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Protecting Others

Care Coordinator

This blog is presented by Yamid Montalvo, LPC. For more information, please visit Martin Counseling.

What Constitutes Abuse?

  • Substantial Impairment: A person who is unable to perform daily basic activities such as walking, using the bathroom, personal hygiene, eating, cooking, cleaning, shopping, managing money, taking medications, or obtaining support services (Texas Department of Family and Protective Services [DFPS], n.d.).

  • Physical Abuse Texas Administrative Code 705.1003: knowing reckless or intentional act or failure to act, which caused physical injury, emotional harm, or death. It can include intimidation, corporal punishment, and inappropriate or excessive force (DFPS, n.d.).

  • Sexual Abuse Texas Administrative Code 705.1005: Any non-consensual sexual activity

  • Neglect Texas Administrative Code 705. 1009: Includes self-neglect. When a person is not capable of taking care of their physical needs, also includes medical neglect and mental health neglect (DFPS, n.d.).

  • Financial Exploitation Texas Administrative code 705.1011: The illegal or improper use of another person’s money or property for personal profit or gain (DFPS, n.d.).

    In the state of Texas, any type of abuse must be reported by professionals under the practice of mandatory reporting. Confidentiality can be breached in the case of reportable abuse towards minors, elderly, and mentally ill individuals. (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2015).

    According to the National Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, any type of abuse to children under the age of 18 must be reported.

    In the case of people who are 65 or older, professionals are required to report neglect or abuse across the 45 states. The major types of elderly abuse are physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial or material exploitation (Corey, et al., 2015).

    Steps for Reporting Abuse:

  • Call the Texas hotline at (800) 252-5400 if you believe your situation requires immediate action, you prefer to remain anonymous, or you do not have insufficient data (DFPS, n.d.).

  • Have helpful information available such as names, ages, addresses, or phone numbers (DFPS, n.d.). 

  • Other types of helpful information or details about the alleged perpetrator as well as other details about the individual’s physical and mental condition (DFPS, n.d.).

    Additional Information

    The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services provides an additional hotline website to report abuse in case of situations that are not urgent. To access this website, type www.txabusehotline.org and answer the questions regarding your report. 

    There is important information and examples or possible signs available in the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services online at www.dfps.state.tx.us 

    For more information about child safety, visit www.helpandhppe.org

    References

    Corey, G., Corey, M. S., Corey, C., & Callanan, P. (2015). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. 

    Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2023, from https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/default.asp



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