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NEW Mandated Reporter Training
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The NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is offering new training for mandated reporters that can be completed online through the Human Services Learning Center (HSLC). The OCFS Division of Child Welfare and Community Services operates the hotline or Statewide Central Register (SCR) and oversees Child Protective Services (CPS). All mandated reporters in NYS are required to complete this training by April 1, 2025.
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As a mandated reporter, you understand your legal obligation to call the CPS hotline if you have a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect. But did you know that calling in a report is not your only option to attain assistance for families in need?
In some situations, the legal criteria required to make the call to the hotline will not be met. The child and family may be in crisis, but at times it’s more appropriate to connect them with competent and culturally responsive community services. This training will help you recognize ways to support a family without having to report a family.
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Assessing a child’s safety is a main consideration in making a report to the child abuse hotline. Yet sometimes, our own implicit biases can thwart our efforts to get the right help for a family in need.
“When confronted with a family living in poverty,” said D. Scott, chief community engagement officer for Monroe County Department of Human Services, “we need to check our biases at the door and determine if there is a risk or unsafe situation here.”
A child’s disheveled appearance, for example, may be linked to poverty, rather than neglect. While there is a correlation between poverty and neglect—with poverty a documented risk factor—it’s important to note that they are not one and the same. Families who are poor care for their children too.
This new training highlights the impact of implicit bias in mandated reporters and will instruct you on how to check your own. It was developed with four goals in mind:
- Help you understand when you are legally required to make a report to the SCR.
- Help you recognize and reduce implicit bias.
- Help you understand the impact of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
- Help you differentiate when it is more appropriate to refer a family for community-based supports and services, and know how to access these resources.
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Amy Scheel-Jones is a senior consultant with Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) and has been working with trauma response systems for two decades. In her experience, she believes that it’s important to remove any judgment in dealing with families struggling with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
“People are doing the best they can,” said Scheel-Jones. “As mandated reporters, we should focus on how to engage children, especially those who aren’t easy to engage. Our response to trauma can wrap around a person and build resilience, lowering their risk (for negative outcomes).”
This training will help mandated reporters better understand the factors that impact a child and their own decision-making. Upon completion of this training, you will:
- Be able to determine if a child shows (including virtually) indicators of abuse and neglect.
- Understand when you have a legal obligation to call the SCR.
- Know how to prepare to make a call to the SCR and file the related paperwork.
- Recognize the impact of bias on your decision-making.
- Recognize the impact of trauma and ACEs on children, families and yourself.
- Recognize the mitigating effects of the five protective factors.
- Know how to connect individuals and families to supports and services.
- Understand your rights as a mandated reporter.
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Working Together as a Community
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To be most effective in its work to protect children, CPS needs strong partnerships within the community, which includes mandated reporters and organizations that provide supports to families.
“It’s everyone’s job to help a family or child in need,” said Julie Nichols, administrative caseworker for Monroe County Child and Family Services. “Sometimes that is by just providing a listening ear, by connecting a family to a service in the community, or to resources to access tangible items to meet human needs. Other times, it is by calling CPS to register a report.”
When adults who have contact with children work together to prevent child abuse and maltreatment, it promotes child and family well-being in their communities and improves their safety net.
“When a family or child is before you,” added Nichols, “be thoughtful in which is the most appropriate response for the given situation. Every family is different, every situation is different, and every person has the ability to make a difference.”
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