Key Questions
How do I register a complaint
with authorities?
- Contact your State Child Care Licensing Agency - see http://nrckids.org/STATES/states.htm, click on your state to find out the contact for your state.
Be prepared to provide the following information:
- Name of the program/caregiver.
- Address.
- Statement of complaint/problem.
- Date(s) of the incident or problem.
- How you became aware of the problem; what you observed.
How do I find out if there have been any validated complaints made against my
program and the nature of the complaint?
- Contact your State Child Care Licensing Agency - see http://nrckids.org/STATES/states.htm, click on your state to find out the contact for your state.
- You can ask the Center Director or the Family Home Caregiver to share
with you any past concerns from parents or licensing violations and how they
solved them.
Note: States vary on what types of programs they regulate and monitor. For
example, some states do not license family child care homes with small numbers
of children. Some faith-based programs are not regulated.
States
may not have the authority to investigate a complaint if they don't have the
authority to regulate. However, you should report unsafe conditions and incidents
of serious harm or injury so that authorities are aware of these problems. Numerous
offenses in child care settings that are not licensed may lead to changes in
the regulation of child care in your state.
If your state does not regulate the program about which you have a complaint
AND you feel that abuse or neglect is occurring, please call your state Child
Abuse Hotline.
To find out your state's hotline number, go to:
Child Abuse Reporting Telephone Numbers by State
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?rs_id=5&rate_chno=11-11172