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.

Utah

Utah licenses every mental health profession through one division, DOPL, so a complaint about a therapist, a psychologist, a counselor or a psychiatrist all start in the same place. It is also one of the few states with an ombuds office written specifically for young people in residential programs, and that office takes calls from the youth themselves.

The therapist's licensing board

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

Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)

Multiple professions

Investigates licensed professionals and can discipline, restrict, suspend or revoke a licence. It licenses psychologists, clinical social workers, clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, substance use disorder counselors and physicians, so one complaint form covers whichever kind of clinician it was.

It says in writing that it will not act as your attorney, will not recover money for you, and cannot investigate for the benefit of your own lawsuit.

Use this whenA named clinician who holds or held a Utah licence. It also takes complaints about unlicensed people practising as though they were licensed, which is worth knowing in an industry that leans on unlicensed staff.

HowFile through the online complaint service, or download the PDF form and mail it. Complete every section; write N/A where one does not apply.

Complaints are not public record under Utah law. DOPL publishes the disciplinary actions that result, so you can check whether anything came of an earlier one.

The agency that licenses the program

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

Utah Office of Licensing, Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC)

Licenses and inspects the residential treatment programs, therapeutic schools and outdoor youth programs themselves. It sets the health and safety standards, inspects against them, and can require corrective action, impose civil money penalties, or act against the licence.

It regulates the program, not the individual therapist - that is DOPL - and it does not investigate the abuse allegation itself, which goes to DCFS.

Use this whenThe facility: staffing levels, restraint and seclusion practice, conditions, supervision, anything that is a standards problem rather than one person's conduct.

HowContact the Office of Licensing directly. Utah publishes its inspection findings, so it is worth reading what has already been cited before you call.

  • 801-538-4242 Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, except state holidays.
  • More about this body
  • By postDivision of Licensing and Background Checks, 195 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Utah Division of Child and Family Services child abuse hotline

The statutory intake point for child abuse and neglect in Utah. A report here starts a CPS investigation and can bring in law enforcement.

Use this whenA child currently at a program in Utah who is being abused or neglected, or who is in a situation likely to result in it.

HowCall the 24/7 intake line, or use the online reporting form. Give names and ages, what happened, any injuries you saw, and dates.

DeadlineNo deadline on making a report.

Under Utah Code 80-2-601 anyone who believes a child is being abused must report it; failure to report can be a crime. Reporters acting in good faith are protected from civil and criminal liability. If DCFS itself mishandles the report, the independent Child Protection Ombudsman takes complaints about DCFS on 801-538-4589.

Utah Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division

Criminally investigates and prosecutes both Medicaid provider fraud and the abuse, neglect or exploitation of patients, where the abuse happened in a health care facility or any setting where a provider is paid by Medicaid. This is a prosecutor's office, not a licensing body: it is the channel that can put somebody in front of a criminal court.

Use this whenA program paid by Medicaid where a young person was abused, neglected or exploited, or where the billing does not match the care that was given.

HowCall or email the division directly, or use the Attorney General's online report form.

Oversight and advocacy

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

Utah Youth in Care (Congregate Care) Ombuds

An independent office inside DHHS for young people in residential programs, therapeutic schools and outdoor youth programs. It listens, advocates, conducts independent reviews, works directly with the program, and can open an investigation. It takes calls from a youth still inside a Utah program and from a parent in another state.

It does not investigate abuse or neglect allegations - those go to DCFS - and it does not investigate health and safety standards, which go to the Office of Licensing. It refers them on rather than dropping them. It does not give legal advice.

Use this whenA young person in a Utah program who feels unheard or unsafe, or a parent who cannot get a straight answer out of the program.

HowSubmit the online contact form. You will hear back within three business days, and contact is confidential.

DeadlineThere is a time limit and the office states it two different ways: the program page says you must make contact within 9 months of the incident, while the contact form says the situation must have occurred within the last 3 months. Treat 3 months as the safe assumption and call if you are outside it.

Disability Law Center (Utah's Protection and Advocacy agency)

Utah's federally mandated P&A. It investigates abuse and neglect in residential facilities, has a right of access to them, and provides free legal advocacy to eligible clients, including representation in hearings and court. Its published reports on Utah programs have forced state responses.

Use this whenA Utah program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis. Call and ask if you are not sure whether that applies.

HowIntake by phone, or online through the site. It no longer takes walk-ins, though you can come in to fill in the paperwork.

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.