question to a lawyer who said I absolutely Should have reported this, I asked this question to veteran doctor who said I absolutely should have reported this and I asked this question to 2 other CPS workers who also said without a doubt that this was reportable. I not only reported this event to cover my *** but to also fulfill my duty as a Mandated Reporter, to ensure the safety of the child and to provide record of this event in case something detrimental happened in the future.
Even though this happened some months ago and I don’t know what the end outcome was for this young boy but at least I can rest knowing I did the right thing in MY EYES. I’m glad to hear all of your opinions!
Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.
22 minutes ago, Rasberry_RN_ said:
Well as a mandated reported I immediately felt obligated to report. I’ve asked this question to a lawyer who said I absolutely Should have reported this, I asked this question to veteran doctor who said I absolutely should have reported this and I asked this question to 2 other CPS workers who also said without a doubt that this was reportable. I not only reported this event to cover my *** but to also fulfill my duty as a Mandated Reporter, to ensure the safety of the child and to provide record of this event in case something detrimental happened in the future.
This discussion is going no where. You did what you thought was right and what your conscience dictated. We’ll have to agree to disagree.
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FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN
2,322 Posts
The first case you cited was head trauma, obviously inflicted by someone. That was a failure to report abuse.
The second was of a severely handicapped child who was covered in feces and bedsores and weighed 28 lbs. That was failure to report abuse.
Your third citation is an opinion piece.
Yes, I worked in child and adolescent psych and you are doing it wrong. You are supposed to be engaging the parent as a partner in care of the child, not creating a hostile relationship between yourself and the parent.
You are right that in cases of self harm, something is going on with that child. That's why the child is in the hospital. For you to automatically blame the parent is extremely ignorant and you ought to know better in your position.
Yes, it is your job to decide what's reportable. How do you not know that? It is not your job to decide what is abuse. It is your job to look at the facts of the situation and decide whether you suspect abuse. Your job to check yourself for bias and stereotyping. Your job to assess your patient. Your job to decide whether or not you have a reasonable suspicion.