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CHAPTER ONE
“MS HAMILTON? THIS is Mara Noble calling from Busy Little Minds preschool”
“Yes, Mara” As a social worker employed by California Social Services in the child welfare department, Lacey Hamilton had familiarized herself with the reputations and locations of all of the child care facilities and schools in her district of Santa Raquel Busy Little Minds was one of the best rated for both intellectual and emotional development “What can I do for you?” While there was kindness in her words, there was no s her, chances were a serious issue was at hand
With her phone on speaker behind the closed door of her private office, she opened a new docuram
“I have a little boy,” Mara said “He’s four, and I suspect abuse”
The wo silent points to Little Minds for e, Lacey asked, “Is he there with you now?”
“Yes, ma’am”
“Is he in need of medical attention?”
“No He’s already had medical attention His father took him to
the eency room at the Santa Raquel Children’s Hospital over the weekend”
Call the hospital And Ella Ella Ackerh Risk Tearoup coht to prevent domestic violence deaths Lacey was the team’s child protective services member
“So right now he’s not in any ier” She went back to the checklist she knew by heart Determine the immediate safety and medical condition of the child first
“Not at the moment”
Could the child be in ier?
“Do you suspect the abuse took place in or outside the home?”
“It’s not here,” Mara said, her voice sole sure she wasn’t overheard “And as far as I can tell, he doesn’t have babysitters and is not in any other activities outside of ours”
Parents? Lacey typed onto the blank page Many of her colleagues still took notes by hand She always took them electronically, even if she had only her sy gave her a tiny bit of the distance she had toher job
“What about siblings?” she asked “Are you aware of anyone in the home other than his parents?”
She had to assess the situation to determine which course of action to take: an immediate trip to Little Minds to secure the child within her care while she investigated, or the more preferred, less harsh approach of a call to his parents
“No He’s an only child Andhis parents are divorced”
She wrote that ith a capital D Sadly it showed up in more than 50 percent of her reports
“Who has custody?”
“Our records indicate that they have shared parenting Dad is the one who always drops him off and picks him up”
She typed Father controlling? and then a few notes to herself, to be used later when she made an official report
Now for the hardest part
“Why do you suspect abuse?” Thousands of kids went to eency rooms every day, because kids were naturally inquisitive, adventurous, without the ithal to calculate danger,them prone to accidents