Reporting Domestic Violence to Child Protective Services

My question involves child abuse or neglect in the State of:

Hello everyone and thank you so much for accepting me to this forum. I really wish I didn't have the need to use it, but since I do, I am very thankful to have found this wonderful place; so a million thank you's to whoever created it and to all that participate in answering questions for those of us who are in desperate need.

I really need an answer to a few of my questions regarding an issue for personal reasons. There is a bigger story behind it, so it might seem strange at first, but please trust me that I have my reasons for my questions. I am going to post another thread later for the second part of my question so this way it doesn't become too confusing. So here is the first part of my issue. I am trying to keep it as vague and hypothetical as possible so I don't idenitify any parties involved. Thank you for bearing with me. Here it goes:

If I have a friend that I haven't known that long and she lives in another state, and proceeds to tell me that a child in her immediate family (not her child) but the child is witnessing abuse (domestic violence) between the child's parents and other possible abuse, can I call CPS on them legally or would I have to witness it myself? What if I am a mandated reporter, would I still be able or obligated to report this without witnessing the abuse myself, only having third party knowledge, legally? How would CPS respond to this type of situation. ANY insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

CPS agencies will accept reports from most anyone. However, they may be limited in what they can do if they receive such third hand reports. Their response could be anything from a notation in a computer system or in a file, to the assignment of a social worker/investigator to speak with the family, children, or other potential witnesses. There is no one definitive answer to your question, even if you indicated the state this was occurring in.

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Quoting abbby

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I am going to post another thread later for the second part of my question so this way it doesn't become too confusing.

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Please don't start another thread because then it DOES get confusing when there are multiple threads on the same topic. It also annoys people and discourages responses.

For the best results, keep your discussion in this one thread so that all the background and ongoing questions are in one place.

I was just wondering what a CPS agency would say if they answered the phone and got this kind of a call "well, one of my friends told me that there is abuse in her niece's family". I'm trying to imagine what a CPS agent would say and how they would handle that.

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Well, this question is completely separate from the question I am asking now, it's just in the same area. You would never know it had anything to do with this story. It was just too many questions in one thread and I was afraid it would not get answered appropriately. So would you still not want me to post another thread and if so, where can I post the question now as I already started this thread? Thank you.

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So, now I'm kind of lost as to what to do. I need another question answered (it's my last one) and now is it too late to ask it here as people might bypass this question seeing it's already been answered? Please let me know if I should ask here or if I should start a new thread. It's a really general question, nothing that would take up too much of anyones time. Thank you

CPS will take down the details. Then they'll decide whether there's cause for an investigation.

That's it.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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CPS will take down the details. Then they'll decide whether there's cause for an investigation.

That's it.

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Thank you, much obliged.

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Here is my other question, I hope it can get answered:

I know all states vary in this, but I am looking for a general answer.


How long can it take for Child Protective Services to come out and investigate after a report is made? I know the alleged abuse has to meet criteria for CPS to come out and investigate, but let's say it did meet criteria, how long does CPS have to come out to the home of the alleged abuse? I read it can be immediately or up to 72 hours. However, and this is the main part of my question, could they sit on a report longer than that? Say up to 30, 60 or even 90 days and then come out and do an investigation? Especially if they feel the report that was made is on a lower level of abuse? Can anyone shine some light onto this for me?

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Quoting abbby

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I was just wondering what a CPS agency would say if they answered the phone and got this kind of a call "well, one of my friends told me that there is abuse in her niece's family". I'm trying to imagine what a CPS agent would say and how they would handle that.

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Seems to me that they would say "Why isn't your friend reporting this"?

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Quoting abbby

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Well, this question is completely separate from the question I am asking now, it's just in the same area. You would never know it had anything to do with this story. It was just too many questions in one thread and I was afraid it would not get answered appropriately. So would you still not want me to post another thread and if so, where can I post the question now as I already started this thread? Thank you.

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What you should know is that every time you add a question or comment to an existing thread it brings the thread up to the top of the active list where everybody sees it as a new post and can follow the discussion and add their own comments as you can see by how this is already going.

Again, might be a different question, but it's still related to the original question.

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Quoting abbby

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How long can it take for Child Protective Services to come out and investigate after a report is made? I know the alleged abuse has to meet criteria for CPS to come out and investigate, but let's say it did meet criteria, how long does CPS have to come out to the home of the alleged abuse? I read it can be immediately or up to 72 hours. However, and this is the main part of my question, could they sit on a report longer than that? Say up to 30, 60 or even 90 days and then come out and do an investigation? Especially if they feel the report that was made is on a lower level of abuse? Can anyone shine some light onto this for me?

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Anything's possible and there's no way of guessing or predicting how long it will take. Keep in mind that CPSs all over the country tend to be overworked and understaffed with huge backlogs. There could be hundreds of calls and files ahead of yours and I'm guessing that they will be triaged so that emergencies are handled as a priority and third hand reports like yours might end up on the bottom of the pile for who knows how long.

Please stay with this thread if you want further discussion.

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Quoting abbby

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Thank you, much obliged.

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Here is my other question, I hope it can get answered:

I know all states vary in this, but I am looking for a general answer.


How long can it take for Child Protective Services to come out and investigate after a report is made? I know the alleged abuse has to meet criteria for CPS to come out and investigate, but let's say it did meet criteria, how long does CPS have to come out to the home of the alleged abuse? I read it can be immediately or up to 72 hours. However, and this is the main part of my question, could they sit on a report longer than that? Say up to 30, 60 or even 90 days and then come out and do an investigation? Especially if they feel the report that was made is on a lower level of abuse? Can anyone shine some light onto this for me?

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There is no such thing as a general answer in this instance.

Since you're choosing to be vague, there isn't much we can do.

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Quoting abbby

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How long can it take for Child Protective Services to come out and investigate after a report is made? I know the alleged abuse has to meet criteria for CPS to come out and investigate, but let's say it did meet criteria, how long does CPS have to come out to the home of the alleged abuse? I read it can be immediately or up to 72 hours. However, and this is the main part of my question, could they sit on a report longer than that? Say up to 30, 60 or even 90 days and then come out and do an investigation? Especially if they feel the report that was made is on a lower level of abuse? Can anyone shine some light onto this for me?

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The answer will vary widely. They will prioritize reports and assign them based upon the most immediate threats, and the most credible threats ... among other things, such as the availability of resources and the likelihood of coming to a conclusion.

There is no good answer to your question.

Yes. They could sit on a report for much longer than 72 hours.

Whether they will or not depends on a great many variable factors, none of which we know the answer to.