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==Reporting children to the ministry== | ==Reporting children to the ministry== | ||
Certain people, including mediators, parenting coordinators, doctors, teachers, psychologists and psychiatrists, have a positive duty to report children in need of protection to the ministry. Section 14 of the ''Act'' imposes a similar duty on anyone who believes a child is in need of protection, and makes it an offence not to report a child to the ministry. In other words, anyone — including a parent — who thinks a child needs to be protected from abuse, neglect, harm or the threat of harm, must report the problem to the [http://www.gov.bc.ca/mcf/ Ministry for Children and Family Development]. | Certain people, including mediators, parenting coordinators, doctors, teachers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, have a positive duty to report children in need of protection to the ministry. Section 14 of the ''Act'' imposes a similar duty on anyone who believes a child is in need of protection, and makes it an offence not to report a child to the ministry. In other words, anyone — including a parent — who thinks a child needs to be protected from abuse, neglect, harm, or the threat of harm, must report the problem to the [http://www.gov.bc.ca/mcf/ Ministry for Children and Family Development]. | ||
Once a child is reported as being at risk, the ministry will assess the report and determine whether an investigation by a social worker is necessary. The ''Act'' gives the social worker looking into the alleged problem a fairly broad authority to investigate the complaint. | Once a child is reported as being at risk, the ministry will assess the report and determine whether an investigation by a social worker is necessary. The ''Act'' gives the social worker looking into the alleged problem a fairly broad authority to investigate the complaint. |
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