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.

Tennessee

Three Tennessee specifics. The abuse hotline stops taking calls at weekends - from 11pm Central Friday to 11pm Central Sunday it plays a recording sending you to the online portal - so if something happens on a Saturday, use the portal. Licensing splits on whether a program calls itself clinical: DCS licenses the non-clinical residential programs, the Health Facilities Commission licenses the healthcare facilities. And unlike most states, the Department of Health says it will not reveal a complainant's name to the practitioner.

Time limits in Tennessee: 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: One year for personal injury, including assault, battery, negligence and false imprisonment. It becomes two years if the person who hurt you is criminally prosecuted for it (and you sue that person). Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)
If it happened before you turned 18: If you were under 18 when you were hurt, the clock starts at 18. With the one-year injury deadline, that means suing before your 19th birthday. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106(a)
If the program was run by or for the government: Less certain Claims against a county, city or other local government must be filed within 12 months. Claims against the State go to the Claims Commission: written notice must be given to the state's Division of Claims and Risk Management within the normal deadline for that kind of claim (one year for injury). Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 29-20-305(b), 9-8-402(a)-(b)
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims against all defendants is age 33 with a 3-year discovery rule. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Aggravated child abuse, neglect or endangerment (serious injury, a weapon, or torture): until 10 years after the victim turns 18, or longer if the normal felony period is longer. Ordinary felony child abuse of a teenager (injury, Class E felony): only two years from the offense. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-2-101(n), (b)(4); § 39-15-402; § 39-15-401(a)
Assault: Four years for most aggravated assault (Class C or D felony). Misdemeanor assault must be charged within 12 months. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-2-101(b)(3), 40-2-102(a), 39-13-102(d)
Child sexual abuse: There is no SOL for all CSA felonies and many misdemeanors, including trafficking and CSAM, but admissible and credible evidence corroborating the charges is required where a victim is now over age 43, was abused between ages 13 and 17, and did not report the abuse. 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.

The agency that licenses the program

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

Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, Complaint Intake Unit

Licenses and regulates healthcare facilities in Tennessee and takes complaints against licensed, certified and unlicensed ones alike - the unlicensed part matters in this industry. It publishes facility action and abuse reports, and survey deficiencies for any facility taking Medicare or TennCare.

Use this whenA facility providing clinical treatment, or one you believe is operating without a licence.

HowUse the public complaints portal, call the intake unit, or ask them to post you a complaint form.

The online Public Records and Complaints portal opened to the public in July 2025 and is the quickest route.

1-877-287-0010 Toll free, Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm.
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By postTennessee Health Facilities Commission, Andrew Jackson Building, 9th Floor, 502 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243

Tennessee DCS, Office of Child Welfare Licensing

Licenses and regulates Tennessee's non-clinical residential programs for children and youth, including private foster care programs, runaway houses and maternity homes, and takes complaints about them. Its board of review weighs the safety and best interests of the children, the training and character of the staff, and whether caregivers will actually protect children from harm.

It does not licence a facility providing clinical treatment; that is the Health Facilities Commission, or the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

Use this whenA non-clinical residential program, or a program you believe is operating without the licence it needs.

HowEmail the licensing office with the details, or call the child care complaint hotline.

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Tennessee Child Abuse Hotline

The statutory report line for child abuse and neglect, run by the Department of Children's Services.

Use this whenA child at a Tennessee program. Tennessee Code 37-1-403 makes everyone in the state a mandated reporter.

HowCall, or use the secure online referral portal. At weekends the phone line redirects you to the portal, so use it directly then.

1-877-237-0004 24 hours on weekdays. From 11pm Central Friday to 11pm Central Sunday the call is redirected to the online portal.
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Oversight and advocacy

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

Disability Rights Tennessee

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

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-342-1660 Main line 615-298-1080; TTY 1-800-852-2852.
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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.
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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.