What I Hate The Most

Hands down, the worst part of my job is the CPS referral. CPS is Child Protective Services. By law, I am required to report any suspected abuse. If a child shows up with bruises or tells me something about being hit/abused, etc. I have to fill out a report and fax it to CPS.
As if its not hard enough to listen to an 11 year old tell me that her father chased her into the bathroom and hit her because she stayed out too late, it always ends up being so much worse. My students rarely have two-parent households (I'm talking maybe 2 or 3 out of 100.) Many times, the parents are lashing out, not as a psychological thing, but as a desperate thing--most of them are still children themselves. They have no idea how to raise a child. They didn't graduate high school, they below the poverty line, and they have growing children that they have no idea what to do with.
To make matters even worse, the student is normally hesitant to say anything. Today, she was worried because her father takes care of her. If he is arrested for abuse, she is afraid she will be sent to live with her mother who barely speaks to her and is a drug addict.
They see so much violence in their neighborhood they think that is how its "supposed" to be.
I've had one CPS referral this year and nine last year. It is the hardest thing I have to do.