[Judicial and administrative consequences of reporting of adolescents in danger]

Adolescent victims of abuse or neglect are regularly reported to social agencies and legal authorities. However, decisions following reports often remain unknown, leaving the question of the reporting's relevance open. POPULATION AND METHODS--Forty-one consecutive written reports sent to child protective services were reviewed, and their content analysed. These services were then contacted by telephone, in order to gather information on outcome. RESULTS--Forty-one reports concerned 40 adolescents (32 girls, 8 boys); 36 of whom had been admitted to our adolescent medicine ward. The most common reason for admission was a suicide attempt (20 cases). Thirty-nine reports were destined to legal authorities, while two to social agencies. The reason for reporting was physical or sexual abuse in more than half of the cases. In twenty-five cases, the main request was a separation from the family. Eighteen adolescents were lost from our medical follow-up after reporting. Thirty-two reports to legal authorities had led to a hearing by a juvenile judge answered favorably in two-thirds of the cases, after a mean period of 26 days. All the subjects for whom a separation from the family was not requested in the report remained at home. CONCLUSION--A simple telephone call is enough to gather information about the following of reports and enables an evaluation of the relevancy of its requests. The interface between the health care and legal systems needs improving through better coordination. Pediatricians should be leaders in this field.