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First, you see children for a relatively short period of the day. You may only get small pieces of information. Because children are older, your suspicions might be founded on what children say or what you overhear. You might not have the opportunity to see cuts, burns, or bruises that the child tries to hide. This naturally puts you in the difficult situation of making decisions based on limited information. Child abuse and neglect is complicated. Often, there are many witnesses across many different locations. Each witness only has one tiny piece of information. It can be very challenging to put all of the pieces together. Our systems must be designed to help collect information and make accurate decisions. When multiple signs point to child abuse or neglect, though, our systems should be able to recognize a pattern and provide the family with preventive supports.

Finally, it can be challenging to know just how serious a situation is in the home. You might see families for a very brief time each day. The Miller family clearly needed support. As soon as foster children were placed in the home, a community support network (mental health support, violence prevention, parenting education) should have been put in place for the family.

Take stories like the Miller’s as a clear message that we must all work together to protect children. We each play a role, and we must do our jobs well. Your job is to report your suspicions. You must trust (and demand) that everyone else does their jobs well, too. Talk to your manager about Family Advocacy Programs. Know who your FAP teams are and talk to them about the work they do and how you can support one another’s work.

You might feel angry about the dynamic between Braden and Caleb. You might want to stand up for Braden. You might be worried that something is wrong. You might feel doubtful that wrongdoing is occurring and attribute the behavior to typical arguments between pre-teens.

You might feel angry that Bethany is not safe in her foster home. You might be shocked that something like that is happening. You might feel sad that Bethany has had to endure it. You might feel conflicted about whether or not you can keep Bethany’s secret, and you might feel bad about “betraying” her trust (although you are doing the right thing). You might feel relieved or proud of Bethany for opening up to you about it. You might be afraid for Bethany’s safety.