CPS Investigation

[Unregistered]

I self referred a report of 3 yr old touching 4 year old in my daycare. What should I expect the process to be? I'm in Washington. Thank you

[Unregistered]

I would expect nothing from CPS. Its common behavior amoungst children and not something I would report. I would expect both sets of parents to pull their children.

[Josiegirl]

Unless there's more to the story I agree with PP. I would have discussed it with the dcps and just alert them that it happened but call CPS? Not for something like that. Sorry I can't be any help but I'm wondering if something else prompted your worries?

[Play Care]

Unless there's more to the story I agree with PP. I would have discussed it with the dcps and just alert them that it happened but call CPS? Not for something like that. Sorry I can't be any help but I'm wondering if something else prompted your worries?

This.

[jenboo]

Definitely depends on the situation and what kind of touching happened and what was said.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I self referred a report of 3 yr old touching 4 year old in my daycare. What should I expect the process to be? I'm in Washington. Thank you

Is there more to this? Curiousity about private parts is pretty normal for young kids, so I don't think it is worth calling CPS. You should just speak to both parents and let them know it happened and you are handling it. They may pull their kids, but if they feel you have a handle on it, they may not. A similar situation just happened at my sister's daycare. A 5 year old asked to see another kids privates. The kid told on the 5 year old and the parents were notified, but that was the end of it. There was no touching, but it was a learning experience about what is private and appropriate, ect.

[Thriftylady]

I agree if it was just curiosity, it is normal. I remember when I was a kid I had a friend who was a boy. After kindergarten one day we did "I'll show you mine if you show me yours". It was just quick peeks, but no big deal just curiosity. To me, that isn't reportable. Now if there is more to the story maybe, but without knowing more I wouldn't have reported.

[Unregistered]

CPS-Why I called

There is nothing to the story I am hiding. There has been a lot of penis curiosity after one child went to dr. for infection 2x. I believe it started with trying to process the situation by trying to play dr. with friend. (No touching, caught it). Parents notified, everyone talked about private areas. Then again, and mom told him you can be a foot dr. not a penis dr. (his response was, "but I am a dr!") I said, no more dr. we are firefighters and put that kit away. I think this child figured out this was a button pusher for adults (he has been referred out prior for behavioral challenges). So then it became a challenge to see what he could get away with. Nothing. I made him my shadow. Yesterday, I thought things have been going pretty good, heard nothing recently about penis's so I let my guard down a little. Still high alert for dr. play or house play or anything involving removing clothes. He didn't remove clothes, he stuck it out the top of his pants, he didn't lay down-he was on his knees, he didn't hide-he was right in front of me. It appeared to be train-block play. I just got the something not right vibe just as other child reached out to touch it.

I called because of the WAC about inappropriate touching. Even though I caught it just as it was happening, even though I do not feel it was inappropriate for their age, it is up to perception. I wanted to cover my butt. Called licensor. She agreed and said self-report so it's on record.
Parents are up to date on this and very supportive.

[Controlled Chaos]

There is nothing to the story I am hiding. There has been a lot of penis curiosity after one child went to dr. for infection 2x. I believe it started with trying to process the situation by trying to play dr. with friend. (No touching, caught it). Parents notified, everyone talked about private areas. Then again, and mom told him you can be a foot dr. not a penis dr. (his response was, "but I am a dr!") I said, no more dr. we are firefighters and put that kit away. I think this child figured out this was a button pusher for adults (he has been referred out prior for behavioral challenges). So then it became a challenge to see what he could get away with. Nothing. I made him my shadow. Yesterday, I thought things have been going pretty good, heard nothing recently about penis's so I let my guard down a little. Still high alert for dr. play or house play or anything involving removing clothes. He didn't remove clothes, he stuck it out the top of his pants, he didn't lay down-he was on his knees, he didn't hide-he was right in front of me. It appeared to be train-block play. I just got the something not right vibe just as other child reached out to touch it.

I called because of the WAC about inappropriate touching. Even though I caught it just as it was happening, even though I do not feel it was inappropriate for their age, it is up to perception. I wanted to cover my butt. Called licensor. She agreed and said self-report so it's on record.
Parents are up to date on this and very supportive.

Wow:confused:...I would pull my child from your care. That is a normal behavior for curious children. Don't make a big deal and redirect. I would let parents know kids were curious and how I was handling it. That would be it. Not a big deal.

[Thriftylady]

There is nothing to the story I am hiding. There has been a lot of penis curiosity after one child went to dr. for infection 2x. I believe it started with trying to process the situation by trying to play dr. with friend. (No touching, caught it). Parents notified, everyone talked about private areas. Then again, and mom told him you can be a foot dr. not a penis dr. (his response was, "but I am a dr!") I said, no more dr. we are firefighters and put that kit away. I think this child figured out this was a button pusher for adults (he has been referred out prior for behavioral challenges). So then it became a challenge to see what he could get away with. Nothing. I made him my shadow. Yesterday, I thought things have been going pretty good, heard nothing recently about penis's so I let my guard down a little. Still high alert for dr. play or house play or anything involving removing clothes. He didn't remove clothes, he stuck it out the top of his pants, he didn't lay down-he was on his knees, he didn't hide-he was right in front of me. It appeared to be train-block play. I just got the something not right vibe just as other child reached out to touch it.

I called because of the WAC about inappropriate touching. Even though I caught it just as it was happening, even though I do not feel it was inappropriate for their age, it is up to perception. I wanted to cover my butt. Called licensor. She agreed and said self-report so it's on record.
Parents are up to date on this and very supportive.

There is no way I would have reported this. I would have documented it in the file, and possibly made licensing aware. But this is something I would teach was inappropriate, but not report. As a parent I would be LIVID if you reported me to CPS for something like this. He had been to the doctor, and the doctor had looked at him and such, he was doing what many young children do and repeating. Does he need to be taught we don't do this in public? YES. The parents reported to CPS? NO. You have just created a headache for the parents that will just prove unfounded. And you may have made the issues worse if CPS requires more doctors visits and exams for the child depending.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

There is nothing to the story I am hiding. There has been a lot of penis curiosity after one child went to dr. for infection 2x. I believe it started with trying to process the situation by trying to play dr. with friend. (No touching, caught it). Parents notified, everyone talked about private areas. Then again, and mom told him you can be a foot dr. not a penis dr. (his response was, "but I am a dr!") I said, no more dr. we are firefighters and put that kit away. I think this child figured out this was a button pusher for adults (he has been referred out prior for behavioral challenges). So then it became a challenge to see what he could get away with. Nothing. I made him my shadow. Yesterday, I thought things have been going pretty good, heard nothing recently about penis's so I let my guard down a little. Still high alert for dr. play or house play or anything involving removing clothes. He didn't remove clothes, he stuck it out the top of his pants, he didn't lay down-he was on his knees, he didn't hide-he was right in front of me. It appeared to be train-block play. I just got the something not right vibe just as other child reached out to touch it.


I called because of the WAC about inappropriate touching. Even though I caught it just as it was happening, even though I do not feel it was inappropriate for their age, it is up to perception. I wanted to cover my butt. Called licensor. She agreed and said self-report so it's on record.
Parents are up to date on this and very supportive.

I think you were handling it fine up until calling CPS. I am surprised your licensor agreed tot hat and that the parents are supportive of it. I would be very upset if you called CPS over this situation.

[Heidi]

I think you were handling it fine up until calling CPS. I am surprised your licensor agreed tot hat and that the parents are supportive of it. I would be very upset if you called CPS over this situation.

My sister had almost the same scenario a few months ago, and she was cited for lack of supervision. She fought it, licensing stuck to their guns. She's not happy about it, but only because her pride is dinged..not ONE citation before this, in 23 years!

[Controlled Chaos]

OP I am not intending to pick on you - I am just having trouble wrapping my head around your reaction.

Do you mind sharing how long you have been a provider and how many times you have had this issue or reported? I have been a provider 4 years and it seems half the little boys go through a phase where they are touching/exposing their penis. Its always between 18m and 2.5 years old. I don't "allow" the behavior, but there is always a week or so of a lot of redirection.

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm in CA not in WA but i hear our licensing requirements are similar. In my state this would definitely fall under "unusual incident" and would need to be reported to licensing, which you did. At that point it would be up to licensing to determine whether they think the issue is reportable to CPS which is what they did think and they told you to call and report, which you did. You've covered your bases and did what you could. You were vigilant and in the room and saw what happened so the children were supervised, you were just not able to stop the child from taking out his private part and from stopping the other child from touching it.

Is it typical behavior? Sure. But we all have different expectations that vary from state to state over what is "unusual" and "reportable" and what isn't. They say when unsure, ask ... and you did that and followed licensing's recommendations. You did your job.

CPS will send someone over to interview you and will probably call the parents of both children to interview them as well. They will just want to make sure that this isn't behavior that's accepted in your daycare and that the children aren't left alone or unsupervised which would allow this type of behavior to continue. If they feel concerned in any way they may even interview the children. At that point they just may want to make sure that the child exposing himself isn't being sexually abused at home somehow etc. but I doubt it'll go that route by the way that you've explained it.

[Josiegirl]

I'm in CA not in WA but i hear our licensing requirements are similar. In my state this would definitely fall under "unusual incident" and would need to be reported to licensing, which you did. At that point it would be up to licensing to determine whether they think the issue is reportable to CPS which is what they did think and they told you to call and report, which you did. You've covered your bases and did what you could. You were vigilant and in the room and saw what happened so the children were supervised, you were just not able to stop the child from taking out his private part and from stopping the other child from touching it.

Is it typical behavior? Sure. But we all have different expectations that vary from state to state over what is "unusual" and "reportable" and what isn't. They say when unsure, ask ... and you did that and followed licensing's recommendations. You did your job.

CPS will send someone over to interview you and will probably call the parents of both children to interview them as well. They will just want to make sure that this isn't behavior that's accepted in your daycare and that the children aren't left alone or unsupervised which would allow this type of behavior to continue. If they feel concerned in any way they may even interview the children. At that point they just may want to make sure that the child exposing himself isn't being sexually abused at home somehow etc. but I doubt it'll go that route by the way that you've explained it.

You learn something new every day. I honestly just assumed it was 'normal' developmental curiosity of 3-4 yo play. I'm also thinking the state goes above and beyond(or overboard??) sometimes. I'm all for protecting children, and it must be hard to draw that line sometimes, as to what's normal and what's not. It's just super scary sometimes to think how far an innocent situation could be taken.