There are many cases of falsely reported child abuse. Unfortunately, good parents do get caught in this trap. Some have their children taken away for a short time with a huge financial sacrifice. Others never get them back. This is a cruel thing to do to an innocent party who may have been targeted by an angry or jealous person wanting revenge or a spouse trying to obtain sole custody. It is ILLEGAL to file a complaint of abuse falsely, however there really isn't much you can do about it without a confession by the person who made the complaint or witnesses who knew of the details by firsthand account.
If you find that you are in this situation, you will be in for a tough fight. The laws in the US are designed to protect the kids at all costs, even if that means doing away with your civil rights in order to protect the child.
The person who reported the abuse is protected by law and cannot be disclosed without a court order. The reason for this law is to protect those who have legitimate cause of concern so they will not be forced into making a recantation out of fear by the abusive parent. The only way to have a name revealed can happen once you have proven your case of innocence and you can make a case for a particular person you suspect has set up you up with a legally recorded track record of actions against you. If you have proven beforehand a probably cause this person has wrongfully accused you and their name is indeed listed on the complaint, only then can it be confirmed. If the person you think it is was not on the complaint, that name will not be revealed. This is one of the last things you can fight and is almost next to impossible to prove. Your immediate fight is getting your kids back.
If someone makes an allegation of abuse, in most states what will happen is your child will be approached by a police officer, social worker, or medical professional and interviewed away from the parent(s). They will ask the child a series of questions to determine if there is any cause for further investigation. That is up to the interviewer to determine which is why there is an uneven hand of justice in this matter.
If there is probably cause to investigate, the child may have a physical and/or psychological exam and may or may not be returned to the custody of their parents pending further investigation. A social worker will be assigned to your case. He or she will be studying your family, home and home life in general. If anything seems off, they may decide your child is in danger and needs to be taken out of your home.
That is what happens if someone else reports the abuse. However, if it is your child who reports the abuse or a doctor giving the child an examination who sees evidence of an abuse, or a teacher who is told of abuse by the child, it gets taken up a notch.
Usually, you are not even given much warning. Police and social workers will arrive at your home to collect the rest of your children and inform them they will be taken away right then and there pending an investigation. Your kids may even be taken directly from school and all you will get is a call informing you of what happened.
In such cases, the kids are examined and checked for abuse then put into the foster care system until there is action taken by the parents depending on the findings. If there is no reason to believe abuse has happened in the cases where the child just may be disturbed, they may keep the children for a short time and recommend family counseling.
In some cases, especially in divorces, the courts may find the child has been brainwashed by another parent and both parents may temporarily lose custody. This is a very common way some people get back at a spouse by claiming the other one physically or sexually abused a child who is too young to understand what is going on.
Once the accusation is made, whether you get your kids back or not, it will stay on your records for 4-7 years. If you have another accusation made against you in that time period, it will make your case harder to getting your kids back. At this point, you have no real rights except for the right of a lawyer. You are not allowed to talk to your children once they are taken away without court ordered supervision. You are assumed guilty until YOU prove you are innocent OR you do exactly what the courts tell you to do to get your kids back.
If your kids have been taken away, you need to find a good family law attorney in your city. If you cannot afford one, seek public defense. You cannot fight this on your own if you want to clear your name. If you don't care about clearing your name and only want your kids back, you will have to do EXACTLY as the courts tell you.
Depending on the charges, the courts may order you into individual and family counselling, pay for medical treatments for your child(ren), do community service, get a job, finish your education, take parenting classes...whatever they say you need to do to get your kids back and keep them, you need to do it and on time.
If you want to clear your name, you need your lawyer to work for you. You will probably have to take psychological exams, a lie detector test, a drug test, get written testimonies of people who know how you are with your kids, in other words, prove that you are innocent in a system that assumes you are guilty. If you have reason to suspect a person of false accusation, you need to keep a record of things you can prove they have done to you in the past. It cannot be hearsay, but must be actual evidence or certified testimony of an eyewitness present. If you can create a reasonable record of things such a person did to you, it will allow you to have your lawyer get a court order to check the record to see if the person you suspected filed the complaint. If that name is on there, you have grounds for a lawsuit. If that name is not on the complaint, you wil NOT get to see it.
Be warned, if you are a person who thinks it is a good thing to falsely accuse another person of child abuse, it will catch up to you eventually. The person you are trying to get involved may not have the law on their side, but if they believe you are behind it they will most likely come after you in ways that can be quite nasty for you. You are not the only person who can think of sneaky, nasty ways of revenge. If they put two and two together and correctly finger you, and they probably will, they will get you.
Just think, you are not merely getting revenge against the adult, but you are making the children suffer. What do YOU have against the child? If you are the parent trying to turn the kid against the other one, YOU are the one who is abusing the child. A child can suffer trauma when wrongfully taken out of the home. Before you even consider filing charges of abuse, be sure your concern is genuine and without an ulterior motive.
