The moment a parent first suspects that their child was harmed at daycare is disorienting. Maybe it was something your child said in the bath, a sudden fear of going through the center's front door or a comment from another parent in the parking lot. Your mind races between "I'm overreacting" and "I need to do something right now." Having a clear sequence of steps can help. This guide walks through what Illinois law provides and where each step leads.
Nothing below requires a police report or a criminal conviction to preserve your family's options. If you later pursue a civil claim, it will focus on the center and its license holder: what they knew, what they should have known and what they did.
Step 1: Make Sure Your Child Is Safe
If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Keep your child home from the center while you sort out what happened.
Step 2: Report Suspected Abuse to DCFS
Suspected child abuse is reported to the DCFS hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873). You do not need proof. Write down what your child said in their own words and when, and leave detailed questioning to trained professionals.
Step 3: Consider a Licensing Complaint
A concern that the center broke licensing rules is separate from an abuse report. The Illinois Sunshine website says to begin that complaint through the Day Care Information Line at 1-877-746-0829. If you leave contact information, you will receive a letter stating whether violations were found.
Step 4: Look Up the Center's History
The Sunshine website, sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov, has a Monitoring Report Search that shows a provider's license status, expiration date and monitoring reports from January 1, 2010 forward. Watch for the codes CAN, meaning a child abuse or neglect report was made, and PPL, meaning a protective plan was put in place. A protective plan usually limits an accused person's access to children while an allegation is investigated. Closed centers may not appear, so older records may require the Day Care Information Line or a Freedom of Information Act request.
Step 5: Keep What You Have
Save daily reports, photos sent by the center, messages with staff and any enrollment paperwork. Through a case, a lawyer can also seek the center's staff schedules, sign-in sheets, incident reports, background clearances and the mandated reporter statements employees sign when hired.
Step 6: Understand Who Was Required to Act
Under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, 325 ILCS 5/4, center directors, staff assistants and child care workers are mandated reporters who must immediately notify DCFS when they have reasonable cause to suspect abuse. If staff saw warning signs and stayed quiet, that matters.
Step 7: Learn What a Civil Claim Looks At
Daycare claims turn on hiring and access. Who was allowed alone with your child? Was a full background check completed under Section 4.1 of the Child Care Act of 1969 (225 ILCS 10)? Were uncleared new hires supervised at all times, as the law requires? Were staff ratios kept? Claims are usually brought against the center and its license holder, with negligent hiring as the theory that most often carries them and negligent supervision commonly alongside it. Most centers are private, so the Illinois Tort Immunity rules for public bodies do not apply in the same way.
Since July 1, 2026, the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) has led child care licensing, taking over from DCFS, and its representatives make annual unannounced visits to licensed programs. The licensing standards IDEC enforces describe what the center was already obligated to do.
Questions Parents Ask Us
How do I check whether my child's daycare had violations or abuse reports? Use the Sunshine Monitoring Report Search and look for CAN and PPL codes. For closed or older providers, call the Day Care Information Line or file a FOIA request.
Do I need the police to file charges before we do anything? No. A civil claim does not depend on charges or a conviction.
Will my child's name be made public? Protections for identity in the court record are available, and we explain them first.
Talking With a Lawyer
You can call us at any point in this process, even before you are sure. A person answers, and you will not have to describe what happened in detail. If you want us to look into it, we research for free which center and license holder were responsible, what they knew, which records exist and whether a claim can be brought. We give you a straight answer and you decide. If you choose not to proceed, everything you shared stays confidential. If you do proceed, we handle filings, deadlines, records and insurers, and can request protections for your child's identity.
Reach Ervin Nevitt
Ervin Nevitt is a Coplan + Crane partner who has been admitted in Illinois since 2014. The firm answers (708) 671-6858 every hour, every day. The office is at 60 W Randolph St, Suite 333, Chicago, IL 60601.
Parents need support too. RAINN's free, confidential hotline at 1-800-656-4673 is available at all hours.
Attorney advertising. Content is educational and should not be relied on as legal advice.
