You can do your part to help prevent and report child abuse.
Child abuse can be any inappropriate or harmful actions toward a child, not necessarily physical.
Child abuse can be:
- Emotional: anything said or done that is hurtful or threatening to a child, such as name calling, belittling a child, or making threats of harm.
- Physical: any type of contact that results in bodily harm or bruising, or physically restraining a child improperly.
- Neglect: not meeting the basic needs of the child, including not giving essential medicines or food, leaving a child unsupervised, providing inadequate protection from the weather.
Who can report child abuse?
Anyone having reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a neglected or abused can report it to the Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-222-8000. This statewide toll-free line is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.