Child abuse workers investigate reports of abuse, interview family members and children, and determine if abuse is present. They may refer families to counseling services and place children in temporary or permanent homes if necessary. Their goal is to improve the quality of life for the child and family.
A child abuse worker has many professional duties, many of which involve difficult decisions. For example, they typically determine whether a child is actually being abused and make a decision about whether a child should remain in their home. A child abuse worker can also help with family counseling or refer a family to special counseling services. These workers can also accompany the victim to court and help place an abused child in a temporary or permanent home.
After receiving a report of suspected child abuse, a child abuse professional should investigate to determine if the report can be validated. This investigation usually requires numerous visits to a child’s home. By doing so, she will often be able to determine whether a child’s living conditions are safe and adequate.
She will also interview the occupants of a home, particularly children who may be abused. Interviews with children are often conducted without parents around, which can cause children to open up more. Other family members, such as parents and siblings, will also typically be interviewed. Depending on the situation, a worker experiencing child abuse may also interview teachers and other school staff.
In a case of possible physical or sexual abuse, children also need to undergo a complete medical examination. Any unexplained marks could be a sign of child physical abuse. Infections or injuries to the genitals can also indicate possible sexual abuse, especially in younger children.
After taking all the evidence into account, a child working with child abuse decides whether abuse is present in the home. In some cases, there will be no evidence to support this claim. If this is the case, the case will be closed.
If there is evidence that a child may be being mistreated, a child abuse professional will try to correct the situation. Children who are not in immediate danger usually remain at home. Most often, the worker periodically visits the house to check the situation. She may also refer the family to a child abuse therapist or child abuse education service. The ultimate goal in these cases is to help improve the quality of home life for both the child and the parents or guardians.
Sometimes a child abuse worker may have reason to suspect that a child is in danger if they remain in their current situation. In such cases, he is usually placed with other carefully selected family members, either in a foster care facility or foster home. Visits between the abused child and the parents are also generally encouraged. A child abuse worker will usually act as the victim’s advocate, supervising visits and accompanying an abused child to family court if necessary.
While it is not the goal of workers who abuse children to separate children from their families, this is sometimes the case. In the unfortunate event that an abused child cannot or should not be returned to his home or parents, a child working in child abuse may need to find a more permanent living arrangement for him. Ideally, abused children are placed with loving relatives. As this is not possible in all cases, some abused children are adopted into willing and carefully vetted families.
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