Data are collected from the Missouri Department of Social Services Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline Unit (CANHU). The Missouri Juvenile Officer Performance Standards (2017) define a juvenile and family division referral as “the initial information provided to the juvenile officer from the referring agency inclusive of the identifying information and basis for the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.” For the purpose of annual reporting, unless otherwise indicated, disposed referrals represent the unit of measurement, not individual youth.
The juvenile and family division is responsible for processing and supervising four referral types: Status Offenses, Law Offenses, Child Abuse and Neglect (CA/N), and Administrative.

Data are collected from the Missouri Department of Social Services Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline Unit (CANHU). CANHU accepts confidential reports of suspected child abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Missouri’s toll-free number for reporting child abuse/neglect is 1-800-392- 3738. Mandated reporters can also report online at http://dss.mo.gov/cd/can.htm. The CANHU is operated year-round on a 24 hours per day, seven days per week basis. During FY 2020, it was staffed by 50 full-time and 12 part-time trained and experienced Children’s Service Workers. A call to the hotline is referred to as a “report” or “reported incident” of child abuse/neglect. A report may involve from one to several children. Over the course of the fiscal year, the hotline had received over 55,000 reported incidents that involved over 78,000 children in Missouri. The number of hotline calls received dropped significantly during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When a call is received at the CANHU, information is analyzed to determine whether: • the child is under age 18; • the alleged perpetrator has care, custody and control of the child; • the report meets the legal definition of abuse and/or neglect as stipulated in 210.110, RSMo. For more information visit the </a Child Abuse and Neglect Annual Report