How do you file charges against someone who made a false child abuse call?

Answer 1

if you are repeatedly cleared of child abuse allegations through the state you can do several things; you can write a letter to your CPS headquarters (usually located in the capital of your state) and detail the situation and the fact that they are using the system to harass you. You can ALSO file for civil relief (sue them with an attorney) for defamation of character and slander. The difficulty in this is that most CPS reports are anonymous. Even if they know the name they are not legally allowed to give it to you so it is difficult to prove they are doing it.

I have personally dealt with a case where the single parent of a child was turned into CPS a total of 17 (yes you read that right 17) times in two different states. The parent was cleared twice in the first state and cleared 3 more times in the second state. At that point CPS REFUSED to investigate the parent any further beause the reports were clearly done out of harassment and with malicious intent. A Judge ORDERED CPS to investigate the parent about 3 years after they started filing complaints and they refused because all complaints were coming from the same persons and NONE of them were coming from schools, churches, daycares, etc. I often joke this parent could call CPS on themselves and CPS wouldn't come out to look due to the blatant abuse of the system.

There is a way that if the same person repeatedly turns you in CPS can actually go after them for the entire cost of their investigations-however, I am unsure how to pursue this

Answer 2

If they took out warrants against you, those are under oath, and if they gave a false police report, that's a specific crime. But I'm not aware of any child protective services statutes.

There's a real proof problem with those types of cases generally, and becomes a he said, she said situation, and many times those are resolved in favor of the defendant because of reasonable doubt.

! NOT AN ATTORNEY !

False allegations/slander are considered civil matters not criminal. That being the case you cannot have someone "charged" in the criminal definition. You can file a civil suit against the person(s) who made the false claims assuming you can prove that there was absolutely no reason for them to have done so. Please be advised, such suits are extremely difficult to win, as the person(s) can testify that they were concerned about the welfare of the child and that is usually enough to satisfy a judge.

Answer 3

This is extremely difficult, even in states with laws making it illegal, otherwise you would see over 60% of mothers involved in custody cases being put in jail. Sue for damages.