HELP! Someone very close to me has been accused of child abuse. What to do?

[Kalmado]

I had a job when I was younger, where I provided care to people with mental disabilities. The client I was working with at the time was pretty functional as far as social abilities, but couldn't handle most adult tasks. He has/d Prader-Willi syndrome. With that said, there was a lot of times I would have to intervene into a situation that would infringe on his freedom. During one particular time, the client got really angry and started hitting me with a couch pillow. Following MANDT protocol I obtained the pillow from him and used it to deescalate the situation. The next day I was called in to admin, suspended, and investigated for physical abuse. Knowing that I had nothing to worry about, I cooperated and understood their protocol for situations like this. Although I was reinstated, I always had the fear of a permanent mark because of someones false accusations, I ended up leaving that line of work. One thing that I saw a lot of however, was employee backstabbing and smearing of facts to get someone fired.

I don't know your friend or the situation, but if she didn't hurt this person, and there is no eyewitness to back said claims. She really shouldn't be too worried. Everything her employers have done is protocol that they have to follow.

This sounds like my wife and her CNA jobs she's had. She's been punched, bit, etc but if she always follows protocol because that's the job. And as you said, there are crazy stupid coworkers that for whatever reason will say outlandish things against other coworkers and you have to go through the process. It's unfortunate that's how things are, but it is what it is. If it's not union and a lawyer will not be appointed, as stated by many get a lawyer. It's really sad but these things ruin peoples lives.

[Tyche]

I've worked in centers with developmentally disabled and direct care nursing. I can tell you that the investigation isn't coming due to mounting evidence, but simply for responsibility and preventing future legal recourse. It's standard. If an accusation is levied, typically the accused is sent home immediately until an investigation is complete. Don't look at it as if they have a preponderance of evidence showing guilt. They likely don't. They simply have to investigate. As someone else said, even with substantial evidence, these cases are very difficult to prove. So if there's no evidence as you say and she really did nothing wrong, the likelihood of something coming out of this is pretty slim. I've filled out a fair share of DSS reports in my career, something rarely comes of them. And that's unfortunate because I've had some blatant abuse cases.

[Acevalefor]

She is not union, to answer that question.

She went to the interview today and they assured her that a; she is not facing any criminal charges, and b; they are actually investigating the company and the employee who accused her. They could not tell her anything beyond that for obvious reasons, but they told her that to assuage her worries. After that, They asked lots of questions about the facility, the other employees, the kids, any past problems, policies, etc. At the end of the interview, they cleared her and said the personal investigations of her and her boyfriend are dropped.

There are no security cameras in the house, which I thought was was strange considering how easily they could have ended this whole thing if they were there.

Thanks for the input Tyche. I was hoping to get input from healthcare, police, and DHS points of view and I think You guys covered everything. It went mostly how you guys/gals said it would.

[Laugana]

It's good to hear that she was cleared, but it sounds like the company she works for is bad news.