Creating an Online Complaint

To start entering a new complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect, click the Create new complaint link on the Mandated Reporter Dashboard. Then, review and accept the Rights and Responsibilities and click Continue.

MORS will guide you through each section to complete a complaint. In addition, there is a navigation pane on the left side of the screen. This can be used to navigate to different sections of the complaint. Along the bottom of each screen are Back and Continue buttons. Select Back to return to the previous section. Select Continue to move to the next section and save your information.

Please Note: If you add or edit any information, you must select Continue to save your work. Selecting Back will not save any changes made.

To save the complaint and log out, click Continue and then the Logout button in the top right corner. To save the complaint and return to the dashboard, click Continue and then Home in the top left corner of the screen.

Your contact information will prefill from the information entered when creating your MI Bridges account. Please confirm the information in this section is accurate and as you want it listed on each complaint. The reporting source notification letter, including the disposition of the complaint, will be mailed to the address listed in this section. If you work for multiple agencies, please list the agency most relevant for this complaint.

If you edit information in this section, you will be asked if you want to update your profile. Clicking Yes will save the new information to your profile. Future complaints would prefill with the updated information. If you do not want future complaints to prefill with the changes made, select No for this question.

Please Note: Identifying a Preferred Contact Method on this page does not guarantee communication regarding the complaint will be via the method selected. If Centralized Intake needs additional information regarding a submitted complaint, the reporting source will be contacted using the phone number listed.

In this section, provide information about the alleged child victim(s) involved in the report. Click the Add Child button to identify the child(ren) you suspect have been abused or neglected. You can add as many children as needed.

You will be asked to provide the name (or a physical description of the child), date of birth (or approximate age), gender, address (or a description to locate the child), and phone number for each child involved in the incident you are reporting.

Name: This includes the first and last name, at least. If the last name is not known completely, enter the information that is known about the child. If only the nickname is known for the first name, please enter the nickname. If the child’s name is completely unknown, please enter a physical description of the child. Include information such as the child’s approximate height and weight, race and ethnicity, what they were wearing, etc.

Date of Birth: The preferred information is the exact date of birth for the child. However, if it is unknown, please enter the child’s approximate age. The approximate age is listed in years, months, and days to provide an accurate estimate for children under 1-year-old.

Address: Please enter the address where the child primarily resides. If the child has multiple addresses, you would enter the address where the child lives most of the time. Once an address is entered, you will have the option to Select from existing addresses? for additional participants on the complaint.

If the address is unknown, please indicate in the comment box the best way to locate the child. Provide as much information as possible including the street name, color of the house, directions to the home, description of the vehicle/license plate number, or any other identifiers to locate the child.

Child’s Phone Number: This is the personal cell phone number of the child only.

Once a child has been added, his or her name will display on the Alleged Child Victim(s) List. You can choose to Edit or Delete information, add another child (Add Child), or Continue through the complaint. This example shows two alleged child victims:

This section will gather additional details about the child(ren) you are reporting about, including how you know them and any additional children who are part of the family or living in the home.

Are any additional children part of the family or living in the home?: This may include siblings, step-siblings, non-custodial children who visit the home, children of unrelated adults, and any other children who live in the home but were not identified as victims.

If yes, Please provide the name, approximate age, race/ethnicity, and gender for each additional child if known: If known, include each child’s date of birth or approximate age and their relationship to the family. If you don’t know the children’s names, please include how many children.

How do you know the child(ren)?: Describe your involvement with the child and his/her family.

Do you know where the child(ren) is at this time?: Describe where the child can be found now and, if known, where the child can normally be located such as where the child attends school, goes to day care, spends time after school, etc.

Is any alleged child victim limited by a disability?: This could include a cognitive or physical disability. There should be a "Yes" response if the child in question, due to age, developmental status, or physical disability, is unable to protect themselves. Examples include conditions on the Autism spectrum, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, and conditions requiring medical assistance to meet basic needs. Other examples include: Hearing impaired, any impaired communication skills, visual impairment, confinement to wheel chair or other ambulatory device, and/or receiving special education services for any cognitive impairment. If it is suspected the child is limited by a disability but has not been diagnosed, select “Yes” and explain in detail in the comment box. There should be a “No” response if the child is not limited by a disability and there is no reason to suspect the child may be limited by a disability.

If yes, Please indicate which child and their disability.

In this section, provide information about the adults involved in the report. Click the Add Individual button to add the individual(s) you suspect has abused or neglected a child and the child(ren)’s primary caregiver. You can add as many individuals as needed.

Identify how the individual is related to the child(ren) in your report, provide the name (or a physical description of the individual), date of birth (or approximate age), gender, address (or a description to locate the individual), and phone number for each individual involved in the incident.

How is this individual related to the child(ren) in your report?: Please specify if the person is the child’s primary caregiver and an alleged perpetrator or non-offending adult.

Primary Caretaker: The primary caregiver is an adult, usually a parent or legal guardian living in the household, who assumes the most responsibility for the child’s care. When two adult caregivers are present and it is unknown which one assumes the most caretaking responsibility, the adult legally responsible for the children involved in the incident should be selected. If this does not resolve the question, the legally responsible adult who is an alleged perpetrator should be selected.

Then, Describe this individual’s relationship: Please specify whether the person is a parent, non-custodial parent, neighbor, relative, friend, etc.

Name: This information includes the individual’s first and last name at least. If the last name is not known completely, enter the information that is known of the individual. If only the nickname is known for the first name, please enter the individual’s nickname. If the individual’s name is completely unknown, please enter a physical description of the individual. Include information such as the adult’s approximate height and weight, race and ethnicity, what they were wearing, etc.

Date of Birth: The preferred information is the exact date of birth of the individual. However, if it is not known, please enter the individual's approximate age.

Address: Please enter the individual’s address. If the address was previously entered on this complaint, you may select it from the drop-down box. If the address is unknown, please indicate in the comment box the best way to locate the individual. Provide as much information as possible including the street name, color of the house, directions to the home, description of the vehicle/license plate number, or any other identifiers to locate the individual.

Are any caregivers or alleged perpetrators a licensed foster care provider, licensed daycare provider, or relative care provider?: Foster care providers are licensed by the State of Michigan to provide care for children in their home. Children may also be placed in the home of a relative caregiver. A relative caregiver provides care for children who are court wards and are related to them. Relative caregivers are not required to be licensed by the State of Michigan to provide care. A daycare provider includes an owner, operator, volunteer, or employee of a licensed or registered child care organization. A "yes" response is appropriate if the adult provides care for children as a foster care provider, daycare provider, or relative provider. If known, identify who, what type of provider they are, and their provider license number.

Do you know any additional individuals (not previously identified in this report) who are aware of or have witnessed the abuse and/or neglect you are reporting? This would include, but is not limited to, any individual who is not already listed on this report and may have more information regarding this incident. Some examples include: mental health providers, probation officers, relatives who witnessed the incident, medical or educational providers, a friend of the family, etc.

What suspected abuse and/or neglect occurred?: Please provide detailed information including the following, if known: WHAT happened? WHO is involved? Describe what the alleged perpetrator(s) did to the child(ren) or failed to do for the child(ren). Include information about physical injuries, mental harm, sexual abuse, cruelty, suffering etc. experienced by the child(ren), impacts/effects on the victims, a description of injuries and/or threat of harm. Provide a complete summary (paint a picture) of the incident and details of what is concerning to you. Use names when known and limit the use of he/she so it is clear who you are referring to.

When and where did this happen?: Please provide detailed information including the following, if known: WHEN and WHERE did the incident occur, include the date, time, and physical location, including the address, the frequency of occurrence, and the history of occurrences.

How did you become aware of the suspected abuse and/or neglect?:

Firsthand knowledge: Please provide details for how and when you became aware of the suspected abuse and/or neglect. Did you witness the situation firsthand? Did you become aware of the situation based on your role with the family? If yes, how so?

Informed by another person: Who told you? If you haven’t already provided this person’s contact information or relationship to the children in previous narrative, please indicate this.

The following questions require a Yes, No, or Unknown answer. You may be asked to provide details when selecting Yes as an answer.

Does this report involve the alleged sexual abuse of a child?: No additional details required.

Has any child victim refused to go home or indicated they are afraid to go home? This could include the alleged child victim verbalizing a fear to go home or exhibiting behaviors indicating fear such as crying, refusal to board the school bus, threatening to run away or hurt themselves. If yes, how did the victim describe their fear of returning home?

Does the child have an injury?: If Yes, Please describe the child’s injury. Please provide details including the location, size, shape, color of the bruise, extent of the injury, etc. Specify exactly how the child received the injury, if this is not already documented in earlier narrative.

Are the police involved in the situation? If Yes, please provide law enforcement agency name, officer name, and incident or police report number (if known).

Are you aware of any safety risks to a CPS investigator in the home?: This would include weapons, drugs, violent animals, violent people, or environmental hazards. If Yes, please describe the safety risks.

Does any participant live on an American Indian Reservation or Trust Land?: There should also be a "Yes" response if there‘s a possibility any individual listed on this complaint resides or is domiciled on an American Indian Reservation or Trust Land. If "Yes" is selected, please explain to the best of your ability how the individual is affiliated with an American Indian Tribe. Please provide the name of the American Indian Tribe, if known. A complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect of any Indian child who resides or is domiciled on lands within exclusive jurisdiction of the tribe may not be investigated by MDHHS. If the child resides or is domiciled on lands within exclusive jurisdiction of the tribe, MDHHS will coordinate with the tribe to determine who will investigate the suspected child abuse or neglect. The following are federally recognized tribes Located in Michigan: •Bay Mills Indian Community •Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians •Hannahville Indian Community •Keweenaw Bay Indian Community •Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians •Little River Band of Ottawa Indians •Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians •Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Gun Lake Tribe •Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi •Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians •Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe •Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Does any participant have American Indian Heritage? There should be a "Yes" response if any individual listed on this complaint is a descendant of an American Indian. The individual does not need to be a confirmed member of an American Indian Tribe to answer "Yes" to this question. If "Yes" is selected, please explain to the best of your ability how the individual is affiliated with an American Indian Tribe. Please provide the name of the American Indian Tribe, if known.

Is there a language or communication barrier for any of the participants? Will an interpreter be needed to communicate with any individual listed on the complaint? If yes, please provide details: Who needs an interpreter? What is their primary language?

Is there any additional information you would like to share? Include any information you believe would be helpful for an intake supervisor or field investigator to know about this situation or family.

In this section, you can upload and review documents to support this report of alleged abuse and/or neglect. This would include any pictures, medical documents, school records, a police report, or anything else relevant to the complaint.

Note: The following document types are supported with this application: .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .pdf, and .tiff file types.

To upload a document, select Choose Document. Then, browse for and select the document from your device. Once the document is visible in the viewing screen, add the Document Name and click Upload Document. The document name should be a brief description of the attachment. Examples: Medical Record, Case Notes from 1/15/2018, Police Report #18-12345, etc. Attached documents will be displayed on the left side of the screen. You may select to view or delete a document or upload additional documents. Once you have uploaded all supporting documents, select continue to move to the next section.

The submission page is the last step in the reporting process. A Missing Required Information message will display if you did not complete any of the required questions throughout the complaint. Use the left navigation pane or select Edit next to the identified section to return and complete the missing information. You will not be able to submit a complaint if any of the required information is missing. Once you have completed each section, please review your complaint and any attachments for accuracy before clicking Submit.

Please note: You will not be able to add attachments or make changes to the complaint once it is submitted.

Once you have submitted the complaint, MORS will confirm your complaint was submitted. You will also receive an email confirmation within 24 hours. You may click View Complaint PDF to view copy of the complaint or Back to Dashboard to return to the Mandated Reporter Dashboard.  

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