Virginia

Facilities in Virginia

Residential facilities providing religious, behavioral, and mental health treatment to children exist in all 50 states. Some of these facilities are known to be part of the Troubled Teen Industry, while others have not yet been verified. Any facility where children live and receive care requires additional oversight. This directory helps communities monitor local programs and advocate for accountability.

Reporting abuse in Virginia

Virginia is blunt about the cost of filing, and it is worth reading before you do. A complaint to the Department of Health Professions cannot be withdrawn once submitted, you cannot get a copy of your own form back afterwards, and Virginia law requires the details to be shared with the licensee you complained about. The Department cannot guarantee anonymity either - if you want to be anonymous, it warns that you must keep your identity out of the form and every document attached to it.

Time limits in Virginia: 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 from the injury for any personal injury, whether it is assault, battery or negligence. False imprisonment is also two years. Va. Code § 8.01-243(A); Va. Code § 8.01-248 (catch-all for personal actions)
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 years start at 18. Virginia's longer deadline and discovery rule for childhood abuse cover sexual abuse only, not physical abuse. Va. Code § 8.01-229(A)(1)-(2)
If the program was run by or for the government: For a claim against the state (Commonwealth), file a written notice of claim within one year. The lawsuit must then be filed within 18 months of the notice or two years of the injury. For negligence claims against a county, city or town, the written notice is due within six months. For both, the clock is paused for a child until 18. Va. Code §§ 8.01-195.6, 8.01-195.7 (Virginia Tort Claims Act); Va. Code § 15.2-209 (localities)
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and some CSAM claims is age 38 with a 20-year discovery rule against all defendants. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: No time limit for felony child abuse or neglect: Virginia has no statute of limitations for felonies. Misdemeanor offenses generally must be charged within one year. Va. Code § 19.2-8 (limits misdemeanors only); Va. Code § 18.2-371.1 (felony child abuse and neglect)
Assault: No time limit for felony assault (malicious or unlawful wounding and other felonies). Misdemeanor assault and battery must be charged within one year. Va. Code § 19.2-8
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no criminal SOL for any felonies, including CSA. The SOL for misdemeanors is age 23 or age 19, depending on the age difference between the victim and the offender. Trafficking: There is no SOL for trafficking felonies. CSAM: There is no SOL for CSAM felonies. 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.

Virginia Department of Health Professions, Enforcement Division

Multiple professions

Receives and investigates complaints for all thirteen of Virginia's licensing and regulatory boards, including the Board of Counseling, the Board of Social Work and the Board of Psychology, and the boards discipline the licence.

It has no authority to make a licensee return money or provide any other personal remedy. It cannot give you a copy of your complaint form once submitted, and the complaint cannot be withdrawn.

Use this whenA licensed counselor, social worker or psychologist in Virginia. Identify them by full name and licence type.

HowUse the online complaint form, or return the Word or PDF form to the Enforcement Division by email, fax, post or in person.

Anonymity cannot be guaranteed. If you mean to file anonymously, the Department warns you must leave any identifying information out of both the form and every supporting document - naming yourself anywhere means you are not anonymous.

1-800-533-1560 Enforcement Division. Direct line 804-367-4691; fax 804-212-2174.
File a complaint
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enfcomplaints@dhp.virginia.gov
By postVirginia Department of Health Professions, Enforcement Division, Perimeter Center, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico, VA 23233-1463

The agency that licenses the program

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

Virginia Department of Social Services, Division of Licensing Programs

Licenses and inspects children's residential facilities in Virginia and takes complaints about them.

Use this whenA licensed children's residential facility. A facility providing behavioral health treatment may instead be licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which runs its own Office of Licensing.

HowUse the online complaint form or call the licensing line.

1-800-543-7545 Richmond area 804-692-2394.
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Virginia DBHDS Office of Licensing

Licenses and regulates behavioral health and developmental services providers in Virginia, including residential treatment programs, and investigates complaints about them.

Use this whenA program licensed to provide mental health or substance use treatment, as distinct from a children's residential facility licensed by Social Services.

HowContact the Office of Licensing through its contact page, which lists the specialist for each region and service type.

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Law enforcement and legal channels

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

Virginia Child Protective Services Hotline

The statewide 24-hour line for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect, which routes the report to the local department that investigates.

Use this whenA child at a Virginia program.

HowCall. Virginia says you do not have to give your name, and you do not have to provide evidence to make a report.

Oversight and advocacy

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

disAbility Law Center of Virginia

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

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-552-3962 Main line 804-225-2042 voice/TTY.
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National reporting channels, and the same list for other states