What Childhelp Can't Do

Childhelp can't come to the home where the abuse is happening and take away the child or teen who is in danger of being hurt and put them in a new home.

Law enforcement agencies (the police or sheriff's departments) and child protective services are the ones who decide what will happen when there is child abuse. If a child is in immediate danger, however, our hotline counselors can call the local police to go to the child's location if the hotline caller gives the address and the name of the child or teen who is being abused.

The Childhelp hotline counselors can't make the child abuse report for you.

Our hotline counselors can look up the local reporting telephone number and give it to you. They can also stay on the phone line and make a 3-way call if you are nervous about doing it alone.

The hotline counselors can't spend time on the phone giving you information for a school paper you are doing about child abuse.

There is helpful information about child abuse elsewhere on our Web site. Also, if you can wait a couple of weeks, you can call 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) and then push 2 to ask that we mail information to you. (The number 2 option does NOT connect you with a hotline counselor. You need to press 1 to reach a hotline counselor.)