Question? On Reporting Child Abuse!

[debrick]

Is it not true that if someone tells you that they or other children are being abused. By law do you have to report this to the authorities?

Because: The law guardian refused to listen to my sons when they were telling her about physical abuse by my Ex to them and my daughter. (not biological mom) (only step-mom for 1.4 years)

I did not learn of the abuse until April of 2004. Because she threatened my children, that she would beat them with a baseball bat if they ever told me or anyone.

It was not until I and my boys moved to Arkansas (far away from my Ex)that they felt safe enough to confide in me.

My 12 year old has an IQ of over 200 and he tells it like it is. He asked the law guardian why she was representing XXX when she was suppose to be their law guardian and working for the children and looking out for their best interest.

She then dropped my sons 10 & 12 as her clients and kept my daughter 9 and my Ex as her clients.

I believe that she should have reported this to the New York Child Abuse Hotline. Am I right?

My Ex was court ordered to take my daughter to a psycologist in June/04. I found out in Dec./04 that she just had her first visit.

My Ex spent those 7 months turning my daughter against me and her brothers. She listened in on all of our phone conversations and coached my daughter on what to say. You could hear her in the background, or My daughter asking her what she should say.

[socrateaser]

>Is it not true that if someone tells you that they or other
>children are being abused. By law do you have to report this
>to the authorities?

An attorney has a duty to zealously advance the interests of his/her client. A law guardian's client is the children. If a child stated that he/she was being abused, and that child wanted the information known, then the law guaridan had a duty to have the child testify to those facts in court.

However, the law guardian is not obligated to report on a communcation from a client, without that client's permission, because to do so violates attorney-client privilege.

So, it really depends on what the children wanted at the time of the disclosure of abuse. I think that the failure to investigate suggests a rather cavilier attitude on the law guardian's part, but without all of the specific facts of the case, it's difficult to comment further.