Prevent & Report Child Abuse

Children grow best in a caring community that shares the responsibility to keep them safe.

Each year, more than 5,500 callers, concerned about the well-bring of a child or teen, talk with our confidential Child Protection Hotline. By reporting their concerns, caring community members and mandated reporters help hundreds of children and their families have safer and healthier futures. Many callers express feeling relief at having gotten support for a child in need.

Reporting allows professionals with the Family, Youth and Children’s Division to investigate and help children to safety. After most of those investigations, children stayed with their families while staff provided care, support and services to help stabilize their homes.

Children who are in danger or in unsafe homes are moved into emergency foster care. The goal is to reunite them with their families once home is safe. When families cannot provide a safe home, children may remain in foster care.

You help protect Sonoma County children and youth when you report your concerns or learn more about how to identify and prevent child abuse and neglect.

To report your concerns:

If a child is in immediate danger, first call 9-1-1

Otherwise, call the Sonoma County Child Protection Hotline with your concerns, day or night: (707) 565-4304 or (800) 870-7064

Community Education

Caring community members can learn how to help keep children safe through our Community Outreach Program:

Individuals can request to join a training to learn how to identify, prevent and report concerns about abuse or neglect.
Year-round, your community group or organization can request a free presentation for a meeting, conference or gathering.
Each April, we partner with the non-profit Child Parent Institute to honor national Blue Ribbon Month, which focuses on child abuse prevention. We offer public prevention education through publications and local events.