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.

Maine

Maine runs one number for two different jobs: 1-800-452-1999 takes reports of suspected child abuse and it takes licensing concerns about a children's residential facility, because the same Office of Child and Family Services unit licenses and investigates them. Maine also has an independent Child Welfare Ombudsman, outside the department, for when the department itself is the problem.

Time limits in Maine: 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: Six years from the injury, for assault, battery, false imprisonment and negligence alike. 14 M.R.S. § 752
If it happened before you turned 18: For someone injured as a child, the six years start when they turn 18, so the deadline is normally the 24th birthday. There is no separate longer deadline for non-sexual physical abuse of a child. 14 M.R.S. § 853
If the program was run by or for the government: Under the Maine Tort Claims Act, written notice must be filed within 365 days, and suit within 2 years; if the claimant was a minor, suit may be brought within 2 years after turning 18. 14 M.R.S. §§ 8107, 8110
Child sexual abuse: There is no civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims, and all claims against all defendants are permanently revived. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Maine has no separate physical child abuse crime; it is charged as assault or endangering the welfare of a child. Six years for Class A, B or C crimes (such as assault on a child under 6, or aggravated assault) and three years for Class D or E crimes (such as simple assault or endangering the welfare of a child), counted from the crime, with no delay until the child turns 18. 17-A M.R.S. § 8(2); 17-A M.R.S. §§ 207, 554
Assault: Aggravated assault (Class A or B): six years from the crime. Simple assault (Class D): three years. 17-A M.R.S. § 8(2); 17-A M.R.S. § 208
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for certain CSA crimes, an SOL of either 6 or 20 years from the offense for remaining felonies, and an SOL of 3 years from the offense for misdemeanors. Trafficking: There is no SOL for trafficking. CSAM: There is no SOL for CSAM violations that include intentionally subjecting the victim to sexual contact. Remaining CSAM offenses have an SOL of either 3 or 6 years, depending on the seriousness of the crime. 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. 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.

Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

Multiple professions

Houses the Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure, the Board of Examiners of Psychologists and the State Board of Social Worker Licensure, and takes complaints against all of them through one form. Complaints, investigations and legal negotiations are handled by the Office's own investigators and attorneys.

Use this whenA licensed counselor, psychologist or social worker in Maine.

HowFile through the Office's online complaint form.

The agency that licenses the program

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

Maine OCFS, Children's Licensing and Investigation Unit

Licenses and oversees every children's residential facility in Maine, including shelters, along with child placing agencies and child care providers, and investigates complaints against them.

Use this whenA children's residential facility - licensing violations as well as suspected abuse or neglect inside one.

HowCall the same number used for child abuse reports and say it is a licensing concern about a facility.

1-800-452-1999 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
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Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Maine OCFS Intake (child abuse and neglect)

The statutory report line for suspected child abuse and neglect in Maine, staffed around the clock including holidays.

Use this whenA child at a Maine program.

HowCall.

1-800-452-1999 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
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Oversight and advocacy

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

Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman

An independent office, outside the Department of Health and Human Services, that takes complaints about how the Department is handling a child's case.

It reviews the Department's conduct rather than licensing or prosecuting a program.

Use this whenA family or young person who believes the Department has mishandled a child's case, including after a report was made.

HowSubmit a complaint through the office's site, or call.

Disability Rights Maine

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

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-452-1948 Voice and TTY. Main line 207-626-2774.
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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.
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.