Before Completing the Follow-Up Suspected Child Abuse Report Form Online

You must make a verbal report to the Child Protection Hotline before attempting to complete your follow-up written report. This site will allow any mandated reporter, who has already made a verbal report to the Child Protection Hotline, to complete their follow-up Suspected Child Abuse Report (Form SS 8572).

If you have not called the Child Protection Hotline, please do so before attempting to complete your follow-up report online. You can reach the Child Protection Hotline by calling 1-800-540-4000.

If you have made your verbal report to the Child Protection Hotline and complete your follow-up report online, it is not necessary for you to mail or fax your follow-up report to the Child Protection Hotline as your report is automatically received upon submission of your online report.

Instructions for Completing the Form Online

1. Reporting Responsibilities
   1. All Penal Code (PC) references are located in Article 2.5 of the PC. This article is known as the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA). The provisions of CANRA may be viewed at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html (specify "Penal Code" and search for Sections 11164-11174.3). A mandated reporter must complete and submit the form SS 8572 even if some of the requested information is not known (PC Section 11167(a)). Mandated child abuse reporters include all those individuals and entities listed in PC Section 11165.7.
   2. Any mandated reporter who has knowledge of or observes a child, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, whom he or she knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect shall report such suspected incident of abuse or neglect to a designated agency immediately or as soon as practically possible by telephone and shall submit a report thereof within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident. (PC Section 11166(a).)
   3. No mandated reporter who reports a suspected incident of child abuse or neglect shall be held civilly or criminally liable for any report required or authorized by CANRA. Any other person reporting a known or suspected incident of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or criminal liability as a result of any report authorized by CANRA unless it can be proven the report was false and the person knew it was false or made the report with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. (PC Section 11172(a).)
2. Completing the Form
   1. From the home page, click on the blue Submit Follow-Up Suspected Child Abuse Report (SS 8572) panel header or click on the Submit Menu's "Submit a Follow-Up SCAR (SS8572)" item.
   2. If you are not logged into the system, you will get an Attention prompt warning you that if you wish to continue as a guest, your progress will be lost if you don't finish and submit the entire report in one sitting. Click on the Registration link to register for an account, the "LA County Employee" or "Non-County Employee" buttons to log in, or the "Continue" button to continue as a guest.
   3. On the Call Type section, select the call type from the drop-down. Depending on the selection, additional fields will appear that have to be completed. Click the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   4. On the Reporting Party section, complete all the required fields. If you have any "Collateral Contacts", complete any known information and click on the Add button. Repeat if you have additional contacts. Under "Report Notification", complete any of the optional fields if you have the information on the "Official Contacted" and the "Date of phone call." Click on the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   5. On the "Victim Information" section, add a victim by clicking on the "Add Victim" button. A Victim Information window will appear. Complete all the required fields. Click on the "Save" button to add the victim. Repeat process to add additional victims.
      To edit an added victim, click on the "pencil" icon on the victim's row you wish to edit. The Victim Information window will appear. Make your edits and click on the "Save button" to complete your edit.
      To delete an added victim and remove it from the report, click on the "trash can" icon on the victim's row you wish to delete. A delete confirmation will appear. Click on the "Yes" button to delete the victim.
   6. On the Involved Parties: Victim's Siblings section, add a sibling by clicking on the "Add Sibling" button. A Sibling Information window will appear. Complete all the required fields. Click on the "Save" button to add the sibling. Repeat process to add additional siblings.
      To edit an added sibling, click on the "pencil" icon on the sibling's row you wish to edit. The Sibling Information window will appear. Make your edits and click on the "Save" button to complete your edit.
      To delete an added sibling and remove it from the report, click on the "trash can" icon on the sibling's row you wish to delete. A delete confirmation will appear. Click on the "Yes" button to delete the sibling.
      If you don't know the sibling information or the victim does not have siblings, check the "Sibling Information Unknown" or "No Siblings" check boxes. These check boxes will be disabled if any siblings have been added. You must delete all the added siblings in order to check the "Sibling Information Unknown" or "No Siblings" check boxes. Click on the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   7. On the Involved Parties: Victim's Parents/Guardians section, add a parent/guardian by clicking on the "Add Parent/Guardian" button. A Parent/Guardian Information window will appear. Complete all the required fields. Click on the "Save" button to add the parent/guardian. Repeat process to add additional parents/guardians.
      To edit an added parent/guardian, click on the "pencil" icon on the parent/guardian's row you wish to edit. The Parent/Guardian Information window will appear. Make your edits and click the "Save" button to complete your edit.
      To delete an added parent/guardian and remove it from the report, click on the "trash can" icon on the parent/guardian's row you wish to delete. A delete confirmation will appear. Click on the "Yes" button to delete the parent/guardian.
      If you don't know the parent/guardian information, check the "Parent/Guardian Information Unknown" check box. The check box will be disabled if any parent/guardian have been added. You must delete all the added parents/guardians in order to check the "Parent/Guardian Information Unknown" check box. Click on the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   8. On the Involved Parties: Suspects section, add a suspect by clicking on the "Add Suspect" button. A Suspect Information window will appear. Select "Other" from the top drop-down and complete all the required fields. If the suspect is one of the previously added parents/guardians, select the parent/guardian from the drop-down to automatically populate the suspect fields. Click on the "Save" button to add the suspect. Repeat process to add additional suspects.
      To edit an added suspect, click on the "pencil" icon on the suspect's row you wish to edit. The Suspect Information window will appear. Make your edits and click the "Save" button to complete your edit.
      To delete an added suspect and remove it from the report, click on the "trash can" icon on the suspect's row you wish to delete. A delete confirmation will appear. Click on the "Yes" button to delete the suspect.
      If you don't know the "Suspect" information, check the "Suspect Information Unknown" check box. The check box will be disabled if any suspects have been added. You must delete all the added suspects in order to check the "Suspect Information Unknown" check box. Click on the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   9. On the Incident Information section, enter the date and time of the incident or check the unknown check boxes. Enter the Place of Incident and the Narrative Description.
      If you have any supporting documents or photos, click on the "Browse" button and select the file(s). Click on the "Upload" button to upload the file(s). The uploaded file(s) will appear below. Click on them to view them. Click on the "trash" can icon to the right to delete the file. Click on the "Next" button to continue onto the next section.
   10. On the Preview Report section, a preview of the SS 8572 report will appear. Review the report and once you are sure everything is correct, check the "acknowledgement" check box and click on the "Submit Report" button to submit the report.
   11. Once the report has been submitted, a confirmation page will be created which will include your referral number and a tracking number. Write down both these numbers or print out the confirmation page. If you chose to fill out the SS 8572 report without logging in, you must have both the referral number and the tracking number to access the report online.
3. Completing the Narrative
   1. The SS8572 requires that you provide the date and time of the incident and the place of the incident. Additionally, you are required to include the following in your narrative description:
      • What the victim(s) said;
      • What the mandated reporter (you) observed;
      • What the person accompanying the victim(s) said and
      • Similar past incidents involving the victims(s) or suspect.
   2. Review the questions below before completing the narrative. By providing the information requested, you will assist the Children's Social Worker and/or law enforcement in investigating the allegations you have reported. If you do not have all of the information, do your best to include as much information as possible. Keep these questions in mind when making your report:
      • The names of the victim(s) and the perpetrator(s)/suspect(s). Include relationship of the perpetrator(s)/suspect(s) to the victim and their address and/or current location.
      • Is the victim developmentally disabled? Provide any known details.
      • Does the victim have any disability? Provide any known details.
      • Provide specific dates and/or time frames.
      • Provide the specific location (address if known) of the incident.
      • Who, if anyone, was a witness to the incident?
      • Is there anyone else who may know about the incident or who may be able to provide information about the victim or the victim's family?
      • Provide the identifying information (name, address, telephone, etc.) and relationship of the person to the victim/family.
4. Distribution
   After completing Form SS 8572, retain one copy for your records.
   (Note: It will not be necessary for you to mail a copy of this online report to DCFS, law enforcement, or the District Attorney's office. Upon receipt of the Form SS 8572, and within 36 hours, DCFS will distribute a copy of the form to the appropriate agencies.)

Customer Support

If you encountered problems using this website you can contact Customer Assistance Center at (562) 658-1606.