The Child Protection Hotline receives telephone calls alleging suspected child abuse, neglect, and exploitation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Children’s Social Workers evaluate all calls of suspected child abuse, neglect, and exploitation to determine if an in-person investigation is warranted by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

If it is determined that an in-person investigation by DCFS is warranted, a report is taken and forwarded to the appropriate DCFS regional office. Reports may also be taken and forwarded to law enforcement agencies and other protective services agencies.

The Child Protection Hotline telephone number is 1-800-540-4000. This is a toll-free number within the state of California. The telephone number for the Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (T.D.D.) is 1-800-272-6699. For additional services for the hearing impaired, please click Here. To reach the Child Protection Hotline from outside the state of California, dial 1-213-639-4500 and your call will be routed to a Children’s Social Worker. The address for the Child Protection Hotline is 1933 S Broadway, 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90007.

For general and public information about DCFS, please contact the DCFS Public Inquiry Section at (213)351-5602 or (213)351-5603 or pinquiries@dcfs.lacounty.gov.

What is Child Abuse and Neglect?

Physical Abuse is defined as physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means on a child, or intentionally injuring a child by another person. This does not mean a mutually affray between minors.

Severe Neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed non-organic failure to thrive. Severe neglect also means those situations of neglect where any person having the care or custody of a child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such that his or her person or health is endangered.

General Neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care or supervision where no physical injury to the child has occurred.

Sexual Abuse means sexual assault or sexual exploitation of a person under the age of 18 years. Sexual Assault means conduct involving rape, statutory rape, rape in concert, incest, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child, oral copulation, penetration of a genital or anal opening by a foreign object or child molestation.

Sexual Exploitation refers to conduct involving matter depicting a minor engaged in obscene acts or in preparing, selling or distributing obscene matter, as well as employment of minor to perform obscene acts.

Emotional Abuse is the willful harming or injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of a child and as a situation in which any person willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon, unjustifiable mental suffering.