Practice Quiz

Child Psych

Category - Ethics and Legality

Start a Study Session Sign up for Question of the Day
In which of the following circumstances would Child Protective Services not accept a report of alleged abuse or neglect on the part of the parents?
  1. In this instance only: A 10-year-old girl tells you, the psychologist, that her parents sometimes leave her alone in the house with her 4-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother. You have no proof. However, the mother has a possibly unrelated “indicated” report from six months ago with CPS. The mother denies ever leaving the children alone.
  2. In this instance only: A client, who is receiving therapy along with her 7-year-old hyperactive son, tells the psychologist that a new family-a woman in her early 40’s and her 19-year-old daughter-recently moved in to the neighboring house on their street. She is concerned because the 19-year-old daughter, who is a college student, appears to be bringing assorted men of questionable character into the house at all hours. Also, there is frequently loud music coming from the house and it has occurred to her that the mother and/or the daughter could be getting high. No one else lives in the home, and the mother and daughter have no direct contact with the therapy client and her son, but the client says the two of them are bad for the neighborhood.
  3. In both instances described above, CPS would accept a report from the psychologist and investigate it.
  4. In both instances described above, CPS would refuse to accept a report from the psychologist because there is insufficient evidence in either case of immediate risk to a child that warrants their involvement.
Explanation
Answer: A - CPS would accept a report that the mother allegedly leaves her children alone, unattended, even without evidence, because all of the children are potentially at risk. The psychologist would be obligated to file the report, and CPS would investigate the allegations further. CPS would not accept a report of alleged abuse or neglect in a family where everyone in the home is age 18 or older and there is no cause to suspect that their actions are in any way affecting a child outside of the house.
Was this helpful? Upvote!
Login to contribute your own answer or details
Start a Study Session Sign up for Question of the Day

Top questions

Related questions

Most popular on PracticeQuiz