Part II: Responding to a Child in Crisis
Read the following case study:
Imagine you are dispatched to a house in a suburban community regarding a dispute between two neighbors. One neighbor, named Clayton, alleges that the other neighbor, Steven, cut down a tree that was on his property. Clayton refuses to leave his neighbor's front porch until the dispute is "settled." You convince Clayton to return to his house, where you begin to interview him about the dispute.
During the conversation, you notice that Clayton's 7- year-old daughter is peering at you from behind the railing of the steps that lead upstairs. You make eye contact and smile at the child, but she appears to be frightened by you and runs up the stairs. You notice what appear to be cigarette burns on the back of her legs. You also notice a finger pad bruise on her right forearm. When you confront Clayton about the markings, he begins to explain that the burns are from sparklers she played with during the Fourth of July but stops abruptly and becomes visibly agitated. He yells at you to get out of his house and to mind your own business.