Prevent and Report Child Abuse
Children grow best in a caring community that shares the responsibility to keep them safe.
More than 5,500 callers each year talk with our confidential Child Protection Hotline. By reporting their concerns about the well-bring of a child or teen, caring community members and mandated reporters help children and their families have safer and healthier futures. Many callers express feeling relief at having gotten support for a child in need.
You help protect Sonoma County children and youth when you report your concerns. Reporting allows professionals with the Family, Youth and Children’s Division to investigate and help children to safety. After those investigations, most children stayed with their families while staff provides care, support and services to help stabilize their homes.
Children who are in danger or in unsafe homes are brought into emergency foster care. Our 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 or be eligible for adoption.
Learn 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 confidential Child Protection Hotline day or night: (707) 565-4304 or (800) 870-7064
Community Education
Caring community members can learn how to keep children safe:
- Community groups or organizations can request a free presentation for a meeting, conference or gathering.
- Individuals can ask to attend a training to learn how to identify, prevent and report concerns about abuse or neglect.
- 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.
Contact us by email or (707) 565-4351.
Are You a Mandated Reporter?
Certain professionals have a legal responsibility to report any reasonable suspicion that a child is being abused, neglected or endangered:
- health care providers
- teacher or educators
- child care providers
- clergy members
- social service providers
- emergency responders (EMT, fire and law enforcement)
- foster parents
- animal control officers
Learn about our free training and certification for local Mandated Reporters.
Current Mandated Reporters: learn more about how to Connect. Support. Report.