How to Report a Daycare to Any US State Quickly and Easily?
Whether it’s your child or anybody else’s, if you see a kid being neglected or a daycare not following the rules and regulations, it’s your duty to report it.
In this article, you’ll see how to report a daycare to the state. We have listed all the US state’s contact information along with their website. So, if you’re in a hurry, skip to your state and immediately call the department to save a child.
2 Daycare Reporting Cases
Call 911 if It’s an Emergency
If there’s a medical or any other sort of emergency, don’t think twice. Immediately call 911. This is the best response in an urgent situation.
Report to the Child Care Licensing Authorities
If the case isn’t urgent, then your reporting stop will be your state’s child care and licensing department. This is the department that handles everything related to daycares and their licensing.
Report Daycare in Any US State
- Alabama
Alabama Department of Human Resources is the regulatory body.
- Call: 1-866-528-1694. Speak to Child Care Intake.
- E-mail: childcarelicensingintake@dhr.alabama.gov
- Alaska
You can report a child care complaint to the Alaska Department of Health Division of Public Assistance by call (907-269-4500 or 888-268-4632) or email (CCPO@alaska.gov).
- American Samoa
Call the American Samoa Department of Human and Social Services at any of the given numbers.
- 684-633-1571
- 684-633-1572
- 684-633-1573
- Arizona
Arizona Department of Economic Security gives you the following ways to report a daycare.
- Call: 1-800-308-9000
- Online form
- Arkansas
Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is responsible for daycare regulations. Your complaint will be recorded anonymously.
- Online form
- Call: 501-682-8590
- California
Use any of the following methods to file a complaint to the California Department of Social Services. Note that the department won’t reveal your identity.
- Call: 844-538-8766
- E-mail: letusno@dss.ca.gov
- Online form
- Colorado
You can call the Colorado Department of Early Childhood at 303-866-5958 to report a daycare anonymously.
- Connecticut
Office of Early Childhood regulates all child care affairs.
Contact: 1-800-842-2288 or 1-800-282-6063
- Delaware
You can report any child care complaint to the Delaware Department of Education.
- Contact: 1(800) 292-9582
- To report anonymously, use the Online form
- District of Columbia
To report any child care complaint in DC, use any of the following methods.
- Call: (202) 727-2993
- E-mail: OSSE.ChildcareComplaints@dc.gov
- Fax to Licensing and Compliance Unit at (202) 727-7295
- Florida
There’s no statewide number in Florida. Each county has its own contact information for child care complaints. Or you can use their online form as well to report anonymously.
- Georgia
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is your contact spot for any daycare-related complaint.
- Contact: 404.656.5957 or 404.657.5562
- Guam
Guam’s Bureau of Child Care Services receives complaints in the following ways.
- Contact: (671) 735-7344
- E-mail: childcare@dphss.guam.gov
- Or you can submit your complaint online through Guam’s Child Care Provider Directory.
- Hawaii
Hawaii Department of Human Services is the regulatory body, and they don’t have a common statewide contact number. Here’s a list of contact information for all counties.
- Idaho
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare asks you to submit a complaint form to the department.
E-mail: careline@dhw.idaho.gov
Fax: 208-334-5531
Call: 2-1-1 (800-926-2588)
- Illinois
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is the regulatory body. You can call them at 1-800-252-2873 or 1-877-746-0829. Your complaint will be recorded anonymously.
- Indiana
Report your daycare complaints to the Indianan Family and Social Service Administration.
- Call: 800-800-5556
- E-mail: oecoslproviderinquiry@fssa.in.gov
- Fax: 317-234-6905
- Mail:
Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning
402 Washington St., Room W362,
Indianapolis, IN 46204
- Iowa
The regulatory department in Iowa is the Department of Health and Human Services.
Call: 1-800-362-2178 or 844-786-1296
- Kansas
You can submit your child care complaints to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
- Call: 785-296-1270
- Online form
- Kentucky
You can call The Kentucky Division of Child Care at (502) 564-7962 to submit any daycare complaints.
- Louisiana
- E-mail: LDELicensing@la.gov
- Call: 225.342.9905
- Maine
To anonymously report any child care concern, you can contact the Office of Child and Family Services at 1-800-452-1999.
- Maryland
Maryland Divison of Early Childhood doesn’t have a statewide contact system. Here’s a list of all counties’ contact information. Click on your required region, and you’ll get their phone number, mail and address.
- Massachusetts
There’s no common contact number for the entire state. Get your city’s contact details here. Call the department to report the daycare.
- Michigan
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is responsible for entertaining all child care complaints.
- Call: 866-856-0126
- Fax: 517-284-9739
- Minnesota
To report any child care complaint, contact your county’s Department of Health and Human Services. Here’s a list of contact information for all counties.
- Mississippi
Mississippi State Department of Health takes daycare complaints in the following ways.
- Call: 1-866-489-8734 on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
- Online form
- E-mail: CC.ComplaintUnit@msdh.ms.gov
- Mail: Mississippi State Department of Health
Child Care Facilities Licensure Office
P.O. Box 1700
Jackson, MS 39215
Your complaint will be fully anonymous regardless of the method you use.
- Missouri
You can report any child neglect or abuse to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by calling 1-800-392-3738. Or you can fill out this online form from their website.
- Montana
- Online form
- Call: 406-444-2012 or 1-866-820-5437
- Nebraska
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will take your daycare reports through:
- Call: (800) 600-1289
- Fax: (402) 471-7763
- Online form
- Nevada
The Divison of Public and Behavioral Health takes daycare reports through the online form, or you can call them at 702-486-3822.
- New Hampshire
You can contact New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services through call or e-mail.
- Call: 603-271-6562 or 1-800-894-5533
- E-mail: CCLUoffice@dhhs.nh.gov
- New Jersey
You can simply contact the Division of Family Development at 1-877-667-9845 or report online.
- New Mexico
- Call: 888-351-0037 or 1-855-333
- E-mail: ChildCare.Complaint@ececd.nm.gov
- New York
New York Division of Child Care Services receives reports through their toll-free number, 800-732-5207.
- North Carolina
NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education has given its citizens the following 4 methods of daycare complaints.
- Call: (800) 859-0829. Ask the speaker to forward the call to the Intake Unit. You can report anonymously if you want.
- Fax: To the Intake Unit at (919) 715-1013.
- Mail: DCDEE 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-2200
- Email: webmasterdcd@dhhs.nc.gov
- North Dakota
North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services allows you to report to your county’s local licensing specialist, or you can call them at the statewide number given below.
- Statewide number: 1-800-997-8516
- E-mail: dhsec@nd.gov
- Northern Mariana Islands
To report any child care facility in Northern Mariana, you can contact their child care department.
- Contact: 664-4570 or 664-2572
- Ohio
Department of Job and Family Services is your go-to spot for daycare complaints.
- Call: 877-302-2347
- E-mail: childcare_program_integrity@jfs.ohio.gov
- Oklahoma
Oklahoma Human Services receives statewide complaints and local county complaints as well.
- Statewide number: (405) 521-3561 or (844) 834-8314
- Fax: (405) 522-2564
- Mail:
PO BOX 25352
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0352
- Oregon
Call the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care and file your complaint.
- Contact: 1-800-556-6616
- Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, you can report a child care facility through the online form, or you can call your local county office. Here are the numbers for all county offices.
- Puerto Rico
To report a daycare in Puerto Rico, you can use the territory-wide number or contact your regional licensing office.
- Common territory number: 787-294-4900 or 2331 or 2329
- Contact the regional licensing office
- Rhode Island
- Contact: 800-742-4453 or 401-462-3009
- Email: DHS.Childcarelicensing@dhs.ri.gov
For more information, visit their official document
- South Carolina
South Carolina Department of Social Services, let’s make daycare complaints to your local county office. Here’s the page containing contact information and email of all of South Carolina’s counties.
- South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Social Services gives you the following options for reporting a daycare anonymously.
- Online form
- Call for daycare complaint: 1-800-227-3020
- Call for child abuse: 1-877-244-0864
- Tennessee
Child care comes under the Department of Human Services in Tennessee. You can file your complaint through any of the following ways.
- Email: ChildCareHotline.DHS@tn.gov
- Call: 1-800-462-8261
- Texas
Submit your complaint to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services through:
- Call: 1-800-720-7777 or 800-252-5400
- Email: www.txabusehotline.org
- Online form
- Utah
You can report a daycare to the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Call: 1-855-323-3237 or 801-707-4188
- Email: suekirkham@utah.gov
- Online form
- Vermont
The Vermont Department of Children and Families takes care of all daycare-related affairs.
- Call: 800-649-2642
- Email: ahs.dcfcddchildcarelicensing@vermont.gov
- Online form
- Virginia
Virginia Department of Education gives you 2 ways to file child care complaints.
- Call: 833-778-0204 or 1-800-552-7096
- Online complaint form
- Virgin Islands
- E-mail: consumeraffairs@dhs.vi.gov
- Call: 340-774-0930 ext. 4109
- West Virginia
- Call: 304-352-4431
- E-mail: ECEComplaints@wv.gov
- Washington
Washington Department of Children Youth and Families takes daycare complaints through calls.
- Call: 866-363-4276 or 1.866.482.4325
- Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families takes complaints through the regional licensing office. Here’s the contact information for every region’s office. If you wish to report anonymously, make a call. Emailing or faxing doesn’t guarantee your identity concealment.
- Wyoming
The Wyoming Department of Family Services doesn’t have a shared reporting system throughout the state. Contact your regional licensing department to file your complaint.
What Happens When You Report a Daycare?
After you file a complaint, the department comes into action. They inspect the childcare and investigate the matter.
If the violation isn’t big enough to cancel their license and shut the center down, they give the center time to correct it. A follow-up visit is made to ensure their compliance.
If there have been any financial losses, the authorities will make sure the center covers it.
What if Your Suspicion Is Wrong?
It’s not your duty to investigate the matter. Your duty as a responsible citizen is to inform the authorities of any wrongdoings or suspicions. And even child care authorities encourage people to report their suspicions as it can save a child from potential harm.
So, if you’re in doubt about child abuse, illegal activity or any violation, you should immediately report it. The state authorities will independently investigate the matter, and you won’t be in any trouble if your suspicion is wrong.
Can You Claim a Lawsuit?
The parents of the victim child have the full right to file a legal complaint against the daycare. However, if you have reported a serious case to the police or child care authorities, they’ll automatically open a lawsuit and take legal action against the center.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a parent or not, it’s every citizen’s responsibility to play their part in making daycares a safe, healthy and loving place for every kid. Reporting is the best thing you can do to help a child. And you know what? You’re not just helping one kid; you’re helping multiple others who are under the same roof and can go through the same damage.