DCFS Streamlines Online Reporting Of Child Abuse

From The Center Square:

By Zeta Cross

State officials are asking people to trust their suspicions and report instances of child abuse to authorities.

Tierney Stutz with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services says Illinois has increased the staff at the 24-hour child abuse hotline so that calls are answered sooner. People can call into the Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873).

DCFS has streamlined the online reporting option at the DCFS website, making it more user friendly. People who report suspected child abuse can remain anonymous.

Under penalty of law, DCFS is forbidden from revealing the identity of a person who has made a complaint.

DCFS encourages children to report child abuse. One reason that DCFS redesigned its reporting website was to make it easier for children to use. Children are likely to know when their siblings or friends are being abused. The first option you get when you call the child abuse hotline is “press one if you are a child.”

One sign of physical abuse is bruises on a child’s neck or torso. Children under the age of four are unlikely to get those kinds of bruises from accidents. Little children who can’t walk have zero chance of getting those kinds of bruises.

When in doubt, go with your gut feeling, Stutz said. Make a report and let DCFS investigators look into it.

“DCFS is not out to play ‘gotcha’ with families,” Stutz said.

The agency's investigators are discreet, Stutz said. The goal is to make sure that children are safe and that the families get help if they need it. Providing help for struggling families is an important part of keeping children safe, Stutz says.

If the family does not have enough to eat or if they can’t pay their utility bills or if they have mental health or addiction issues, DCSF has resources to help.

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