Protect yourselves from ignorant Mandated reporters and DCFS

[BabyMine]

I'm so sorry that this happened.

Thank you for educating me about them becasueI had no idea what they were.

[goldenpig]

Unfortunately, we had to pull her out of the program. It's hard for us to send her back to the same school with the same teacher and principal after how they treated us. If they treated us more humanely after they realized their mistake, things might have been different.

We are in the process of looking for another program.

So sorry that this happened to you. Glad you are getting the word out! My 6 month old DS has several Mongolian spots on his back and butt. We just took him to his first ISR swimming lesson and the instructor said, "Oh, what's this big bruise on his back from?" Even DH said to me once, "What happened to his butt?" (and he's a doctor!) I guess he doesn't pay attention when he changes his diapers! I know what they are so I don't really think about them. Good reminder to let the teachers know when he starts preschool.

[liamsmom]

Unfortunately, we had to pull her out of the program. It's hard for us to send her back to the same school with the same teacher and principal after how they treated us. If they treated us more humanely after they realized their mistake, things might have been different.

We are in the process of looking for another program.

I'm sorry you had to go through this , mongolianspot. I'm sure there is some sort of board of directors or trustees--people the principal and superintendent report to. I would write a letter to the board and make your complaints known. The principal and staff ought to have apologized to you (or made it clear that they were ignorant of mongolian spots) even if they were required to contact DCFS.

[mongolianspot]

I'm sorry you had to go through this , mongolianspot. I'm sure there is some sort of board of directors or trustees--people the principal and superintendent report to. I would write a letter to the board and make your complaints known. The principal and staff ought to have apologized to you (or made it clear that they were ignorant of mongolian spots) even if they were required to contact DCFS.

I've written to the board and the superintendent. We got a call from the principal and the teacher afterwards. Even though it wasn't an apology, we got a "I am sorry you had to go through this". We were able to find more information about what happened.

I just came back from the board meeting. I made some suggestions so hopefully there will be some changes from that. Local newspaper reporter was there and she's going to contact me next week so hopefully, it's another avenue for me to get the word out.

[Uno-Mom]

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. That stinks so much for your family!

Thank you for sharing this story, I learned some things. I'm a specialist working in the group home system and we deal with mandatory reporting issues frequently. Sadly, our population suffers abuse at times.

I've been through many trainings about how the big-shot forensic investigaters try to determine the source of bruises and other marks. It is SO often deceiving. But none of my trainings have discussed this particular issue. Probably because the folks we support would have their pre-existing skin marks documented well ahead of time. But still, this is good for me to think about.

My particular system is very strict about calling before investigating on our own. For good reason - cover-ups are way more common than unfounded reports in my field. But there is absolutely NOTHING against expressing sorrow for the pain an unfounded investigation causes inocent people. Their follow-up sounds inexcusable. And why the heck didn't the nurse recognize the marks???

I think you're making a good choice to take your girl to a different school. Your family doesn't need the stress. Move on! And thanks for sharing.