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.

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.

Iowa

Iowa runs a separate number for abuse suspected inside a licensed facility or program, distinct from the general child abuse hotline - use it if what happened was inside a program. Iowa also folded its Board of Psychology into the Board of Behavioral Health Professionals in 2024, so one board now covers psychologists along with counselors and social workers. And the Iowa Office of Ombudsman covers both the licensing boards and Health and Human Services, which makes it the escalation route when either one stalls.

The therapist's licensing board

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

Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals

Multiple professions

Receives and investigates complaints against mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, behavior analysts and - since the boards merged under 2024 Iowa Acts SF 2385 - psychologists, and disciplines their licences. Iowa publishes its discipline documents.

Use this whenAny licensed behavioral health professional in Iowa. Anyone may file: a patient, a family member, anyone else.

HowFile through the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing complaints page, which routes it to the right board.

Iowa law keeps the complainant's information confidential.

The agency that licenses the program

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

Iowa HHS facility licensing and certification

Licenses and certifies Iowa's residential facilities and programs for children, and takes the complaints about abuse inside them through its dedicated facility reporting line.

Use this whenA licensed Iowa facility or program.

HowUse the facility abuse line for abuse inside a licensed program, and the Department's contacts page for anything else.

Takes anonymous reports Checked 22 September 2026 · source: hhs.iowa.gov

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Iowa reporting of abuse in a licensed facility

The route Iowa gives for abuse suspected inside a licensed facility or program, separate from the general child abuse hotline.

Use this whenA young person abused inside an Iowa licensed facility or program.

HowCall the facility line rather than the general hotline.

Takes anonymous reports Mandatory reporters use this channel Checked 22 September 2026 · source: hhs.iowa.gov

Iowa Child Abuse Hotline

The statewide confidential 24-hour line taking reports of suspected abuse of children and dependent adults. The Child Protective Services intake unit screens them.

Use this whenA child at an Iowa program.

HowCall. Have identifying details and the child's whereabouts ready.

You may stay anonymous unless you are reporting as a mandatory reporter, in which case you have to leave your name and contact details.

Takes anonymous reports Mandatory reporters use this channel Checked 22 September 2026 · source: hhs.iowa.gov

Oversight and advocacy

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

Iowa Office of Ombudsman

An independent office that reviews complaints about state agencies, and it names both the professional licensing boards and the Department of Health and Human Services among the bodies it covers. The route when a licensing complaint or an abuse report has gone nowhere.

It examines how an agency handled something rather than disciplining a clinician or a program itself.

Use this whenSomebody who has already complained to an Iowa board or to HHS and got no response they can make sense of.

Disability Rights Iowa

Iowa'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 whenAn Iowa program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line.

Anonymous reports carry less weight Checked 22 September 2026 · source: ndrn.org

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.

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.

Takes anonymous reports Mandatory reporters use this channel Checked 22 September 2026 · source: childwelfare.gov

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.

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.

Takes anonymous reports Checked 22 September 2026 · source: oig.hhs.gov

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.

Anonymous reports carry less weight Checked 22 September 2026 · sources: ndrn.org, acl.gov

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.

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.

Checked 22 September 2026 · source: carf.org

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.