What must an employee do if they suspect another employee is involved in child abuse?

• A. Report the suspected abuse to a child protective agency and inform their supervising administrator.
• B. Confront the employee.
• C. Ignore the concern.
• D. Notify HR only.

Answer: (A)

When someone suspects child abuse, the priority is to trigger an official, protective process by reporting to the proper authorities and informing the supervising administrator. This two-step action is required so a child welfare agency can assess safety and begin an investigation, while the school administrator can take immediate steps to protect students and coordinate with the district. Confronting the colleague or trying to handle it informally can escalate risk or allow harm to continue, and ignoring the concern leaves a child unprotected and may violate policy and law. Notifying only HR doesn’t initiate the mandated child protection response or ensure proper site-level oversight. So, the correct action is to report to the child protective agency and inform the supervising administrator promptly.