If you believe a facility or individual providing care has violated applicable child care regulations or you suspect abuse or neglect of children in care, you may report those concerns to the Virginia Department of Education.

If you suspect that a facility or individual is providing care illegally (the person should have a license but doesn’t), you may report those concerns as well. The Department of Education has the responsibility to investigate these complaints.

The purpose of reporting a complaint is not just to protect a specific child, but rather to protect all the children in care at that facility. You do not have to know which specific standards have been violated; you can provide a description of the situation and the licensing inspector will determine which, if any, standards or laws have been violated.

Child Care Standards

• Licensed Child Day Centers
• Licensed Family Day Homes
• Religiously Exempt Child Day Centers
• Family Day Care Systems
• Voluntary Registration of Family Day Homes

Complaints may be anonymously submitted in written format or orally.

If you are willing to provide your name and contact information, the licensing inspector will be able to contact you for additional information, if necessary, and to provide information about the results of the complaint investigation after it is complete.

Before filing a complaint, reference the questions listed below and be prepared to provide as much specific information as possible, especially if you are filing anonymously, as the inspector will not be able to ask you any follow-up questions.

• What happened?
• Who was involved? Who may have witnessed what happened?
• When did it happen? Did it happen more than once? How long did it take?
• Where did it happen?
• Why did it happen?

How to File a Complaint

There are multiple ways you can file a complaint. You can call or submit an online complaint.

• Call the Office of Child Care Health and Safety (OCCHS) toll-free at 833-778-0204;
• Submit a written complaint via the online complaint form;
• Contact the regional OCCHS office that works with programs in the city or county where the program is located; or
• Contact the licensing inspector directly by locating his contact information using the Find Care search to locate the facility.  
• For complaints regarding possible child abuse or neglect, call the Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline toll free number: 1-800-552-7096 (or, in the Richmond area, 804-786-8536)