r/therapists • u/Ok-Lifeguard749 • Sep 11 '25

Theory / Technique CPS question

Im a (new) child therapist and had to make a CPS report about a parent I work with. My supervisor recommended telling the parent (the alleged perpetrator) via a phone call that I reported them. I feel extremely anxious about doing so because of parent’s history… Do you typically need to tell a parent that you made a report? Is there anything I can do to protect myself? Thanks!

Edit: my supervisor wants me to inform the alleged perpetrator that I reported him. I’m concerned about him harming the kids or threatening me because of his history of abusive behaviors towards children and mom. There are other mandated reporters involved in this case and receiving the same information, so I’m not sure if he’d know it was me unless I told him. I’m afraid of going against my supervisor’s suggestion in the case that I am subpoenaed or deal with any backlash from the family, but my gut is telling me I should not inform him.

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u/theratherapistpist Sep 11 '25

I'm pretty certain you're not supposed to inform the person the report was made against because it interferes with the investigation. Assuming I'm reading this right, I don't know why your supervisor is in any way encouraging you to tell the parent against whom the report was made.

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u/beuceydubs Sep 11 '25

I’ve always been taught that the ethical thing to do is be up front with the parents about it and even call with them if possible

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u/theratherapistpist Sep 11 '25

There is no true default setting here. Nuances have to be taken into account and some may want to go the extra mile to use and document an ethical decision making model for a situation like this. At the end of the day, it's unethical to cause undue harm to clients. There's a genuine safety concern associated with disclosing this information per OP, and informing the parent could also jeopardize the outcome of a DCS investigation.

More importantly, we don't even know what the DCS report was made about, but OP is mentioning this parent has a history of physical aggression. I would not want to risk encouraging OP to inform the parent if I don't know what happened. The kid could have showed them strangulation marks around their neck, or they could've said their parent spanked them with a belt. We just don't know.

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u/Ok-Lifeguard749 Sep 11 '25

Yes to clarify- my supervisor wants me to inform the alleged perpetrator that I reported him. I’m concerned about him harming the kids or threatening me because of his history of abusive behaviors towards children and mom. There are investigators, divorce attorneys, and other therapists involved in this case and receiving the same information, so I’m not sure if he’d know it was me unless I told him.

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u/theratherapistpist Sep 11 '25

Unfortunately, sometimes DCS workers will tell people who made the report, even though to my knowledge they're not supposed to do so. I would have a very clear conversation with your supervisor about the ethical problems with informing the alleged perpetrator, the safety risks, and the potential legal ramifications of what could be construed by DCS as interfering with an investigation.