Safe Surrender
What is Safe Surrender? An infant up to 7 days old may be left with a responsible adult, legally and anonymously. This is North Carolina state law, properly called the “Infant Homicide Prevention Act.”. Anyone who receives a baby in this way must keep the baby safe, warm, and call 911 or the county social services department immediately. Why is there such a law? The risk of homicide on the first day of life is 10 times greater than the rate during any other time of life. Every year, several babies are either killed or left to die in North Carolina by a parent in crisis, who may feel they have no other choice. The law hopes to provide such parents a way to surrender their unwanted newborn safely and anonymously. If you have more questions, please go to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Safe Surrender web page to find out more information.
Reports of Child Abuse/Neglect/Dependency
Help us keep the children of Lee County safe! If you believe a child is being abused or neglected by his parent, guardian or caretaker, state law requires that you contact DSS to report the maltreatment. You may provide whatever information you have by telephone, in person, or in writing. You do not have to know all the information about a family. You do need to provide all the information you have.
Call 919 718-4690 and say that you need to make a CPS report or, our office is located at 530 Carthage Street, Sanford, NC 27330.
The agency asks for contact information from reporters so they can be contacted by social workers and so they can receive letters informing them of the status and outcome of the report. However, it is possible for reporters to remain anonymous. It is important for all reporters to know that only a court order allows DSS to reveal the name of a reporter, and this is an extremely rare occurrence.
Reports of Disabled Adults Who Are Abused/Neglected/Exploited
Reports may be made during regular business hours either by telephone contact (919-718-4690) or by a visit to the Department (530 Carthage Street Sanford, NC).
Night, holiday, and weekend reporting for CPS or APS may be made through contact with the Sanford Police Department (919-775-8286) and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (919-718-4560). These agencies are always open and willing to contact our on-call worker. Our worker will contact you regarding your report.
Welfare Fraud
If you suspect welfare fraud by an individual or a business and would like to report it please click the button below.
Report Fraud