What Happens When Abuse or Neglect is Reported?
While you are reporting abuse or neglect, you will be speaking directly with a skilled social work professional. You will be asked for information about the child, the nature of your concerns, the present location of the child, and about the family with which the child lives. When CPS receives an abuse or neglect report that meets the criteria for response, a local CPS specialist is assigned to interview the child and others who may have information about the child's safety such as family, parents, neighbors, teachers, doctors and friends. After all information is gathered, the CPS specialist and a supervisor review the available facts and the next steps to take. A determination of services will be made to reduce the present risk to the child.
 

The type of abuse occurring and the level of risk to the child determine how CPS responds to a report. Reports of abuse and neglect are categorized as high risk, low risk, moderate risk and potential risk. A CPS report is defined based on ARS §8-802 as being an incoming communication to 1-888-SOS-CHILD containing an allegation that:

a person presently under the age of eighteen (18) is the subject of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment or exploitation which a parent, guardian or custodian has inflicted, may inflict, permitted another person to inflict or had reason to know another person may inflict AND contains sufficient information to locate the child.

Physical Abuse
Physical abuse and non-accidental injury are terms used interchangeably. You will find that there are many definitions of abuse within the culture and value system of the community in which it occurs (and there is frequently disagreement among members of the same community).The term "physical abuse" implies that the child victim is physically injured by the actions, whether or not intentional, of the caretaker.

The following are the statutory definitions of physical abuse under which Child Protective Services workers in Arizona operate in fulfilling their mandate to receive and investigate allegations of physical abuse and intervene with rehabilitative services.

ARS §8-801(2) "Abuse" means the infliction or allowing of physical injury, impairment of bodily function or disfigurement or the infliction of or allowing another person to cause serious emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or untoward aggressive behavior and which emotional damage is diagnosed by a medical doctor or psychologist pursuant to section 8-223 and which is caused by the acts or omissions of an individual having care, custody and control of a child. Abuse shall include inflicting or allowing sexual abuse pursuant to section 13-1404, sexual conduct with a minor pursuant to section 13-1405, sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1406, molestation of a child pursuant to section 13-1410, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor pursuant to section 13-3552, sexual exploitation of a minor pursuant to section 13-3553, incest pursuant to section 13-3608 or child prostitution pursuant to section 13-3212.

ARS §13.3623(A)(4) - "Physical injury" means the impairment of physical condition that includes but shall not be limited to any skin bruising, pressure sores, bleeding, failure to thrive, malnutrition, dehydration, burns, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, soft tissue swelling, injury to any internal organ or any physical condition which imperils health or welfare.

ARS §13.3623(A)(5) - "Serious physical injury" means physical injury which creates a reasonable risk of death, or which causes serious or permanent disfigurement, or serious impairment of health or loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily organ or limb.

Sexual Abuse
Sexual Abuse is defined as the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent, or that violate the social taboos of family roles. (The Battered Child, 3rd Ed., Kempe, C. Henry and Helfer, Ray E.) Sexual Abuse is any act designed to stimulate a child sexually, or to use a child for the sexual stimulation either of the perpetrator or of another person. (National Center for Child Abuse and Child Neglect). Sexual Misuse is defined as exposure of a child to sexual stimulation inappropriate for the child's age and role in the family.

Sexual Offenses Against Children
Arizona Revised Statutes: Definitions - The following forms of sexual abuse and misuse are included in the ARS definition of child abuse (ARS §8-201(2)):

ARS §13-1404 -Sexual Abuse -  " A person commits sexual abuse by intention ally or knowingly engaging in sexual contact with any person fifteen or more years of age without consent of that person or with any person who is under fifteen years of age if the sexual contact involves only the female breast.

ARS §13-1405 -Sexual Conduct with a Minor -  "A person commits sexual conduct with a minor by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person who is under eighteen years of age."

ARS §13-1406 -Sexual Assault -  "A person commits sexual assault by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person without consent of such person."

ARS §13-1410 - Molestation of a Child - "A person commits molestation of a child by intentionally or knowingly engaging in or causing a person to engage in sexual contact, except sexual contact with the female breast, with a child under fifteen years of age."

ARS §13-3552 -Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor -  "A person commits commercial sexual exploitation of a minor by knowingly:

(1) Using, employing, persuading, enticing, inducing or coercing a minor to engage in or assist others to engage    in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium or live act depicting such conduct;

(2) Using, employing, persuading, enticing inducing or coercing a minor to expose the genitals or anus or the areola or nipple of the female breast for financial or commercial gain;

(3) Permitting a minor under such person's custody or control to engage in or assist others to engage in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print media or live act depicting such conduct;

(4) Transporting or financing the transportation of any minor through or across the state with the intent that such minor engage in prostitution, exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing a visual or print medium or live act depicting such conduct."

ARS §13-3553 - Sexual Exploitation of a Minor - "A person commits sexual exploitation of a minor by knowingly:

(1) Recording, filming, photographing, developing or duplicating any visual or print medium in which minors are engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct;

(2) Distributing, transporting, exhibiting, receiving, selling, purchasing, possessing or exchanging any visual or print medium in which minors are engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct."

ARS §13-3608 -Incest -  "Persons who are fifteen or more years of age and are within the degrees of consanguinity within which marriages are declared by law to be incestuous and void, who knowingly intermarry with each other, or who knowingly commit fornication or adultery with each other.

ARS §13-3212 - Child Prostitution - " A person commits child prostitution by knowingly:

(1) Causing any minor to engage in prostitution;
(2) Using any minor for purposes of prostitution;
(3) Permitting a minor under such persons custody or control to engage in prostitution;
(4) Receiving any benefit for or on account of procuring or placing a minor in any place or in the charge or custody of any person for the purpose of prostitution;
(5) Receiving any benefit pursuant to an agreement to participate in the proceeds of prostitution of a minor;
(6) Financing, managing, supervising, controlling or owning, either alone or in association with others, prostitution activity involving a minor;
(7) Transporting or financing the transportation of any minor through or across this state with the intent that such minor engage in prostitution."

Emotional maltreatment includes blaming, belittling or rejecting a child, constantly treating siblings unequally, and persistent lack of concern by the caretaker for the child's welfare. Emotional maltreatment is rarely manifest in physical signs, particularly in the normal school setting; speech disorders, lags in physical development, and failure to thrive syndrome are physical indicators of emotional maltreatment. More often it is observed through behavioral indicators, and even these indicators may not be immediately apparent.

While emotional maltreatment does occur alone, it often accompanies physical abuse and sometimes sexual abuse. Emotionally maltreated children are not always physically abused. But physically abused children are almost always emotionally maltreated as well.

Abandoned
Is defined in ARS §8-201(1) as "the failure of the parent to provide reasonable support and to maintain regular contact with the child, including the providing of normal supervision, when such failure is accompanied by an intention on the part of the parent to permit such condition to continue for an indefinite period in the future. Abandoned includes a judicial finding that a parent has made only minimal efforts to support and communicate with the child. Failure to maintain a normal parental relationship with the child without just cause for a period of six months shall constitute prima facie evidence of abandonment.

Non - Sexual Exploitation
There is not a legal definition for exploitation; however, it is defined for CPS purposes to mean "the use of a child by a parent, guardian or custodian for material gain which may include forcing the child to panhandle, steal or perform other illegal activities."

** taken from the CPS Web page at http://www.de.state.az.us/links/suspect/category.html