If you live in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and learn that you've been reported to Pennsylvania's ChildLine child abuse reporting system, it can turn your life upside down. If, after what is likely to be a stressful investigation by Franklin County Children and Youth Services, your name ends up on the ChildLine registry, it can affect your job opportunities, your ability to do volunteer work, and even existing child custody arrangements. That is why you should contact the LLF Law Firm as soon as you learn that you've been reported to ChildLine. Our experienced attorneys can help you from the point you're reported through the investigations process and can defend you in situations where you may be entitled to challenge the listing. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to learn more about how the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team can help you protect your rights.
Pennsylvania's ChildLine System
The ChildLine reporting system is a 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-per week hotline operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The entire focus of ChildLine is to help identify and prevent child abuse.
Anyone can file a report with ChildLine, and reports from the general public can be filed anonymously. While this anonymous reporting feature has some benefits – people may be more likely to report actual child abuse if they can do so without otherwise getting involved or having their names disclosed – it can also be abused. It's not unusual, for example, for a spouse involved in a child custody dispute to report the other spouse to ChildLine as a tactic to gain an advantage in the custody case.
If a ChildLine investigation finds support for a child abuse allegation, the name of the reported person is added to the ChildLine registry. While the ChildLine registry isn't public, it can be accessed by certain employers and organizations that use it as part of their background check process for existing and potential employees and volunteers.
Because of this, being added to the ChildLine registry can have a devastating effect on your life. You may lose your existing job, find it more difficult to secure another job, lose volunteer opportunities, and have an effect on existing and potential child custody orders. When you've been added to the ChildLine list, it can be difficult to have your name removed. And in some cases, people aren't aware of the ChildLine registry until after they've been added to the list.
What Is a ChildLine Referral?
ChildLine is a statewide network. It can be accessed by anyone by going to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website or via an 800 number. When ChildLine receives a report of suspected child abuse, it then refers the report to the appropriate local child welfare agency in the county where the child who is the subject of the report lives. In the case of Franklin County, ChildLine reports are sent to the county's Children & Youth Services agency, also known as FCCYS.
Once received, FCCYS personnel will review the report to determine whether what's reported constitutes potential child abuse. Not every ChildLine report results in a child abuse finding; in some cases, the report may relate to a social services situation that does not rise to the level of abuse, such as ones where the family may benefit from any of a number of area programs designed to help families with everything from clothing to after-school care, to tutoring, and more.
In situations where the report appears to identify behavior or a situation that could constitute child abuse, the report will be assigned to an FCCYS caseworker, who will be responsible for investigating the report. Investigations can be very detailed – involving interviews with parents, children, others living with the family, and even neighbors and co-workers. The process will feel very invasive; for example, the investigator is likely to visit the home where the children live (or stay in a shared custody situation), and may inspect every room in the house or apartment, as well as any outbuildings such as garages or barns.
As the FCCYS webpage notes, ChildLine investigations are likely to occur when the report relates to any of a number of different types of suspected child abuse, including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (or situations where there is an “Imminent Risk of abuse”); neglect; truancy; runaway behavior; incorrigible behavior; and “Parent-Child conflict.”
While the ChildLine investigation process is not a criminal one, that doesn't mean that ChildLine investigators won't contact law enforcement in situations where they believe that criminal child abuse may have taken place. It's not unusual for FCCYS to work together with local police departments, for example, in Chambersburg, Greencastle, or Waynesboro, to investigate potential criminal child abuse.
In addition, where the person accused of child abuse holds a professional license in Pennsylvania, such as a medical or teaching license, the FCCYS might contact the appropriate licensing board and report the suspected child abuse for possible disciplinary action.
Because of the potential for significant and long-lasting consequences, if you learn you've been reported to ChildLine and are being investigated by FCCYS, you need the help of one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm.
ChildLine Referrals in Franklin County
As noted, the Franklin County Children & Youth Services agency is responsible for investigating ChildLine reports relating to children living in Franklin County. According to the 2022 Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Annual Child Protective Services Report, FCCYS handled 567 child abuse reports in 2022, up from 458 in 2020 and 498 in 2021. Notably, of those 567 reports, 62 (or about 11%) were determined to be “substantiated.” The remainder – 505 abuse reports – were “unsubstantiated.” The top four types of substantiated allegations were sexual abuse, physical abuse or bodily injury, “reasonable likelihood of bodily injury,” and “serious physical neglect.” These made up more than 95% of the types of abuse that FCCYS was able to substantiate.
The relatively small number of substantiated child abuse reports in Franklin County strongly suggests that a number of the reports were false, for example, those made by a divorcing parent against the other parent in an effort to gain an advantage in the child custody portion of the divorce case. Because reports can be submitted anonymously, it's easy for anyone to submit a false ChildLine report against someone as a way of getting back at that person for one reason or another.
Despite the low odds on paper of a ChildLine abuse report against you being substantiated, each case is different. Because of the severe consequences of a substantiated ChildLine report – including possible criminal referral – it's important to speak with an experienced attorney from the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team as soon as you learn that a ChildLine report has been made against you.
Who Can Make a ChildLine Report?
As noted above, anyone can file a ChildLine report, and the general public is able to do so anonymously. There are actually two classes of ChildLine reporters: those who voluntarily file ChildLine reports and those who are required by law to file ChildLine reports.
Mandated Reporters
Mandated reporters are people who are required by Pennsylvania law to submit a report to ChildLine when they encounter a situation as part of their job that makes them suspect that a child is in danger of being abused or neglected or is being abused or neglected. Mandated reporters are not allowed to file anonymous ChildLine reports, though their identities will not be disclosed to you if a mandated reporter files a ChildLine report against you.
If a mandated reporter fails to file a ChildLine report in a situation where they should have done so, they can be held criminally liable. And if they file a false report, they can also face criminal liability. Pennsylvania law protects mandated reporters from civil lawsuits in cases where they filed a ChildLine report in good faith but where an investigation fails to substantiate that child abuse or neglect occurred or was in danger of occurring.
The mandated reporter requirement applies to a wide range of job types. Law enforcement officers, medical workers, childcare professionals, educators, mental health counselors, clergy members, and others are all considered mandated reporters in Pennsylvania.
Because of the danger of being found criminally responsible for failing to report suspected child abuse or neglect, mandated reporters have an incentive to file ChildLine reports even in cases where child abuse or neglect is extremely unlikely. This means that mandated reporters may over-report suspected abuse or neglect situations. That is little comfort to individuals who must suffer through a needless and intrusive investigation because of a ChildLine report submitted by an over-cautious mandated reporter. It's also all the more reason to retain one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm to help you defend yourself in any ChildLine investigation.
Permissive Reporters
Permissive reporters are anybody else who isn't a Mandated Reporter. Permissive reporters can file ChildLine reports anonymously, though if they file a false report and their identity is learned, they can be held criminally liable for doing so. Because the ability to file an anonymous ChildLine report can be an incentive for individuals to file false reports as a way of hurting someone they may have a dispute with, a number of anonymous reports may not be valid. Here, too, the LLF Law Firm can help you protect yourself when the ChildLine investigator shows up at your door.
What Happens if a ChildLine Referral Results in a Finding of Child Abuse?
The ChildLine investigation is extremely important because it determines whether your name will be added to the ChildLine registry. In cases where the FCCYS investigation fails to uncover evidence of child abuse or neglect, it will be considered to be unsubstantiated or unfounded, and your name will not be added to the ChildLine registry.
If, however, the investigator decides that there is evidence of child abuse or neglect, your case will be categorized as substantiated or indicated, in which case your name will be added to the registry. In situations where there is a court finding that you engaged in child abuse or neglect, your case will be considered founded, and here, your name will be added to the ChildLine registry.
If your name is added to the ChildLine registry, the effects can follow you for years, if not for the rest of your life. That's why it is so important to properly defend your rights every chance you get. The LLF Law Firm's experienced attorneys understand Pennsylvania's child abuse laws and how ChildLine investigations work. We will represent you throughout any investigation and defend your rights both during and after the process is complete.
What Are Your Rights if Your Name Has Been Referred to ChildLine?
You have certain rights if you've been reported to ChildLine, whether by an anonymous reporter or by a mandated one. In many cases, people fail to notice the letter that FCCYS is required to send notifying the person that a ChildLine investigation that involves them has been opened. They end up being added to the ChildLine registry without having a real chance to defend themselves.
You do, however, have rights if you're the target of a ChildLine investigation. In particular, you must receive notice of:
- The child abuse or neglect report that was made against you
- Your right to have an attorney represent you during and after the investigation
- Your right to seek to amend or expunge the FCCYS's decision to add your name to the ChildLine registry
- Your right to have your attorney with you during FCCYS investigation interviews and in any interviews or meetings with FCCYS personnel
When the FCCYS ChildLine investigation is complete, you must also receive notice of:
- The results of the investigation and whether your name will be added to the ChildLine registry (or not)
- The rights you have to seek to amend or expunge the ChildLine report, and to have your name removed from the ChildLine registry
- What effect the ChildLine registry listing will have on your future job and career opportunities
- How your name is listed (“indicated,” or “founded”) on the ChildLine registry
- Your right to appeal the ChildLine registry listing (which you must do within 90 days)
- Your right to have a hearing on your appeal, where FCCYS must support its decision to add your name to the ChildLine registry by substantial evidence
In 2022, for example, of the 1122 ChildLine appeals of one type or another that were decided in Pennsylvania, approximately 15% resulted in the ChildLine registry listing being removed. The relatively low success rate of ChildLine appeals makes it all the more important that you have effective and experienced representation during the investigation phase – representation that the LLF Law Firm Team is ready to provide.
How the LLF Law Firm Can Help You if You've Been Referred to ChildLine in Franklin County
The LLF Law Firm Team can help you through the difficult and stressful ChildLine investigations process if you learn that someone has filed a ChildLine report against you. Our experienced attorneys understand Pennsylvania's child abuse and neglect laws and standards, and we know how to protect our client's rights throughout FCCYS's investigation process. We can be with you during the investigator's home visits, their interviews with you, and in other meetings with FCCYS personnel. In cases where your name is already on the ChildLine registry, and it was wrongfully added at some point in the past, we can help you take the steps necessary to fight to have it removed. The LLF Law Firm has the experience to help you at any point throughout the ChildLine process.
If you learn that you're the target of a ChildLine investigation or that your name has already been added to the ChildLine registry, call us for help. We can be reached at 888.535.3686, or by using our contact form to set up a confidential consultation. You owe it to yourself, your family, and your reputation.