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.

New Jersey

Two things New Jersey states plainly. Every report of abuse or neglect in an institutional setting - and it names residential treatment centres specifically - must go to the State Central Registry, and an investigator has to start within 24 hours. And a complaint form sent to a professional board is a government record: the board may be obliged to hand it to anyone who asks for it once the investigation is over.

Time limits in New Jersey: 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 for personal injury, which covers assault, battery and negligence alike. N.J. Stat. Ann. 2A:14-2(a)
If it happened before you turned 18: Yes. If you were under 18 when you were hurt, the two years do not start until you turn 18, so the deadline is usually your 20th birthday. There is no general extended deadline for physical (non-sexual) child abuse. N.J. Stat. Ann. 2A:14-21
If the program was run by or for the government: Against the state, a county, a town or another public entity, you must file a notice of claim within 90 days (a judge may allow late notice up to one year for extraordinary circumstances) and sue within two years; a minor can do both after turning 18. N.J. Stat. Ann. 59:8-8, 59:8-9 (Tort Claims Act)
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims against all defendants is age 55 or 7 years after discovering an injury caused by the abuse, even for claims that have already expired. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: For endangering the welfare of a child (which includes a caregiver causing a child physical abuse or neglect): five years after the victim turns 18, or two years after the victim discovers the offense, whichever is later. Other child cruelty charges (a fourth-degree crime) have the general five years from the offense. N.J. Stat. Ann. 2C:1-6(b)(4); offenses 2C:24-4(a)(2), 9:6-3
Assault: Five years from the offense for aggravated assault and other indictable crimes. Simple assault (a disorderly persons offense): one year. N.J. Stat. Ann. 2C:1-6(b)(1), (b)(2); aggravated assault 2C:12-1(b)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no SOL for felony or aggravated sexual assault. The SOL for criminal sexual conduct and endangering the welfare of a child is age 23. The SOL for other felonies is 5 years from the offense, and 1 year for misdemeanors, with discovery and DNA rules. Trafficking: The SOL for trafficking offenses is 5 years from the offense. CSAM: The SOL for CSAM offenses is age 23 or 2 years from the victim’s discovery of the offense, whichever is later. 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.

New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, professional boards

Multiple professions

Houses the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee, the Board of Social Work Examiners, the State Board of Psychological Examiners and the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, and takes complaints against all of them through one portal.

Use this whenA licensed counselor, social worker, psychologist or marriage and family therapist in New Jersey.

HowFile through the Division's board complaint portal, or post the board's form to its Newark address.

The Division warns that anything you put on the complaint form may become public. The completed form is a government record, and once any investigation is finished the board may be obliged to release it to anyone who requests it.

973-504-6200
File a complaint
More about this body
By postNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, 124 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ 07101

The agency that licenses the program

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

New Jersey DCF Office of Licensing

The Department of Children and Families' licensing and regulatory authority for youth and residential programs, children's group homes, resource family homes and adoption agencies. It inspects them and investigates health and safety violations.

Use this whenA licensed New Jersey youth or residential program. Allegations of abuse go to the State Central Registry instead.

HowCall the licensing complaint line or file online. Complaints may be made anonymously.

Inspection and violation reports, and a summary of any complaint made against a licensed centre, have to be made available on request.

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

New Jersey State Central Registry (1-877 NJ ABUSE)

The statutory report line for child abuse and neglect. New Jersey requires every report of abuse in an institutional setting - child care centres, schools, foster homes and residential treatment centres - to come here, and the Division of Child Protection and Permanency must start investigating within 24 hours.

Use this whenA child at a New Jersey program. You do not need proof, and you can report anonymously.

HowCall the 24-hour line. If the child is in immediate danger, call 911 as well.

1-877-652-2873 1-877-NJ-ABUSE. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
More about this body

Oversight and advocacy

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

Disability Rights New Jersey

New Jersey'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. It publishes its own guide to reporting abuse or neglect in New Jersey.

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

HowContact the intake line, or start from its reporting guide.

1-800-922-7233 Main line 609-292-9742; TTY 609-633-7106.
File a complaint
More about this body

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.
More about this body

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
More about this body
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
More about this body
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.