Report Abuse

A report can go to more than one place at once, and usually should. The licensing board can take a therapist's licence. The state licensor can act against the program. Child protection and the police handle the crime. They do not talk to each other reliably, so telling one is not telling the others.

If you need help right now rather than a place to report, the Resources page lists the crisis lines.

Which state is the program in?

Report to the state the program is in, not the state you live in. The agency with the power to act is the one where the facility sits.

California

California has a trap that catches families constantly. The Board of Behavioral Sciences warns that a complaint filed by anyone other than the client may be impossible to pursue, because the client owns the confidentiality of their own treatment records - so a parent complaining about their adult child's therapist, or a sibling complaining for a survivor, may need signed authorisations from everyone involved before the Board can investigate at all. Sort that out before you file, not after.

Time limits in California: a general guide

This was correct as far as we could tell when we checked it on 28 September 2026. Laws on time limits change often, sometimes every legislative session, so some of what follows may have been updated since. It is a starting point, not legal advice: please check with a lawyer before relying on any date here. A time limit on a lawsuit or a criminal charge is also not a time limit on telling someone, and most of the places listed below will still take a report.

Time limits for abuse of a child often run from the survivor's 18th birthday, or from when they came to understand what happened, rather than from the day the program closed. Many states have lengthened them, removed them for child sexual abuse, or reopened claims that had already expired. A criminal charge, a lawsuit and a licence complaint each have their own time limit, so one having passed does not necessarily mean the others have.

Lawsuits

Physical abuse or injury: Two years from the injury for assault, battery, and injuries caused by someone's wrongful act or negligence. False imprisonment (being held against your will) has only one year. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1; § 340(c)
If it happened before you turned 18: The clock does not run while the injured person is under 18, so a two-year claim can be filed until age 20 (one-year false imprisonment claims until 19). This pause does NOT apply to claims against a government body or public employee. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352
If the program was run by or for the government: For a state- or county-run facility, a written government claim must be filed within six months of the injury, and a lawsuit within six months after the claim is rejected in writing (two years if no written rejection is sent). Being a minor does not pause these deadlines, but it is grounds for the agency to accept a late claim if applied for within a year. Cal. Gov. Code §§ 911.2(a), 945.6(a), 911.6(b)(2)-(3); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352(b)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for civil CSA claims against all defendants. Trafficking: The SOL for trafficking offenses is age 28. CSAM: There is no SOL for some CSAM offenses, and an SOL of age 40 for others, with a 10-year discovery rule. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Less certain Felony child abuse or endangerment (Penal Code 273a(a)) and felony cruel corporal punishment or traumatic injury to a child (273d) must be charged within three years of the offense. The clock is not paused until the child turns 18 for these physical-abuse crimes. Cal. Penal Code § 801; §§ 273a(a), 273d(a); § 805(a)
Assault: Felony assault such as assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury: three years from the offense. Felonies carrying eight years or more: six years. Misdemeanor assault or battery: one year. Cal. Penal Code §§ 800, 801, 802(a); § 245(a)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for many felony sex offenses, including rape. The SOL is age 40 for other felonies, and 1-3 years from the offense for misdemeanors. Trafficking: There is no SOL for trafficking using force, fraud, or coercion. The SOL for other trafficking violations is 6 years from the offense. CSAM: The SOL for CSAM is 10 years from the offense. CHILD USA's summary

The injury, assault and physical abuse lines are our reading of the statutes linked, as they stood on 28 September 2026. The child sexual abuse lines are CHILD USA's summary as it stood on 28 September 2026; their page may be more current than ours. In them SOL means statute of limitations, CSA child sexual abuse, and CSAM child sexual abuse material. "Less certain" marks a line where the law is unclear or where our reading has not been confirmed, so please treat it with extra care. Exceptions, court rulings and the details of what happened can all change which time limit applies, and some of these may be longer or shorter for you than they look here. CHILD USA's statute of limitations tracker, updated as each state changes its law. A lawyer can tell you which time limit applies to you, and many offer a free first consultation.

The therapist's licensing board

Holds the individual clinician's licence and can suspend or revoke it.

California Board of Behavioral Sciences

Multiple professions

Licenses and disciplines marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors and educational psychologists, and registers their associates. It can file a formal Accusation leading to probation, suspension or revocation of a licence.

A third-party complaint may be impossible for it to pursue unless everyone involved authorises release of the treatment records. An anonymous complaint will be reviewed but, in the Board's own words, may be impossible to pursue without documented evidence.

Use this whenAn LMFT, LCSW, LPCC or LEP, or one of their registered associates. Psychologists are the separate Board of Psychology.

HowFile online through DCA BreEZe, or post the Consumer Complaint Form and Authorization Release. It must be in writing, and first-hand, verifiable detail counts for much more than anything else, including contact details for anyone who can corroborate it.

The Board says it reviews every complaint whatever its source, acknowledges receipt in writing where it can, and writes to you again if the disposition changes.

The agency that licenses the program

Inspects the facility itself and can cite, fine, suspend or close it.

California Community Care Licensing Division, Centralized Complaint and Information Bureau

Licenses and inspects Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs, group homes and the other children's residential facilities, investigates complaints, and publishes what it finds against each facility.

Use this whenThe facility. The Community Care Facility search lets you look a program up first and read its licensing record.

HowCall the hotline, or complain online, by email, letter or fax.

The Division says you may remain anonymous.

1-844-538-8766 1-844-LET-US-NO.
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letusno@dss.ca.gov
By postCalifornia Department of Social Services, Centralized Complaint and Information Bureau, 744 P Street, Mail Station 9-3-52, Sacramento, CA 95814

Law enforcement and legal channels

Child protection, the Attorney General, and the criminal side.

Your county Child Protective Services hotline

California has no statewide child abuse hotline. Each county runs its own 24-hour line, staffed by trained social workers, and that county agency investigates.

Use this whenA child at a California program. Report to the county the program sits in, not the county you live in.

HowFind the county's hotline through the state's reporting page and call it. In an emergency, 911.

If it is the county child welfare agency itself that has mishandled things, the state takes complaints about county agencies separately.

Oversight and advocacy

Bodies with a right to investigate, and advocates who can act for you.

Disability Rights California

California's Protection and Advocacy agency and the largest in the country. Federal authority to investigate abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in facilities, a right of access to them, and free legal advocacy.

Use this whenA California program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-776-5746 Main line 916-504-5800; TTY 1-800-719-5798.
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Wherever the program is

Bodies that take a report wherever the program is. None of these replaces the state channels: the state licensing board and the state licensor are the ones that can take somebody's licence away. For crisis lines, see the Resources page - this list is about reporting, not about getting through tonight.

Law enforcement and legal channels

Child protection, the Attorney General, and the criminal side.

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline

Talks through what happened, tells you which state agency takes the report, and stays on the line while you work out what to say. Counselors are available 24/7.

It is not itself an investigating agency. It routes you; it does not open a case.

Use this whenAnyone unsure where a report about a child should go, including a survivor who is now an adult and a parent who has just got their child out.

HowCall, text GO to the same number, or use the live chat on the site.

1-800-422-4453 24 hours, every day. Text GO to 800-422-4453, or chat from the website.
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State child abuse and neglect reporting numbers (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

The federal government's directory of every state's child protection intake line, with each state's online reporting option where one exists.

Use this whenA child currently at the program. Report to the state the program sits in, not the state the family lives in - the agency with jurisdiction is the one where the child is.

HowFind the state on the directory page, then call that state's intake line.

Most states take an anonymous report but will act on more of it if they can call you back.

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Takes reports of civil rights violations, including conditions in institutions where people are held. Its Special Litigation Section is the part that investigates residential facilities under CRIPA and can sue an institution or a state over a pattern of abuse.

It does not act for one person against one program. It looks for patterns, and it decides on its own whether to open anything.

Use this whenA facility where the abuse is systemic rather than one member of staff - restraint practice, seclusion, denial of medical care, conditions across a whole program.

HowSubmit the online report form. Paper forms can be downloaded and mailed.

1-855-856-1247 Toll free. Direct line 202-514-3847, TTY 711.
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By postU.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General hotline

Investigates fraud and abuse in federally funded health programs. Where a program bills Medicaid, this is often the lever that moves first, because billing for treatment that was not given is easier to prove than the treatment being abusive.

It will not get you a refund or a remedy in your own case, and says so plainly. Volume means most complaints get no reply.

Use this whenA program billing Medicaid or another federal program - for therapy hours nobody delivered, for staff who were not qualified, for a level of care the child was not getting.

HowSubmit through the online tips portal. It only takes unclassified complaints online.

Oversight and advocacy

Bodies with a right to investigate, and advocates who can act for you.

Your state's Protection and Advocacy agency

Every state has one, funded by Congress. Under the DD Act and PAIMI they have legal authority to investigate abuse and neglect wherever a person with a disability receives services, and a right of access to the place itself - they can go in. Several of the hardest reports on programs in this industry came from P&A investigations.

Use this whenA program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis, which covers most placements in this industry. You do not need a formal diagnosis to call and ask.

HowFind your state's agency in the NDRN directory and contact its intake line. Report to the state the program is in.

The Joint Commission, Office of Quality and Patient Safety

Accredits behavioral health organisations and can review, cite, or ultimately withdraw accreditation. Losing accreditation can cost a program its insurance contracts and its Medicaid participation, which is sometimes the fastest real consequence available.

It only has standing over organisations it accredits, and it does not discipline an individual clinician. Check the program is accredited first.

Use this whenA Joint Commission accredited facility. Its Find Accredited Organizations search will tell you whether a program is one.

HowUse the online submission form, which it prefers, or call. It does not take walk-ins, faxes or email, and it shreds medical records, photos and invoices on arrival.

You can file anonymously, but it can only tell you what it did with the complaint if you give your name.

1-800-994-6610
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By postOffice of Quality and Patient Safety, The Joint Commission, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

CARF International

The other accreditor much of this industry uses. Takes concerns about an accredited provider and can act on its accreditation.

Like any accreditor it has no power over an unaccredited program, and none over an individual therapist's licence.

Use this whenA CARF-accredited program. CARF asks you to try the provider's own grievance process first, and says to go to your state P&A agency or the state licensor if that does not resolve it.

HowUse the feedback form on the public page, or call the dedicated line.

1-866-510-2273 Toll free, 866-510-CARF.
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By postCARF International, 6951 East Southpoint Road, Tucson, AZ 85756

This is a directory, not legal advice. Which channel fits your situation, and what a deadline means for your case, are questions for a lawyer. The Resources page lists where to start looking for one.