Allegations of child abuse can be extremely serious. How will the court handle child abuse allegations? Abuse is defined by Michigan law as the intentional mistreatment or neglect of a child. The legal definition of abuse is frequently obscure to laypeople. People no longer comprehend the true meaning of the phrase because it is repeated too frequently.
Click here to watch the video on How Will the Court Handle Child Abuse Allegations in Michigan?
The court would expect you to have a professional investigate it if there is actual injury to the child and it was done on purpose. Report it to Child Protective Services, or CPS, and ask them to look into it to see whether there is indeed a case. Depending on how serious the allegations are, child abuse may be a misdemeanor or even a felony.
Do You Even Know What Is Child Abuse?
The Child Protection Law as published by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or MDHHS defines child abuse as follows:
“Child abuse” means harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare that occurs through non accidental physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment, by a parent, a legal guardian, or any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare or by a teacher, a teacher’s aide, or a member of the clergy.
We published an article, “What Is Considered Child Abuse In Michigan?” and discussed lengthily how the court sees child abuse as a matter of degrees.
People don’t actually use corporal punishment anymore. They don’t hit their children. They have the legal right to do so and could do so. Because some form of corporal punishment sometimes has to occur between parents and children, it is not unlawful.
But there is a distinction between disciplinary action and abuse.
If used excessively, discipline can turn into abuse. You hit your child in the face if she acts out of line and swears at you. It won’t always be anything simple like discipline. We’re talking about abuse if you use, for example, a wooden hanger on your child.
A parent, guardian, or other person responsible for a child’s health or welfare is said to have neglected a child if they act in one of the ways listed below, or threaten to do so:
[a] The failure to provide someone with enough food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
[b] Not acting to lessen a risk to a child’s health or welfare when a parent, legal guardian, or other person in charge of the child’s health or welfare is able to do so and is aware of the risk, or should have been aware of it.
Child Abuse Investigations Are Not Easy
After receiving a report of abuse or neglect, CPS has 24 hours to either launch an investigation or, if they think it is unfounded, reject the complaint. Extremely serious incidents, such as those involving sexual abuse or a child’s death, will be reported by CPS to the police.
Child abuse investigations are not easy for the investigating authority and the individuals or family subject of the investigation. These investigations are intrusive to say the least. If you feel you might be on the receiving end of a CPS investigation, we suggest you read our articles, “What Evidence Can Be Used In A Custody Battle In Michigan?” and “Do I have to let CPS into my house in Michigan?” in our Legal Blog.
To determine if your child has been mistreated or neglected is the goal of the CPS inquiry. A CPS investigator will speak with the subject of the report and inform them of the complaint. The CPS investigator may speak with your child, you, the other parent, and other family members as part of the investigation.
CPS may also speak with anyone else they think has relevant information. A CPS investigation can involve going to your house and looking over records like police reports, medical reports, or school reports. The investigation must be finished by CPS within 30 days.
CPS activities are funded by tax dollars. When somebody makes false claims of child abuse, what they are doing is to engage CPS into a wild goose chase wasting man-hours of investigation time.
Better Make It Stick Or Else
The court has heard it too many times before. Child abuse allegations are always an issue brought up during child custody battles to justify having sole custody of a child. It is because of these overused allegations that courts are not too eager to hear about child abuse complaints without a prior investigation from CPS.
If you’re really serious about allegations of child abuse, the logical course of action is to call Child Protective Services or CPS. CPS will immediately initiate an investigation within 24 hours. You can immediately substantiate any claim of child abuse by merely referring to CPS investigation report. CPS will promptly inform the court if a child abuse complaint has basis or it is baseless.
A spouse falsely accusing the other spouse of child abuse so as to stall or disrupt parenting time, must think twice about keeping up with this ruse. CPS is bound to find out and will report this to the court.
Your position will be weakened in court if you keep raising child abuse issues and still held off reporting these allegations to CPS. CPS is the primary enforcement arm of the state in the protection of children against abuse. A parent who is truly concerned and has physical evidence of child abuse will not hesitate to report such matters to CPS.
If a spouse uses this ruse to keep the ex spouse and child apart. The spouse may inadvertently be cutting off parenting time without cause.
If you do that without providing any tangible proof, the only thing most likely happening is your parental rights will start to be curtailed. Your husband, who is on the other side, will submit a motion. They’re also going to say you withheld the child in violation of the court’s order.
The court has many ways of penalizing spouses who make false child abuse allegations as a leverage in child custody cases. If you have the urge to use a child abuse allegation in a child custody case think long and hard if you can actually make it stick. The court may not be very kind to you if they find out you have another agenda on your plate.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more advice on Family Law!
Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.