child touch an adult’s genitals. Also, the use of children in pornographic films or as prostitution is considered sexual abuse.
Emotional/Verbal Abuse: This is the hardest type of abuse to define and prove. It includes the lack of praise, nurture, love, and security from a parent or guardian. Usually, emotional abuse occurs with another type of abuse or neglect.
Neglect can be defined as a failure to act on a child\rquote s behalf. There are three categories: physical, emotional, and educational.
Physical Neglect: Failure to meet the basic requirements of a child including supervision, housing, proper nutrition, and medical treatment.
Emotional Neglect: Failure to provide support and appropriate attention that is necessary for the child’s development both psychologically and socially.
Dependency can be defined as the lack of appropriate parenting and nurturing at no fault of the parent or guardian. This includes children who are homeless or destitute. Also, a child can be dependent because of a parent who has mental or physical condition that prevents them from caring for the child.
A child who has been abused can have physical bruises or marks. But usually, the signs of abuse are not as clear-cut. Other signs of abuse include reluctance to change clothes in front of others, unexplained absences to either school or other activities, alienated from peers, acts hyper or has excessive behavior, complains of pain or injury without any explainable cause, acts out sexually, and has medical needs that are not treated.
Mandated reporters are any person required by law to report suspected child abuse and neglect.
These Persons Include:
Mandated reporters who fail to report suspected abuse or neglect, can face a possible misdemeanor of the fourth degree criminal charge and civil damages
To make a report, Monday through Friday between 8 and 4:30, call 419-424-7022 and ask for a children services intake worker. For after hours emergencies, call 419-422-2424 ask for a Children Services Worker to be paged.
If you need More Information about child abuse and neglect, try these sites
Things are busy here at Children Services. During the month of February we will be completing a foster home review by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The review consists of ODJFS reviewing our records to see ifContinue Reading
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