Anyone familiar with the DHS in PA? Specifically the office of child care and early education?

Submitted by RedheadedLogophile t3_z23tvg in Pennsylvania

I submitted a complaint about a daycare and received word from the DHS that it was investigated and a violation was found. I am just curious if the daycare would know it was me or how that is presented to the director when the investigator comes - wondering if anyone has insight into the process in PA. TIA!

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ButtBlock t1_ixei9dt wrote

Not an expert but based on the training module on child abuse I just had to do to renew my license, no. They will not tell that daycare who you are or anything about your identity. Thanks for speaking up to protect kids.

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RedheadedLogophile OP t1_ixejjep wrote

Thanks for your help - I went back into the complaint form and it looks like they'd only release my name if the center submitted a "Right to Know" request or a subpoena. I don't think it was serious enough for the center to go that far, but if the investigator shared details of the complaint it might be fairly obvious it was me. I am a parent and was able to pull my son out of the daycare, but who I am as a person couldn't handle the idea that they could keep doing unsafe things with the babies that weren't able to leave.

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IamSauerKraut t1_ixeli95 wrote

Your identity is confidential, and specifically protected by laws and the pertinent regs. Only if the case lands in court and the judge finds that your identity is probative will your identity become an issue. Even at that point, you should be able to submit a filing under seal opposing the release of your identity.

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Dredly t1_ixf8kwm wrote

I don't think they would tell them outright... but depending on the size of they daycare and what they were interviewed about, they may be able to determine it was you

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BeePow t1_ixgitca wrote

I used to do investigations under the DHS years ago, but not for that specific department. My old department did not provide complainant information to the facility. The facility can assume, and if they ask, "Was it so and so?" Our normal response was our confidentiality policies. We also did not provide a copy of the complaint to a facility, we used to read what the complaint was about (i.e. our office received a complaint about x, we need y records and need to view z part of the facility), but didn't provide any additional details. I used to get calls/emails from complainants of this nature all the time, and it wasn't a problem answering those types of questions.

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