In Central Oregon, please call DHS Child Welfare personnel in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties

Call (541) 693-2700

or any law enforcement agency at 911

If you are outside Oregon, more information can be found at Childhelp USA by clicking this link or calling 1-800-422-4453. You can also call 911 to connect with local law enforcement.

Children deserve safety. If you have suspicions about a victim or an abuser, it is your responsibility to report. You are not required to provide proof of the abuse. Anyone who makes a good faith report based on reasonable grounds is immune from prosecution. If sexual abuse occurred within the past 72 hours, a medical evaluation by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is available by going to the Emergency Department at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend or Redmond. In Crook or Jefferson Counties, children should be taken to their Emergency Departments as well.  

You may have fears about reporting. Many people fear that their suspicions are unfounded and that they will cause unnecessary stress. Please remember that determining whether child abuse occurred is not your job--that is up to the professionals at DHS and law enforcement. Your job, and your responsibility to all children, is to pass on any information you have.

Often, there is a file of reports that did not warrant investigation on a particular child or family; it could be your report, perhaps even of a small incident, that pushes it over the edge and calls for a home visit. If you work with children in any capacity within the state of Oregon, you are considered a mandated reporter and can be prosecuted for NOT reporting.

It takes courage to confront child abuse and make a report. On behalf of children everywhere, KIDS Center thanks you.