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1-800-663-9122 - Reporting child abuse under the Child, Family and Community Service Act in B.C.

Last updated on April 13, 2026

If a child or youth is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 or your local police first. After calling police, you should also call Provincial Centralized Screening (PCS) at 1-800-663-9122.

Your call will be answered by a PCS child welfare worker. They receive and assess reports and provide information about support services.

They are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
 

You can call at any time, day or night.

You do not have to give your name.

You do not need to be certain to make a report. Just share what you know.
 

If you are a child or youth and you or someone you know is unsafe or being abused, call the Helpline for Children at 1-877-631-8282 at any time. The call is free and you do not have to give your name.

Duty to report suspected abuse or neglect

Under the CFCSA, everyone in B.C. has a legal duty to report if they believe a child or youth may be at risk

 



When you call, you may be asked:

When making a report to a child welfare worker, it is helpful to include your name, your phone number, and your relationship to the child or youth. You do not need to have all the details to make a report. You can make an anonymous call if you prefer. The child welfare worker will ask:

  • The child’s or youth’s name, age, and location
  • Any known information about the child’s or youth’s Indigenous identity and/or the Indigenous communities they belong to, if applicable.
  • Any other details about their cultural background or community ties
  • Any immediate safety concerns
  • The reason you are worried
  • What the child or youth said, if applicable
  • Information about the child’s or youth’s parents or caregivers
  • Whether other children or youth may also be affected
  • Whether the child or youth has any support needs or speaks a language other than English
  • The names of other people or agencies involved with the child, youth, or family
  • Whether the family has any supports in place
  • What your connection is to the family/child
  • Whether you can provide any support to the family/child
  • Just share what you do know
  • You can call even if you’re not sure, think someone else has already called, or believe a child welfare worker is already involved.

After you report

After you call, a child welfare worker assesses the information and decides the next steps.

They may:

  • Offer support services to the family
  • Provide ongoing child protection services
  • Refer the report to an Indigenous authority to be assessed under Indigenous law, if the Indigenous child or youth is subject to those laws, or 
  • Take no further action

Child welfare workers always choose the least disruptive option that will keep the child or youth safe.

Information for community service providers

Service Providers play an important role in helping keep children and youth safe.

Read the BC Handbook for Responding to Child Welfare Concerns: For Service Providers for guidance on:

The child protection system in B.C. is changing. Under An Act Respecting First Nation, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families (2020), child protection services may be provided by Indigenous authorities to Indigenous children and youth under Indigenous Child and Family Service laws. 

Child and family services in B.C. now operate within a multi-jurisdictional system. To learn more about Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services, please visit this website.

We all share the responsibility of keeping children and youth safe. If you believe a child or youth may be at risk, you have a duty to report your concern to a child welfare worker.