How to report abuse, neglect or exploitation

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If someone is in immediate danger, call emergency services first. Otherwise report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an adult to adult protective services if they live at home, or to the long-term care ombudsman if they live in a facility. You do not need proof to report a concern.

Which route to use

Pick by where the person lives and how urgent it is. The routes below do different jobs and go to different places.

1. Immediate danger

Someone is being hurt right now, has been injured, or is in a situation that cannot wait. Call emergency services. This is the route for a medical emergency, a violent situation, or a person found alone and unsafe.

Do this first. Everything else on this page can happen afterwards.

2. Adult protective services – an adult living at home or in the community

This is the route when the person lives in their own home, a family member’s home, or otherwise in the community. Adult protective services investigates suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect and exploitation of adults who cannot protect themselves.

Use this route for a caregiver causing harm, a person left without care they cannot manage alone, money or benefits being taken, or a household situation that has become unsafe.

3. Long-term care ombudsman – an adult living in a facility

This is the route when the person lives in a nursing home, a personal care home, an assisted living community or a similar facility. The ombudsman program advocates for residents of long-term care settings, takes complaints about their treatment, and works to resolve them.

Use this route for care problems, treatment concerns, rights being denied, or retaliation against a resident who spoke up.

4. The case manager – always, as well

Tell the case manager after you have reported it. The case manager cannot substitute for a protective services or ombudsman report, and should not be used as one. What they can do is make sure the plan of care and the providers involved respond to what has happened – a caregiver arrangement that has to change, monitoring that has to increase, a service that has to start.

If the concern is about a paid provider’s conduct rather than a member’s immediate safety, the complaint routes apply in addition.

What to have ready when you call

You do not need any of this to make a report. Having it makes the report more useful.

The person’s name, age, address, and where they are right now
Who they live with and who cares for them
What you have seen or been told, with dates
Injuries, missed medication, weight loss, unpaid bills, unexplained withdrawals
Whether the person is aware you are reporting
Whether the person is in danger today
Your name and how you can be reached, if you are willing to give it

What reporting does and does not do

It does not remove an adult from their home. An adult with capacity makes their own decisions, including decisions others disagree with. An investigation looks at what is happening and what help is available.

It does not require you to be right. The threshold is a reasonable concern. Reports made in good faith are protected.

It does not end with the report. If nothing appears to change and the concern remains, report again with the new information, and use the other routes as well. Concerns are often substantiated on the second or third report, when a pattern is visible.

Financial exploitation is abuse

It is the form families most often hesitate over, because the person involved is usually known to them. A new name on an account, a card that has gone missing, a benefit that stopped arriving, a document signed without explanation, a relative who has become the sole point of contact for everything – these are reportable, and they are common.

Questions people ask about this

Do I need proof before I report something?

No. You report a reasonable concern, not a proven case. Investigating is the job of the agency that receives the report. Waiting until you are certain is how situations are allowed to continue, and a report made in good faith is protected.

What counts as abuse, neglect or exploitation?

Physical harm, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and threats. Neglect includes being left without food, medication, heating, hygiene or needed care, whether by a caregiver or through self-neglect. Exploitation is the misuse of a person's money, property, benefits or identity.

Can I report anonymously?

Anonymous reports are generally accepted, though giving your name lets investigators come back with follow-up questions, which usually makes a report more useful. If you are worried about consequences for yourself or the person involved, say so when you report it.

Should I tell the case manager instead of reporting it?

Tell the case manager as well, not instead. Reporting goes to the agency with the authority to investigate. The case manager needs to know so the plan of care and the providers involved respond, but a case manager is not a substitute for the reporting route.

What if the person says they do not want anything reported?

An adult with capacity can decline help, and that has to be respected in most situations. It does not stop you reporting a concern, and it should not stop you asking for advice. Fear of a caregiver, or dependence on the person causing the harm, is common and is itself part of the picture.

Clinically reviewed by Cathy Nisbett, RN, CCM — Head Nurse and Lead Case Manager · September 2026