The following signs may signal the presence of child abuse or neglect. It is important to note that any one of these things could mean anything or nothing. There are many reasons a child may not want to go home on a particular day or may be overly compliant when they are trying to please a favorite teacher. However, when you have a cluster of two or more of these, this should raise a red flag to at least talk to the child and or parent, or at most call your local Child Protective Services agency. It is also important to remember that issues related solely to poverty are not considered child maltreatment issues.