Something else, or I’m not sure
You do not need the right words or the right category. Start with one question: is a child in danger right now?
If you need help now
- Immediate danger: call 911.
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453: call or text, 24/7, they connect you to your state's reporting line.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, 24/7.
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673, 24/7.
Work it out in three questions
- Is anyone in immediate danger? Call 911. That is the whole decision. You do not need to be sure it is abuse.
- Do you suspect a child is being hurt or neglected, but not right now? Call or text the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-422-4453, 24/7. Counsellors talk it through with you and connect you to your state's reporting line. You can stay anonymous, and you do not need proof.
- Are you trying to help a child over the long run: as a relative, a volunteer, a professional? Start from the toolkit for your role.
If none of that fits
Write to info@invisiblechildren.org and a real person answers. Tell us what happened in your own words; you do not need to use the system's vocabulary.
The other three situation pages cover what people most often arrive with: a child told me something, do I have to report this, and I'm in court next week.