DISCLOSURES
Make sure you tell the child what is going to happen next.
- Tell them that you will be talking with your Senior Supervisor about what to do.
- If the Parents / Caregivers are not the alleged perpetrators and you know that you will be notifying them, then tell the child. You may need to reassure them again that they will not be in trouble.
- It will be necessary to contact Child Protection authorities and that you will support them through that process.
Tip No 10 - Tell them what's going to happen next
Tell them what’s going to happen next – but keep it at that unless they ask more questions.
You don’t need to go into lengthy details about exactly what you’re going to do, how the Police will come, and how they might have to go to court etc etc. Just deal with what’s going to happen in the very immediate future.
So let them know that you’re going to talk to Miss Kate (your Senior Supervisor) so she can help you decide what to do.
If the parents aren’t the perpetrators and you know you’ll be contacting them, then let the child know so you can deal with any concerns they might have – and alert parents to any anxieties the child has about them being told of the abuse.
You can also let the child know that you will be calling the Child Protection people so they might be coming to visit and talk with him/her.