How to report a daycare

Where to report

Where a report goes depends on what happened. Abuse and neglect are crimes as well as licensing problems; most other concerns go to the state office that licenses daycares, which can inspect without notice and cite the center.

The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453) can talk a situation through with you, but it says it is not a reporting line. Your report still has to go to the state.

Before you report

1. Get medical care first if your child is hurt

   Have a doctor examine and document any injury, and tell them what you suspect. If you suspect sexual abuse, go to an emergency room and don’t bathe your child or wash their clothes first.

2. Write down what happened, while it’s fresh

   Dates, times, the room, the staff involved (names or descriptions), what you saw or heard, and your child’s own words, exactly as said. Note who else was there. Don’t question your child over and over or suggest answers; if abuse is suspected, trained interviewers will talk with them.

3. Keep the evidence

   Photos of any injury, with the date. Keep the center’s incident report, texts and emails, and the notes from any doctor’s visit.

4. Ask for the center’s incident report, and ask it to keep its records

   Ask in writing what happened and who was there, and ask the center to keep any camera footage, sign-in sheets and staff schedules for that day; footage is often recorded over within days. Texas centers must tell parents about injuries and other incidents involving their child (26 TAC §746.307), and California centers must report injuries that need medical treatment, unusual incidents and suspected abuse to licensing and to parents (22 CCR §101212).

5. Decide whether to talk to the director first

   For a rule problem, such as a missing teacher or a broken gate, talking to the director can fix it quickly; you can still report it. Report first, without warning the center, if you suspect abuse, if the same problem happened before and wasn’t fixed, or if you don’t trust the center to look into it honestly.

6. Get the center’s license number

   It’s on the center’s page on Daycare Record (Texas operation number, California facility number). Give it when you report so the state finds the right place.

You don’t need proof to report. Investigators gather the evidence; you describe what you saw and why you’re worried. When you report, write down the date, the intake or case number and the name of anyone you speak with. If you hear nothing, call back with that number and ask for a supervisor.

Reporting a Texas daycare

Call or go online. The Texas Abuse Hotline, 1-800-252-5400, answers 24 hours a day, every day. It takes reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation and of “violations of minimum standards in a child care operation” (DFPS). For something that isn’t urgent you can report online at txabusehotline.org. The same line takes reports about someone providing child care without a permit (Texas HHS).

What happens next. If the hotline accepts a report about a licensed daycare, the state investigates. If it finds the center broke a rule, it cites the center, and the citation goes on the center’s public record. Daycare Record picks up the state’s data daily, so a citation from an investigation appears on the center’s page here, marked as found during an investigation; the state’s own record is on Search Texas Child Care.

Your name. Since September 2023 the hotline can’t take anonymous reports of abuse or neglect: you give your name, phone number and address (HB 63). The law keeps your identity confidential; it can be shared with law enforcement for a criminal investigation and in a few other limited cases (Family Code §261.101(d)).

Centers report too. Texas centers must report some incidents to licensing themselves, such as an injury that needs medical treatment, a reportable illness or a situation that put children at risk (26 TAC §746.305).

Reporting a California daycare

Call, email or file online. Community Care Licensing takes complaints at 1-844-538-8766 (1-844-LET-US-NO), letusno@dss.ca.gov or its online complaint form. Give the facility’s name, address and license number, and describe who, what, when, where and how. If you believe there is physical or sexual abuse, also report it to the police.

What happens next. The local licensing office makes an unannounced visit within 10 days of receiving the complaint. If you leave contact details you get a written notice that it was received, an analyst as your contact, and a letter with the findings when the investigation is done. Licensing decides each allegation on the “preponderance of the evidence”: substantiated, unsubstantiated or unfounded (CDSS). Each center’s page on Daycare Record lists its complaint investigations and shows the allegations the state substantiated.

Your name. Your identity stays anonymous unless you give permission to use it.

What the records show

Texas

Since October 2021, the state has investigated 29,081 reports about Texas centers licensed today: 20,625 from parents, staff and others, and 8,456 incidents centers reported themselves. 67% of licensed centers had at least one investigation. 35% of outside reports ended with the state finding a rule was broken, as did 52% of centers’ own reports. The state also cited 1,145 centers 1,440 times for not reporting incidents or required changes to licensing.

California

Since February 2021, California has published investigations of 9,980 complaints at centers licensed today (each complaint counted once, even when the state posted more than one report), at 4,509 centers (34%); complaints it finds unfounded aren’t posted. 42% had at least one allegation substantiated. A complaint took a median of 52 days from the day the state received it to the state’s first report, and 94% were finished within 90 days.

What complaints were about (share of complaints whose allegations mention each topic; one complaint can mention several):

Counts cover centers licensed today and update daily. Texas investigations are the visits the state’s data labels as reports, split by whether the center reported the incident itself; a finding counts when the state recorded a violation. California topics come from keywords in the allegations the state publishes, so they’re approximate and some topics are undercounted. The two states’ systems differ, so don’t compare them. California complaints report →

If you work in child care

Texas: anyone who believes a child has been abused or neglected must report it immediately, and professionals, including day-care employees, must report within 48 hours (Family Code §261.101). Report to the Texas Abuse Hotline, not only to your director.

California: licensees, administrators and employees of licensed child day care facilities are mandated reporters (Penal Code §11165.7). Report to the police, sheriff or county child welfare agency by phone right away, then in writing within 36 hours (§11166). Anyone else may report too.

Other states

Every state has a child care licensing office that takes complaints. Childcare.gov keeps a list of each state’s complaint line and a page on reporting child abuse. Report suspected abuse to your state’s child abuse hotline or the police, and other concerns to licensing.

Common questions