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.

New York

New York has something most states do not: the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, created by statute in 2013, with its own 24-hour register, its own investigators and the power to support criminal prosecution. It says every allegation is investigated to conclusion, and it provides advocates to victims and families during the investigation. If the program is a New York state-operated, licensed or certified facility, this is the strongest channel in the state.

The therapist's licensing board

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

New York Office of the Professions, Office of Professional Discipline

Multiple professions

Investigates professional misconduct by anyone licensed by the State of New York - psychologists, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, creative arts therapists, psychoanalysts and social workers - and illegal practice by the unlicensed. Outcomes run from a warning letter to revoking the licence.

Use this whenA licensed mental health professional in New York, or someone practising without the licence.

HowComplete the discipline complaint form and post it to the regional Office of Professional Discipline nearest where the incident happened, or fax it. Complaints must be in writing; they cannot be made by phone, though you can call for help with the form.

Investigators in the regional office may consult members of the State board for that profession before deciding.

The agency that licenses the program

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

New York OCFS and OMH residential facility oversight

The Office of Mental Health regulates residential treatment facilities for children and youth, and the OCFS Regional Office investigates child abuse and neglect allegations involving facilities OMH licenses or operates. Between them they hold the licence and investigate what happens inside it.

Use this whenA New York residential treatment facility - unsafe conditions, inadequate supervision, hygiene and health neglect, anything that is a standards failure rather than one person's conduct.

HowReport through the OCFS portal or the Statewide Central Register. For a licensed facility the Justice Center's Vulnerable Persons Central Register is usually the stronger route.

Takes anonymous reports Checked 22 September 2026 · source: ocfs.ny.gov

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment

The state's child abuse hotline, run by the Office of Children and Family Services. Takes reports from the general public and routes them to the local child protective service for investigation.

Use this whenA child at a New York program. Neighbours, relatives and concerned citizens can all use the public line.

HowCall the 24-hour toll-free line. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or the local police first.

Takes anonymous reports Mandatory reporters use this channel Checked 22 September 2026 · sources: ocfs.ny.gov, ocfs.ny.gov

Oversight and advocacy

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

New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs

Runs the Vulnerable Persons Central Register, a 24-hour hotline for abuse, neglect, financial misappropriation and any significant incident threatening the health, safety or welfare of someone in a New York state-operated, licensed or certified facility. It investigates every allegation to conclusion, and works with prosecutors on criminal cases arising from them.

Use this whenA young person with special needs - which includes a mental health diagnosis - receiving services at a New York state-operated, licensed or certified facility or program.

HowCall the Vulnerable Persons Central Register. If somebody is in immediate danger, call 911 first.

The Justice Center provides advocates who answer questions about the process and give case updates during an investigation - unusual, and worth using.

Disability Rights New York

New York'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 New York 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.