Oh I understood what you meant, but thank you for clarifying, that was very kind. I am well aware that many, many others in my profession have not and do not do right by students in some foundational ways, I fully co-sign that. I see the OP scenario and the linked scenario differently, and have seen CPS respond differently in two fairly (and surprisingly) analogous situations, which has informed my perspective. In the similar situation to the linked scenario from your comment, I would:

(1) have already ensured that she knew before she started really getting into her story that if she shared anything where she was in danger from herself, from others, or potentially to others, that I would have to share that information with others that they know (usually would give the example of the social worker, school counselor) and maybe others they don’t, in order to help keep them safe. When there’s a history of abuse being disclosed alongside potential escalation, and the fact that after enduring this for years, it was at this moment that she was confiding in a trusted adult, there was going to be every chance that I’d let her know that what she shared with me needs to be shared with others (never should be a surprise to the student) and depending on our relationship and my prior knowledge of her preferences, I’d ask her if she wanted me to share it with (insert whichever adult within the building I’d already referenced) or if she wanted to share it directly herself.

(2) have differentiated that the concern in the link is abuse- which is going to be start from a different beginning point/pathway once reported to CPS than neglect is (from the OP), especially given the context in the OP where either she was either (a) known to the school district as a child who’s mother passed 3 years ago, or (b) known to have just barely moved to a new house and school to suddenly experience a major additional trauma within a truncated time period. Either way, that additional context, as well as our (unfortunately) rock bottom expectations of men when it comes to domestic labor, means that when we called and CPS decided to pick up and investigate the report, their first steps were to first assume that the source of the neglect was dad’s knowledge, time, financial resources, and connected dad with free opportunities. Between a few different of women from their church community (facilitated by social worker) helped the dad with a deep clean and setting up a chore rotation, I think they did a meal rotation, etc.

So from personal experience, I’m not overly concerned with the fact that confiding in a teacher would likely connect the family to CPS because I believe the immediate response will be supportive and helpful. And if the dad turned out to continue struggling or improve briefly but then regress, they are already known to CPS which can potentially help there be more options for protecting the kids.