Child Abuse Prevention Training and Resources

Training for Mandated Reporters

Online Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training
Mandated reporter training is funded by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention. The training defines the various requirements of the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and also offers specialized training for various occupational groups, including school personnel. The training is free and can be taken at your own pace. At the end of the training, you will receive a certificate of completion issued by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) that you may share with your employer, if required to do so.

Reporting Form for LEAs Who Use Alternative Training For Mandatory Reporting (PDF)
California Education Code Section 44691(c) requires that school districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and diagnostic centers operated by the California Department of Education (CDE), and charter schools that do not use the online training module provided by the CDSS shall report to the CDE the training being used in its place on an annual basis, as required.

Reporting Guidelines and Procedures for Mandated Reporters

Child Abuse or Neglect Identification and Reporting Guidelines
Information for school personnel and those who work in our children’s schools to be able to identify signs of suspected cases of child abuse and/or child neglect and to have the tools to know how to make a report to the proper authorities is described here.

Child Abuse Reporting Procedures for Parents and Guardians (English)
Available translations of Child Abuse Reporting Procedures for Parents and Guardians
Information to assist parents and guardians in determining whether or not child abuse has occurred and, if so, how to file a complaint of child abuse with local law enforcement is described here.

California Penal Code Section 11165.7
The definition of mandated reporter and which personnel are designated mandated reporters is included in this Section.

Emergency Response Hotline Numbers for County Child Protective Services (PDF)
Telephone numbers for each county's emergency response for child abuse reporting are available here.

Suspected Child Abuse Report Department of Justice Form SS8572 with instructions
Included in this form are internal procedures, response times, and helpful hints on completing the Child Abuse Report form.

Reporting Tip Sheet (PDF)
The document describes tips on California Mandated Reporting, laws, what must be reported, and how to file a report alleging child abuse or neglect.

Child Abuse Prevention Training Guides and Model Practices for Parents, Families, and Communities

Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America Youth Protection offers parents’ guides as a basic resource to help parents understand how child abuse happens and how to keep their children safe. A guide for Cub Scouts and their parents and a guide for Boy Scouts and their parents are available in English and Spanish, and a guide for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Scouts and their parents in English.

Youth Protection: How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide (PDF)
This publication helps parents learn how to identify and prevent various forms of abuse and contains exercises.

U.S. Center for SafeSport
U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent, national nonprofit organization providing education, resources, and training to promote respect and prevent abuse in sports, located in Denver, Colorado. Toolkits on sexual abuse and tips for Parents of Preschool Children, Parents of School-Age Children, Parents of Middle School Youth, and Parents of High School Aged Adolescents are available.

Parent’s Guide to Misconduct in Sport
Designed for the parents of athletes of all ages, this free training course explains the issues of misconduct in sport and helps parents ensure their children have a positive and safe sport experience.

Abuse Prevention: Staff Training
Keenan offers online training courses and resources for free to all California public schools on school safety related topics.

Training for Administrators and Educators on Addressing Adult Sexual Misconduct

A Training Guide for Administrators and Educators on Addressing Adult Sexual Misconduct in the School Setting
This guide is the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center’s NEW training guide designed to help schools and school districts understand adult sexual misconduct (ASM), develop related policies and procedures, train on ASM awareness and prevention, and recognize the role of social media and technology in ASM, and support education agencies in updating their emergency operations plans. The development of this guide is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

Child Abuse Prevention Organizations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Adverse Childhood Experiences and resilience
This is a place where you can locate foundational research in the area of Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Child Abuse Prevention Council
Is a state, national, and international service, training, advocacy, and resource center dedicated to protecting children and building healthy families.

Child Welfare Information Gateway
Is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prevent Child Abuse America
(501c3) Dedicated to promoting services that improve child well-being in all 50 states and developing programs that help to prevent all types of abuse and neglect. Voted one of the two best charities for children in the nation. Consumer Reports and Great Non Profits.

Child Abuse Prevention Posters

PDF posters designed to be printed in English, Armenian, Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Abused Person vs. Non-Abused Person (English)(PDF)
Available Translations of Abused Person vs. Non-Abused Person

We Stand With You (English) (PDF)
Available Translations of We Stand With You

The Scariest Things Don't Always Hide in Our Closets (English) (PDF)
Available Translations of The Scariest Things Don't Always Hide in Our Closets

Hands are For Holding and Helping, not Hitting (English) (PDF)
Available Translations of Hands are For Holding and Helping

Abuse is More Than Meets the Eye (English) (PDF)
Available Translations of Abuse is More Than Meets the Eye

Help Me Please (English) (PDF)
Available Translations of Help Me Please

Senate Bill 1178 was passed by the California Legislature in August 2016 and authorized the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to design a poster that notifies children of the appropriate number to call to report child abuse or neglect. The poster is required to incorporate specified elements and be produced in five different languages. The legislature encourages school districts, charter schools, and private schools to post the appropriate version or versions of the poster in an area of the school where pupils frequently congregate. A small group of California public school students, ranging from ages twelve through fourteen, collaborated to design several posters for this legislation. At the culmination of the project, the students presented the posters to the California Department of Education administration for selection.