Assessing Risk in Screening and Hiring Requirements
Your Youth-Serving Organization’s (YSO’s) hiring process should include basic screening measures for potential staff and volunteers through…
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Home / Reporting / How to Report Child Sexual Abuse
When a member of your staff suspects that a child is being abused and/or neglected, they are required to immediately call your local Department of Children and Families (DCF) Area Office and ask for the Screening Unit. You can find a directory of the DCF Area Offices and a copy of the 51A report form on the Department of Children and Families (DCF) website. These offices are staffed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. To make a report at any other time, including after 5 p.m. and on weekends and holidays, call the Child-At-Risk Hotline at 800-792-5200. Reporters are also required by law to mail or fax a written report to DCF (51A report form) within 48 hours after making the verbal report.
The DCF Protective Intake Policy is divided into two phases: (1) the screening of all reports; and (2) a response to any report that is screened in. All screened-in reports are now investigated. In our chart, What Happens When DCF Receives a 51A Report?, you’ll find a detailed description of what happens when a report is made to DCF, and a description of the investigative process, and its timelines and steps.
When the call is made, and the 51A form is filled out, the reporter should be prepared to provide the following information, if known:
If you do not have all this information, do not let this keep you from filing. File with what information you do have and let the professionals make their determinations.
Screening & Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization’s (YSO’s) hiring process should include basic screening measures for potential staff and volunteers through…
Reporting
Staff and volunteers at the YSO (Youth-Serving Organization) should be proficient in discussing abuse and responding to disclosures of abuse. YSO…
Screening & Hiring
Additional screening and hiring measures should be implemented based on the specific needs, responsibilities, and risks of your Youth-Serving…
Sustainability
Long-term organizational change is a process of continuous review, evaluation, and communication. It includes regularly examining what is working…
Safe Environments
Physically safe spaces, with proper supervision, are required to maintain safety standards at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO). Ensure policies…
Code of Conduct
Your Code of Conduct is an essential tool to help you ensure the safety of the children and youth in your care, and prevent child sexual abuse.
Reporting
It is extremely disturbing for most adults to consider that a colleague or co-worker might be abusing children—but it happens. In these cases,…
Policies & Procedures
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 1 suggests that implementing a child sexual abuse prevention policy and making the changes necessary to…
Reporting
In addition to the institutions mentioned specifically in the 51A law, any youth-serving organization can identify a “designated agent”—an…
Code of Conduct
A Code of Conduct establishes acceptable and prohibited types of behaviors and interactions between staff, volunteers, and children. Your…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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