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.IT SHOULDN'T HURT TO BE A CHILD.
Child Protective Services is responsible to investigate all allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect received by the Department from the New York State Child Abuse Registry. Who Can Make A Report?Anyone can make a report
of Child Abuse and/or Neglect if he/she is suspicious that a child (0-18
yrs of age) is being neglected or abused. The report is kept confidential
and the source can be anonymous if the reporter is not mandated by law
to report.
Always call
911 if a real emergency exists.
What happens after a report is made?The investigation
of a report is a fact-finding process that includes interviewing, observing,
and information gathering. It's purpose is to protect the child, determine
the validity of the allegations, evaluate any condition of abuse or maltreatment
that was not reported, and determine the services necessary to ensure the
protection of the child and reduce the degree of future risk to the child.
The investigation includes an evaluation of all children in the home, whether
or not they are actually named in the report. The final step in an investigation
is the determination of whether the report is "indicated" or "unfounded".
If some credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment exists, the report is
indicated and the family is offered appropriate services. If no credible
evidence of abuse or maltreatment is found, the report is unfounded and
sealed. The final decision must be made within 60 days.
Allegations
fall into the following four categories. The list illustrates examples
but is not all inclusive:
 Physical
abuse takes place when a child is hit, punched slapped, whipped, beaten
or burned and injuries such as abrasions, bruises, lacerations, bleeding,
burns, or fractures occur. The physical injury is not accidental and it
causes or creates a substantial risk of death, or serious or protracted
disfigurement or protracted impairment of physical or emotional health
or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ. Neglect
takes place when a parent who is financially able, or offered financial
means or other means to meet a child's health and safety needs, does not
provide basic care such as food, clothing, shelter, education, medical
care, medication, or adequate supervision.
Nassau County has the ability to receive and begin investigating reports of abuse or maltreatment 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The New York State Central Register transmits all reports to the Nassau Child Protective Services Program Office located at 60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Uniondale, N.Y. 11553 daily between the hours of 8:00am to 6:00pm. For information please call 516-227-8133. Reports telephoned between 4:00pm and 9:00am, and on weekends and holidays are received by Emergency Services. Emergency Services can be reached through a hotline at 516-572-3143. Child Advocacy ProgramAs evidence
of our commitment to the protection of children, in 1999 the County's first
Child Advocacy Program was launched. The program is a collaborative effort
of the Nassau County Department of Social Services, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, the Nassau
County
Attorney's Office, Nassau County University
Hospital, the Nassau
County Police Department, the Coalition
on Child Abuse and local, city and
village police departments. The creation of the Advocacy Center was vital
because it resolved the long standing problem of having children who have
been physically or sexually abused go through numerous, separate interviews,
often at different locations, causing unnecessary emotional trauma to the
child. The opening of the Child Advocacy Program provided a way to help
minimize the trauma for the child while providing the agencies charged
with protecting the child with the information they need.
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| Who
can make a report?
What happens after a report is made? RELATED LINKS New York State Council on Children and Families U.S. Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) U. S. Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Coalition on Child Abuse & Neglect |
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