Where to Report Elder Abuse in California: APS, Ombudsman, and 911

To report elder abuse in California, the number you call depends on where the abuse is happening. For an emergency or a crime in progress, call 911. For abuse of an elder living at home, in an apartment, a hotel, or a hospital, call Adult Protective Services at 1-833-401-0832. For abuse of a resident inside a nursing home, assisted living facility, or other licensed long-term care setting, call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman CRISISline at 1-800-231-4024. Routing the report to the right agency matters, because each one has different authority to investigate and intervene.

When to Call 911

Call 911 first if the elder is in immediate physical danger or a crime is actively taking place. That includes ongoing assault, sexual abuse, a medical emergency caused by neglect, or any situation where waiting for another agency would put the person at greater risk. Give the dispatcher the exact address, describe what you see or what the victim told you, and stay on the line until instructed otherwise.

Law enforcement secures the scene, provides immediate protection, and can open a criminal investigation. A police report also triggers cross-reporting to Adult Protective Services and other agencies, so a 911 call does not require you to separately contact every other office on this list.

Reporting Abuse at Home or in the Community

For non-emergency abuse of an elder living outside a licensed care facility, call Adult Protective Services. APS investigates physical abuse, neglect, self-neglect, isolation, abandonment, and financial exploitation. Each California county runs its own APS office, and a single statewide number routes you to the right one.¹

Call 1-833-401-0832 at any time of day or night, seven days a week. When prompted, enter the elder’s five-digit zip code and the system connects you to the county APS office covering that area. Be ready to give the victim’s name and location, the type of abuse you suspect, the relationship between the victim and the suspected abuser, and any details about injuries or financial irregularities you have observed.²

APS serves elders aged 60 and older and dependent adults aged 18 to 59 who have a disability. Investigators assess whether the person can care for themselves safely and may arrange services such as counseling, in-home support, money management, or a conservatorship referral.¹

Reporting Abuse in a Licensed Long-Term Care Facility

Abuse inside a licensed facility is handled through a different system, split between the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the state agency that licenses the facility.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman

The Ombudsman program advocates for residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care settings. Call this office for problems like improper room transfers, inappropriate use of physical or chemical restraints, poor quality of care, lost personal belongings, or violations of dignity and privacy. The Statewide CRISISline is 1-800-231-4024, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every long-term care facility in California is required to post this number in a visible location.³

State Licensing Agencies

For serious health and safety violations, licensing issues, or abuse that goes beyond quality-of-life concerns, report to the state agency that licenses the facility:

Skilled nursing facilities: California Department of Public Health, Licensing and Certification Division. File online through the Cal Health Find database (the fastest route, because it goes directly to the correct district office) or call the district office that oversees the facility’s county.⁴
Residential care facilities for the elderly (assisted living): Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, at 1-844-538-8766.⁵

Both agencies conduct unannounced inspections, investigate complaints, and can impose penalties or require corrective action plans. If you are unsure which agency applies, start with the Ombudsman CRISISline. Staff there can redirect you.

Warning Signs That Should Prompt a Call

Many forms of elder abuse are subtle enough that family members and neighbors miss them for months. The patterns below should prompt a report:

Physical abuse: unexplained bruises, welts, or rope marks; bone fractures; untreated injuries in various stages of healing; broken eyeglasses; or signs of being restrained. Behavioral changes like sudden fearfulness, or a caregiver who refuses to let visitors speak with the elder alone, matter just as much.
Neglect: dehydration, malnutrition, untreated bedsores, poor hygiene, unattended health problems, or hazardous living conditions such as no heat, no running water, or unsanitary surroundings.
Financial exploitation: sudden large bank withdrawals, new names on accounts, unexplained changes to a will, disappearing valuables, unpaid bills despite adequate resources, or a previously uninvolved relative suddenly claiming rights to the elder’s property.

You do not need proof to file a report. A reasonable suspicion based on what you observe is enough. APS and law enforcement are trained to investigate from there.⁶

What Happens After You Report

When APS receives a community-based report, it assigns a response timeline based on urgency. Standard cases allow up to 10 days for the agency to begin its investigation. High-risk cases get a faster response. An APS social worker then contacts the victim, assesses their living situation, and determines what protective services are needed.¹

For facility-based complaints, the state licensing agency or Ombudsman program conducts its own investigation. Federal rules also require nursing homes to report any allegation of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property to the facility administrator and the state survey agency no later than 24 hours after discovery, complete an internal investigation, and report results within five working days.⁷

If you filed the original report and the situation has not improved, you can follow up with the same agency or contact a different one. Nothing prevents you from reporting the same situation to APS, law enforcement, and the Ombudsman at once.

If You Are a Mandated Reporter

California law requires certain people to report suspected elder abuse. Anyone who has assumed full or intermittent responsibility for the care or custody of an elder or dependent adult is a mandated reporter, whether or not they are paid. The law names administrators and licensed staff of care facilities, care custodians, health practitioners, clergy members, and employees of APS or law enforcement agencies.⁸

For abuse outside a licensed facility, a mandated reporter must call APS or local law enforcement immediately or as soon as practicably possible, then submit a written report within two working days. The standard written form is the SOC 341.⁹

For abuse inside a long-term care facility, the deadlines are tighter. When one resident with dementia harms another and the injury is not serious, the reporter has 24 hours to submit a written report to the Ombudsman and law enforcement. For all other facility-based abuse, the reporter must make a verbal report to law enforcement within two hours and submit a written report to the Ombudsman, law enforcement, and the appropriate state licensing agency within 24 hours.⁸

A mandated reporter who fails to report faces a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. If the failure is willful and the abuse results in death or great bodily injury, the penalty increases to up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.⁸

Legal Protection for People Who Report

Mandated reporters and any other person who reports a known or suspected instance of elder abuse cannot be held civilly or criminally liable for making that report. The one exception: a person who knowingly files a false report can face liability. Reporters are also protected when they take photographs of a suspected victim as part of the reporting process.¹⁰

If a mandated reporter is sued for filing a report and the case is dismissed on summary judgment or demurrer, the reporter can submit a claim to the Department of General Services for reimbursement of reasonable attorney’s fees.¹⁰

When Reporting Is Not Enough

A report protects the elder going forward, but it does not stop a specific person from making contact and it does not recover money that has already been taken. Two additional tools can.

Elder Abuse Restraining Orders

California courts issue elder abuse restraining orders that can require the abuser to stay away from the elder’s home, stop specific conduct, move out of a shared residence, and have no contact by phone or any other means. To request one, file form EA-100 (Request for Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order) along with a confidential CLETS-001 form, which enters the order into the statewide law enforcement database so officers can verify it instantly during a call. A judge can grant a temporary order the same day you file, with a full hearing scheduled within a few weeks.¹¹

Civil Claims Under the Elder Abuse Act

California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act creates a separate path through civil court. If a plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant committed physical abuse, neglect, or abandonment with recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The statute also lifts the usual cap on survival damages, so even if the victim has passed away, the estate can recover more than would normally be allowed.¹²

The mandatory fee award is what makes the statute workable in practice. Most elder abuse victims have limited resources, and the fee-shifting provision lets attorneys take cases they might otherwise decline. Financial exploitation claims can seek restitution of stolen funds, compensatory damages, and in some cases punitive damages. An elder law attorney can evaluate which legal theories apply to a specific situation.

1
California Department of Social Services. Adult Protective Services
2
California Department of Aging. Where to Report Elder Abuse in California: Who to Call
3
California Department of Aging. Long-Term Care Ombudsman
4
CDPH – CA.gov. File A Complaint
5
California Department of Social Services. Senior Care Licensing
6
U.S. Department of Justice. Red Flags of Elder Abuse
7
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Clarification of Nursing Home Reporting Requirements for Alleged Violations
8
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 15630
9
California Department of Social Services. SOC 341 – Report of Suspected Dependent Adult/Elder Abuse
10
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 15634
11
California Courts Self-Help. Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order Forms
12
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code WIC 15657