Day Care Sexual Abuse

Families rely on child care so they can work and so their children can learn and play in a safe place. Young children often cannot explain what happened to them, which makes abuse in child care especially hard to discover. This page explains how the law may view the person who caused the harm, the child care provider, and the rules that are meant to keep children safe.

What day care sexual abuse can involve

Day care sexual abuse is sexual contact or sexual conduct directed at a child by someone connected to a child care setting. It can happen in a child care center, a preschool, an after-school program, or a family child care home run out of a private residence. It can happen in licensed care and in care that is not licensed.

The person responsible may be a teacher, aide, director, owner, driver, substitute or volunteer. In a home-based program, it may be a family member or another adult who lives in or visits the home. It may also be an older child in care when adults are not supervising.

Families often learn about possible abuse in indirect ways, such as:

• Something a child says, sometimes in pieces over time
• Sudden fear of a person, a room or going to day care
• Changes in sleep, toileting or behavior
• Physical signs noticed at home or by a doctor
• A call from the provider, police or a licensing agency
• A report that other children may have been affected

Signs like these can have many causes, and none of them proves abuse. If you are worried about your child’s safety right now, contact law enforcement or your state’s child abuse hotline, and talk to your child’s doctor.

Parents often blame themselves for not seeing it sooner. People who harm children in care usually work hard to hide it.

Who may be responsible

The person who committed the abuse may be held responsible in a civil lawsuit, whether or not there is a criminal case.

The child care business, its owners or a parent company may also be responsible in some cases, but not automatically. It depends on the facts and on state law. Questions that often matter include:

• Whether the provider completed the background checks the law requires
• Whether staff-to-child ratios and supervision rules were followed
• Whether one adult was allowed to be alone with a child in a way policy did not allow
• Whether earlier complaints or concerns were reported and acted on
• Whether the provider trained staff to recognize and report abuse
• Whether the provider had past licensing violations related to safety

Other parties may matter too. Depending on the facts, others could be involved too. That might be a franchise company, a staffing agency that supplied a worker, a church or community group that runs or hosts a program, or a property owner. When a program is run by a public entity, such as a school district or city, special notice rules may apply. Some of these issues overlap with our school sexual abuse and institutional abuse pages.

Background checks, licensing and inspections

Federal background check requirements

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the main federal program that helps states pay for child care. States that receive these funds must require criminal background checks for child care staff members, including people who are applying for jobs1. The requirement covers licensed, regulated or registered providers and any provider that is eligible to care for children whose care is paid for with these funds2.

Under the federal rules, a check includes an FBI fingerprint check and a search of the National Sex Offender Registry. It also includes searches of criminal, sex offender and child abuse registries in each state where the person lived in the past five years. In a family child care home, adults 18 and older who live in the home are also covered. Checks must be repeated at least once every five years2.

Some people may not work in covered child care at all. That includes anyone on a sex offender registry, anyone who refuses the check, and anyone convicted of certain crimes, such as rape or sexual assault, child abuse or neglect, or other crimes against children. A new staff member may start work after some parts of the check come back, but must be supervised at all times by someone with a qualifying check until the rest is complete2.

Health and safety training, ratios and reporting

States that receive CCDBG funds must set health and safety requirements for covered providers. Required training topics include the recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect. States must also certify that caregivers, teachers and directors will follow the state’s child abuse reporting laws3. In addition, every state designates certain professionals as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse, and child care workers are commonly on that list4.

States must also describe their standards for group sizes, staff-to-child ratios and caregiver qualifications3. The actual numbers are set by each state and usually depend on the ages of the children and the type of setting.

Inspections and public records

For licensed providers, the federal rules require at least one inspection before licensing and at least one unannounced inspection each year. License-exempt providers that receive federal child care funds must be inspected annually for health, safety and fire standards5.

States must post the results of monitoring and inspection reports on a consumer website, including areas of noncompliance and corrective action, with at least three years of results where available. States must also publish yearly totals that include instances of substantiated child abuse in child care settings6. These records can be an important starting point for families. You can find your state’s child care resources through Childcare.gov.

Warning signs and failures that can matter

In a civil case, the focus is often on what the provider knew or should have done before the abuse. Facts like these may be important:

• Staff working before background checks were finished, without supervision
• Too few adults for the number or ages of children
• Rooms, bathrooms or nap areas where adults were out of sight of others
• Earlier complaints from parents or staff that were not reported
• Past licensing citations for supervision or safety
• Unscreened visitors or household members with access to children
• Missing or broken cameras where a provider said they were in use

One of these facts does not prove a provider is responsible. They are the kinds of facts a lawyer looks for in deciding whether a claim may exist.

Evidence that may matter

You do not need to collect anything before you call. Many records are held by the provider or by state agencies. It can still help to know what may be useful:

• Enrollment papers and the provider’s policies
• Sign-in and sign-out sheets
• Messages, photos or app updates from the provider
• Names of staff and other adults present
• State licensing and inspection reports
• Police or child protective services reports
• Medical or forensic interview records
• Notes you made about what your child said and when

Try not to question a young child repeatedly about what happened. Specially trained interviewers, often at a child advocacy center, know how to talk with young children in a way that protects both the child and the investigation.

Deadlines for claims involving young children

There is no single deadline for day care abuse claims. Time limits depend on the state, the child’s age, the type of claim and the type of defendant. In many states, the time to file a child’s own claim does not begin to run until the child becomes an adult, and many states have longer deadlines for childhood sexual abuse. A parent’s own claims, such as for medical expenses, may follow different and sometimes shorter deadlines.

If the program was run by a public entity, many states require a written notice of claim within a limited time, and immunity rules may apply. Because these rules vary so much, a lawyer should look at the specific facts and state law.

Criminal cases, civil cases and privacy

A criminal case is brought by a prosecutor and can lead to jail or prison. A civil case is brought by the family and seeks compensation for the harm. A civil case may go forward even if no one was charged, and it uses a different standard of proof. Licensing agencies may also investigate on their own and can take action against a provider’s license.

Families often want to protect their child’s privacy. Many courts use initials or pseudonyms for minors, and some allow families to proceed under a pseudonym. What is allowed depends on the court and the state, so it cannot be promised in advance.

How CBW reviews day care abuse claims

CBW Law reviews day care and child care sexual abuse claims for families across the country. The first conversation is free and confidential. We will ask about the type of care, the timeline, and what the provider and any agencies have said, and we will explain what we see.

If we take a case, there are no attorney’s fees unless we recover for you. We cannot promise any outcome, and every case depends on its facts. To learn about related kinds of cases, visit our Sexual Assault & Abuse page.

Questions

Questions parents ask about day care abuse

Short answers to common questions. Every family’s situation is different, so these are a starting point, not legal advice.

My child is too young to explain what happened. Can there still be a case?

Possibly. Many cases involving young children rely on other evidence, such as records, witnesses, medical findings, licensing reports or a forensic interview. A lawyer can look at what information exists.

Is the day care automatically responsible?

No. A provider may be responsible if, for example, it failed to screen, supervise or train staff, or ignored warning signs. The answer depends on the facts and state law.

What if the day care was not licensed?

An unlicensed or license-exempt provider can still be responsible under state law. Operating without a required license may also be relevant. Whether federal background check rules applied depends on whether the provider was licensed, regulated, registered or paid with federal child care funds.

How can I find inspection reports for a provider?

States that receive federal child care funds must post inspection results on a consumer website. You can start with your state’s page through Childcare.gov, or ask your state’s child care licensing agency.

Does someone have to be arrested or convicted?

No. A civil case is separate from a criminal case. It can go forward even if no one was charged or if a criminal case did not end in a conviction.

How long do we have to file?

It depends on your state, your child’s age, who the claim is against and the type of claim. In many states, a child’s deadline is extended, but a parent’s own claims and claims against public entities may have shorter deadlines. A lawyer can tell you what applies.

Will our family’s name be public?

Courts often protect the identity of minors, for example by using initials. Some courts also allow families to use a pseudonym. This depends on the court and state, so it cannot be guaranteed, but we can discuss privacy before anything is filed.

Tell Us Your Story

You trusted someone to care for your child. If that trust was broken, you deserve clear answers.

A review is free and confidential, and contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Share what you know, at your own pace. We will listen and explain your options.

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This page provides general information, not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Any allegations described are allegations unless a court or agency has made a finding. No outcome can be promised in any case. Laws and deadlines vary by state and change over time.