The Abuse Neglect Proceeding: What Does "Unsubstantiated" Mean?

Parents often ask me about whether or not they should report suspected child abuse. These questions often arise in the context of a pending divorce case or after a child custody proceeding or a custody modification motion has been filed. I routinely recommend that the concerned parent figure out a way to have any report to Child Protective Services be made by a mandated reporter. Why do I recommend this? Too often, in my experience, CPS or the Friend of the Court or the judge in the case may not believe the report. When a CPS referral is made and the report comes back in 60 days (or less) as "unsubstantiated," that report may negatively affect a parent's custody rights. If the judge thinks that a parent is making false allegations of abuse, the judge may well rule in favor of the other parent when making custody or parenting time rulings.

"Unsubstantiated." What does this term mean in this context? Professor Daniel Pollack and Lori Kornblum, J.D. discuss the literal and substantive meaning of the term in a recent article.

Regarding the legal meaning of of the term "unsubstantiated," Pollack and Kornblum write:

"Understanding what unsubstantiated really means will help lawyers look at their clients holistically and not
be satisfied with the literal label assigned by the CPS social worker. The Wisconsin Department of Children
and Families (DCF) has guidelines defining when to use the term “unsubstantiated.” Indeed, according
to the DCF’s guidelines, use of the term “unsubstantiated” does not equate to a conclusion that abuse is not present,
just that it is not sufficiently verifiable." ¹

The authors have gathered statistics regarding the number of reports of maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional damage/abuse) for the year 2016. The number of reported cases in Wisconsin in that year (42,522) resulted in only 5,300 substantiated cases. That seems very shocking when one considers the kind of lasting damage that can be done to a child (and perhaps later to a sibling)--damage that can have lifelong consequences. Id. at p 25.

While the valuable references to statutes, reports and references are state-specific to Wisconsin, anyone skilled with Google should be able to find similar resources for any state.

Other posts on this Blog discussing child abuse and neglect may be accessed here: "Child Abuse and Neglect"

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1. Kornblum, L. & Pollack, D. (2018). Child abuse: The ‘Unsubstantiated’ Finding. Wisconsin Lawyer, 91(8), 22-27, 24. Download Child Abuse - The Unsubstantiated Finding