Report Child Abuse or Neglect

If you suspect child abuse or neglect, report it to Pennsylvania’s ChildLine Hotline so trained professionals can investigate and help keep kids safe.

Are you worried about a child's safety?

ChildLine is a free hotline that allows people to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Anyone can call ChildLine to report suspected abuse or general child wellbeing concerns.

When a call is received by ChildLine, trained child welfare professionals can assess the concern and make a referral to the best agency to handle the concern, investigate, or provide additional support to the child and/or their family.

ChildLine is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1-800-932-0313 to report suspected abuse or neglect.

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How to Report Suspected Abuse or Neglect

Anyone can report suspected abuse or general concerns about a child’s wellbeing. Some professions like people who work schools, health care settings, child care, social services, and law enforcement, among others, are considered mandated reporters and must report suspected abuse and neglect. Mandated reporters should report abuse electronically through the Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare Portal.

If you’re not a mandated reporter, you can report suspected abuse or neglect to ChildLine by calling 1-800-932-0313. Mandated reporters must provide their name and contact information when reporting child abuse or neglect, but anyone else can make a report anonymously.

When you call ChildLine, a trained child welfare professional will take your call and ask for information about what you are reporting. It’s important that you provide as much information as possible to help identify the child and the potential risk to the child’s safety. You will be asked about:

• Name and physical description of the child;
• The child’s age (this can be approximate);
• The child’s parent or legal guardian and their contact information (if available);
• Description of the concern for the child’s safety;
• Information about a specific incident (if relevant);
• Information about the suspected perpetrator and their relationship to the child (if available); and,
• Your relationship to the child.

You don’t need to have all of this information, but it will help the determine next steps to investigate and assess the concerns.

After reporting suspected abuse or neglect, ChildLine staff will determine the most appropriate office to investigate or follow-up on concerns. This could be:

• The county children and youth agency for the county where the child is located;
• Law enforcement officials;
• The Department of Human Services’ Office of Children Youth and Families; or,
• Another Department of Human Services Office for potential licensing action.

All suspected abuse or neglect is required to be investigated for potential abuse. If a report does not meet the legal definition of abuse or neglect, additional support or referral may still take place to help support the child or family.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is child abuse?

Standards for what is considered child abuse are defined by the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL). According to the CPSL, an incident is child abuse when a perpetrator intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly does any of the following:

• Causes bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act.
• Fabricates, feigns, or intentionally exaggerates or induces a medical symptom or disease which results in a potentially harmful medical evaluation or treatment to the child through any recent act;
• Causes or substantially contributes to serious mental injury to a child through any act or failure to act or a series of such acts or failures to act;
• Causes sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any act or failure to act;
• Creates a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act;
• Creates a likelihood of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any recent act or failure to act;
• Causes serious physical neglect of a child;
• Causes the death of the child through any act or failure to act; or,
• Engages a child in a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking, as those terms are defined under section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 1466, 22 U.S.C. § 7102 ).

Child abuse also includes certain acts in which the act itself constitutes abuse without any resulting injury or condition. These acts include any of the following:

• Kicking, biting, throwing, burning, stabbing or cutting a child in a manner that endangers the child;
• Unreasonably restraining or confining a child, based on consideration of the method, location, or the duration of the restraint or confinement;
• Forcefully shaking a child under one year of age;
• Forcefully slapping or otherwise striking a child under one year of age;
• Interfering with the breathing of a child;
• Causing a child to be present during the operation of a methamphetamine laboratory, provided that the violation is being investigated by law enforcement; or
• Leaving a child unsupervised with an individual, other than the child's parent, who the parent knows or reasonably should have known was required to register as a Tier II or III sexual offender or has been determined to be a sexually violent predator or sexually violent delinquent.

These acts could have occurred within two years from the date the report is made to ChildLine, which is considered "recent” by the CPSL. Sexual abuse, serious mental injury, serious physical neglect, and deaths have no time limit.

Who is a mandated reporter?

The following adults are considered mandated reporters and are required to report suspected child abuse through the Child Welfare Portal or by calling ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a victim of child abuse:

• A person licensed or certified to practice in any health-related field under the jurisdiction of the Department of State;
• A medical examiner, coroner, or funeral director;
• An employee of a health care facility or provider licensed by the Department of Health, who is engaged in the admission, examination, care, or treatment of individuals;
• A teacher or school employee;
• An employee of a child care service who has direct contact with children in the course of employment;
• A clergyman, priest, rabbi, minister, Christian Science practitioner, religious healer, or spiritual leader of any regularly established church or other religious organization;
• An individual paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual's role as an integral part of a regularly scheduled program, activity, or service, is a person responsible for the child's welfare or has direct contact with children;
• An employee of a social services agency who has direct contact with children in the course of employment;
• A peace officer or law enforcement official;
• An emergency medical services provider certified by the Department of Health;
• An employee of a public library who has direct contact with children in the course of employment;
• An individual supervised or managed by a person listed above, who has direct contact with children in the course of employment;
• An independent contractor who has direct contact with children;
• An attorney affiliated with an agency, institution, organization, or other entity, including a school or regularly established religious organization that is responsible for the care, supervision, guidance, or control of children;
• A foster parent; and,
• An adult family member who is a person responsible for the child's welfare and provides services to a child in a family living home, community home for individuals with an intellectual disability, or host home for children which are subject to supervision or licensure by the department under Articles IX and X of the Public Welfare Code.

When must a mandated reporter make a report?

A mandated reporter must make a report of suspected child abuse or neglect through the Child Welfare Portal or by calling ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a victim of child abuse under any of the following circumstances:

• The mandated reporter comes into contact with the child in the course of employment, occupation, and practice of a profession or through a regularly scheduled program, activity, or service;
• The mandated reporter is directly responsible for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the child, or is affiliated with an agency, institution, organization, school, regularly established church or religious organization, or other entity that is directly responsible for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the child;
• A person makes a specific disclosure to the mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim of child abuse. This specific circumstance includes when a mandated reporter is "on" or "off" the clock; or,
• An individual 14 years of age or older makes a specific disclosure to the mandated reporter that the individual has committed child abuse.

Mandated reporters must make this report even if the child themselves did not disclose the suspected abuse. You do not have to have direct contact with the child to make a report.

What happens if a mandated reporter does not follow the law and intentionally does not make a report?

The penalties for a mandated reporter who willfully fails to report child abuse range from a misdemeanor of second degree to a felony of the second degree.

I’m not a mandated reporter. Can I still report suspected abuse if I’m worried about a child’s safety?

Yes. Anyone who is concerned about the safety of a child is encouraged to make a report. Individuals who are encouraged, although not required by law, to make a report of suspected child abuse, can make a report to ChildLine by calling 1-800-932-0313.

If I report suspected abuse, is my identity protected?

Mandated reporters are not able to report anonymously. If you are not a mandated reporter, you can choose to identify yourself or report anonymously.

The identity of the person making the report is kept confidential with the exception of being released to law enforcement officials or the district attorney's office. Law enforcement and district attorney's offices must treat the mandated reporter as a confidential informant.

How do I know if I have “reasonable cause to suspect” that abuse or neglect may have occurred?

Reasonable cause to suspect potential abuse or neglect is a determination that reporters must make, based on knowledge of circumstances, observations, familiarity with the individuals, and feelings about the incident.

Knowledge of circumstances would include:

• Who is involved;
• What happened;
• How the incident or concern happened; and,
• When the incident or concern happened.

Observations would include:

• Indicators of abuse or "red flags" present;
• Behavior and demeanor of the child;
• Behavior and demeanor of the adult; and,
• If there any other behaviors or other observations important to notice.

Familiarity would include the knowledge you have about:

• The individuals;
• The family situation;
• Relevant history; and/or,
• Similar prior incidents.

Think about your feelings and personal biases and consider how they influence your conclusions and actions.

Am I protected from civil and criminal liability if I report suspected child abuse?

Yes, people who report of suspected child abuse are immune from civil and criminal liability as long as the report was made in good faith. The good faith of a mandated reporter is assumed.