If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected you have a social responsibility to report it to the hotline. Most professionals in education, health care, law enforcement and social work are required by law to report suspected neglect or abuse. These individuals are called mandated reporters. To help mandated reporters understand their critical role in protecting children, DCFS administers a free online training course entitled Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse: Training for Mandated Reporters, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about the guidelines for mandated reporters in Illinois, read the Mandated Reporter Manual in English or en español.
In non-emergency situations, mandated reporters may report suspected child abuse or neglect using the new Online Reporting System. To learn more, click here.
Every child deserves to grow up safe, secure and loved. Children from all across the state of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are taken into temporary care when it is not safe for them to remain at home. Many are in need of a loving home not only for themselves, but also a little brother or sister. Most children waiting to be adopted are living temporarily with loving relatives or licensed foster families. Some live in larger, professionally-staffed group settings. DCFS maintains an online listing with pictures and descriptions of children in need of a loving family. Please click here or call 312-328-2778 to learn how you can change the life of a child – and your own!
DCFS has the primary responsibility of protecting children through the investigation of suspected abuse or neglect by parents and other caregivers in a position of trust or authority over the child.
Call the 24-hour Child Abuse Hotline at 800-25-ABUSE (800-252-2873 or TTY 1-800-358-5117) if you suspect that a child has been harmed or is at risk of being harmed by abuse or neglect. If you believe a child is in immediate danger of harm, call 911 first.In non-emergency situations, mandated reporters may report suspected child abuse or neglect using the new Online Reporting System. To learn more, click here.
Your confidential call will not only make sure the child is safe, but also help provide the child’s family the services they need to provide a safe, loving and nurturing home.
Children are the embodiment of innocence and hope for the future. We all agree that every child deserves to grow up in a nurturing environment where they are loved, cared for, secure, and protected from verbal, sexual, emotional and physical abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Both child abuse and child neglect cause serious harm to child development and have lifelong effects that reduce well-being and productivity and create greater demands on society.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services