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.

Washington

Washington is unusually clear about what its health complaint system will and will not take on: unprofessional conduct, a provider unable to practise safely, and unlicensed practice, but not scheduling, personality conflicts or billing. It also has an independent Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds, which exists to look at how the state itself handled a child's case.

Time limits in Washington: 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 assault, battery and false imprisonment. Three years for negligence and other personal injury. RCW 4.16.100(1) (two years); RCW 4.16.080(2) (three years)
If it happened before you turned 18: The clock does not run while the injured person is under 18. For someone injured as a child, the two or three years start at 18. Washington's special childhood abuse law covers sexual abuse only, not physical abuse. RCW 4.16.190
If the program was run by or for the government: Before suing the state, file a claim form with the Office of Risk Management. For a county, city or other local government, file the claim with its designated agent. Either way the claim must be filed within the normal deadline, and you must wait 60 days before suing. The deadline is paused during those 60 days. RCW 4.92.100, 4.92.110 (state); RCW 4.96.020 (local governments)
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and some CSAM claims is age 21 with a 3-year discovery rule against all defendants. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Three years from the offense for felony assault of a child and other non-sexual child abuse felonies. Homicide by abuse can be charged at any time. Washington does not pause the criminal clock until 18 for non-sexual physical abuse. RCW 9A.04.080(1)(j); RCW 9A.04.080(1)(a)(ii) (homicide by abuse, no limit)
Assault: Three years from the offense for felony assault (first, second and third degree). Gross misdemeanor assault: two years. Simple misdemeanor: one year. RCW 9A.04.080(1)(j)-(l)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no criminal SOL for many CSA crimes. The SOL is age 30 for other felonies and age 20 for misdemeanors. Trafficking: The SOL for trafficking is 10 years from the offense, while the SOL for commercial sex abuse is age 30. CSAM: There is no SOL for some CSAM crimes. Other CSAM offenses have an SOL of 3 years from the offense. 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.

Washington State Department of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance

Multiple professions

Licenses and disciplines mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers and psychologists, and investigates three kinds of complaint: unprofessional conduct, a provider whose mental or physical condition means they cannot practise with reasonable skill and safety, and practice without a valid Washington credential.

It says plainly it may not be able to help with complaints unrelated to patient safety - scheduling problems, personality conflicts, disputes over bills or insurance.

Use this whenA licensed mental health professional in Washington, or somebody practising without a credential. Physicians go to the Washington Medical Commission instead.

HowUse the Department's complaint forms. The complaint process page explains what happens to it afterwards.

360-236-4700 Health Systems Quality Assurance customer service.
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The agency that licenses the program

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

Washington State Department of Health, facility complaints

Takes and investigates complaints about the health care facilities the Department licenses, through a process separate from the one for individual providers.

Use this whenA DOH-licensed facility, including behavioral health agencies.

HowUse the facility complaint process and the Department's complaint forms.

Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Washington child abuse and neglect hotline (End Harm)

The statewide 24-hour line, which connects you to the local office that will take the report. It also takes concerns about a licensed facility, and about unlicensed care.

Use this whenA child at a Washington program, and any concern about how a licensed facility is treating children.

HowCall. A DCYF licensor starts acting on a referral within five working days, and a complaint is usually inspected and resolved within 45 days.

For a complaint about DCYF itself rather than about a program, Constituent Relations takes those on 1-800-723-4831.

1-866-363-4276 1-866-END-HARM. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Oversight and advocacy

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

Washington Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds

An independent office that reviews how the state's child protection and child welfare system handled a case, and publishes where it finds fault.

It examines the state's conduct rather than licensing or prosecuting a program.

Use this whenA family or young person whose report to a Washington agency went nowhere.

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Disability Rights Washington

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

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-562-2702 Main line 206-324-1521.
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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.