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.

Delaware

Delaware has an Institutional Abuse Unit inside the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families that investigates abuse or neglect of a child while at a facility or program, so an institutional report does not get handled as an ordinary family case. Delaware also places a duty on every licensed practitioner to report another practitioner they reasonably believe is doing something that would be grounds for discipline - useful if you are a clinician who has seen something and is wondering whether you may say so.

Time limits in Delaware: 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 date the injury happened, for any personal-injury claim, including assault, battery and negligence. 10 Del. C. § 8119
If it happened before you turned 18: Less certain Delaware's childhood tolling rule (three years after the disability ends) only covers the claims listed in sections 8101-8115, and the two-year personal-injury deadline is section 8119, outside that range. So for physical-injury claims the clock likely runs from the injury even if the victim was a child. Only sexual-abuse claims get special treatment. 10 Del. C. § 8116; § 8119
If the program was run by or for the government: Less certain The State and its employees are immune for good-faith discretionary acts done without gross or wanton negligence. Counties, towns and other local bodies are immune from tort suits except narrow negligence exceptions (vehicles, public buildings, pollution); a local ordinance may require notice but cannot bar a suit if notice is given within one year. 10 Del. C. § 4001; §§ 4011-4013
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for civil CSA claims against any defendants. Trafficking: The SOL is age 23 for trafficking claims. CSAM: There is no SOL for civil CSAM claims against any defendants. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Child abuse causing permanent injury (first degree) is a class A felony and can be charged at any time. Other felony child abuse (second and third degree, child torture, felony endangering) must be charged within five years; misdemeanor child abuse within three years. The clock is not paused until the victim turns 18. 11 Del. C. § 205(a), (b); §§ 1103-1103D
Assault: Felony assault (first or second degree) must be charged within five years; no limit if it is a class A felony. Misdemeanor assault (class A misdemeanor): three years; lesser misdemeanors: two years. 11 Del. C. § 205(b)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for all felony and misdemeanor CSA crimes. Trafficking: There is no SOL for felony trafficking violations. CSAM: There is no SOL for CSAM violations. 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.

Delaware Division of Professional Regulation

Multiple professions

Houses the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, the Board of Professional Counselors and the psychology board. The boards monitor complaints against their licensees, hold formal hearings and impose sanctions.

Use this whenA licensed mental health or chemical dependency professional in Delaware.

HowSubmit the complaint in writing to the Director of the Division of Professional Regulation. At the Board's next scheduled meeting a contact person is appointed and given a copy of it.

Under Title 24 Chapter 30, every licensee has a duty to report in writing where they reasonably believe another practitioner or health care provider has engaged in conduct that would be grounds for discipline.

The agency that licenses the program

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

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL)

Investigates complaints that a licensed facility has broken the licensing rules, including the regulations governing residential child care facilities.

It has no authority over financial matters and does not investigate personal disputes. Abuse and neglect go to the Child Abuse Report Line instead.

Use this whenA licensed Delaware residential child care facility, where the issue is a licensing breach.

HowFile a confidential complaint online, or call the office for the county the facility is in.

1-800-822-2236 Kent and Sussex counties; also 302-739-5487. New Castle County 302-892-5800.
File a complaint

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Delaware Child Abuse Report Line (Institutional Abuse Unit)

The statutory 24-hour report line. Where the complaint concerns abuse or neglect of a child while at a facility or program, the Department's Institutional Abuse Unit or law enforcement investigates it.

Use this whenA child at a Delaware program.

HowCall the report line at any hour.

1-800-292-9582 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Oversight and advocacy

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

Disability Rights Delaware (Community Legal Aid Society)

Delaware's Protection and Advocacy agency, with 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 Delaware program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line.

Operates as part of the Community Legal Aid Society; its site is declasi.org.

1-800-292-7980 Main line 302-575-0660; TTY 302-575-0696.
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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.
File a complaint
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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
File a complaint
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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.
File a complaint
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.