At Susie’s Place, we dedicate all our efforts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to ending child abuse. We often educate the community about different forms of abuse, including sexual, cyber, physical abuse, and more. Recently, a lesser-known form of abuse has surfaced in the news and deserves attention: the intentional filing of false child abuse reports.
False reports to the Department of Child Services can happen to anyone, whether they are a public figure, a parent in a custody dispute, or a target for some other reason. False reports are often used to punish, embarrass, or just to win the fight. What false reporters fail to understand is that the harm does not fall solely on the targeted adult; it also deeply affects the child.
Subjecting an unsuspecting child to an abuse investigation, without fact-based concerns, can cause acute emotional trauma and fear. It may also lead to unnecessary family separation. These separations may be brief or prolonged, disrupting a child’s education, social development and creating stigma when others learn why the child was removed from the home.
Just as importantly, false reports divert child protection agencies and law enforcement resources away from children who genuinely need protection.
Everyone in Indiana is a mandated reporter, and must make a report to the Department of Child Services at 800-800-5556 when there is a legitimate concern for a child’s safety and well-being. However, intentional false reporting is a crime. Despite what the motivation may be, the ultimate harm is to the child.
