OVERVIEW
Mandated reporting is an important and sometimes difficult responsibility. Mandated reporters need effective training to distinguish child safety risks from socio-economic issues and make accurate and equitable reporting decisions.
Strong, positive relationships between families and schools are also key to the safety and wellbeing of children and youth. Mandated reporters in education help keep students safe by:
- Building strong relationships with families
- Noticing potential concerns early
- Partnering to connect families with school-based and community resources when needed
AB 2085 (2023) strengthened this whole child/family approach by clarifying the legal definition of general neglect and distinguishing neglect from poverty-related concerns. This law also seeks to eliminate mandated reporting as a driver of racial disproportionality and disparity within the child welfare system.
The Los Angeles County Office of Education, in partnership with the Mandated Supporting Initiative (MSI), aims to enhance child safety by improving training, use of decision support tools for mandated reporters concerned about possible neglect, and promoting access to community supports for families who are experiencing poverty-related issues.
CALIFORNIA AB 2085 KEY PROVISIONS
Narrowed Definition of General Neglect
The law narrowed the definition of general neglect to situations involving a parent’s negligent failure to provide adequate food, clothing, medical care or supervision, where a child is at substantial risk of suffering serious physical harm or illness. General neglect does not include a parent’s economic disadvantage.
This revision focuses on situations posing significant threats to a child's well-being.
Economic Disadvantage Exclusion
AB 2085 specifies that a parent's economic disadvantage does not constitute general neglect. This change is crucial for mandated reporters in education to understand, as it distinguishes between neglect and challenges stemming from economic hardship.
Training and Awareness
Mandated reporters need additional training and guidance to fully understand and implement the changes brought about by AB 2085. This includes raising awareness of the change in the law and providing decision support tools and processes to support its implementation.
The Role of Education in Supporting Families
The exclusion of economic disadvantage from the definition of neglect requires that mandated reporters can:
- Differentiate between neglect and poverty-related concerns
- Support or refer families to appropriate resources when needed
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Los Angeles County's AB 2085 Mandated Reporter Training operationalizes the new law for Mandated Reporters.
(Requires creation of a free account)
The training introduces a reformed approach to mandated reporting that continues to prioritize child safety, while promoting critical thinking, unbiased decision-making and preventing general neglect through provision of supportive resources to families in need. Specifically, the training supplement provides participants with:
- Guidance on how to implement and comply with AB 2085.
- Insights, strategies and tools to help Mandated Reporters make accurate, consistent and equitable decisions about reporting suspected general neglect.
- Strategies and resources to support families in need when a report to the Child Protection Hotline is not required.
- Strategies for supporting families even when a report to the Child Protection Hotline is required.
RESOURCES
National Child Abuse Prevention Month (LACOE page) - Tools and resources to support schools and communities in strengthening prevention efforts and promoting child and family wellbeing throughout April.
California schools need more precise mandated-reporter training (Edsource) - Opinion piece, authored by LACOE’s Chief of Wellbeing and Support Services, articulating the need for clearer, more consistent mandated reporter training and support in schools across California.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Motion: Evolving from Mandated Reporter to Mandated Supporter - Motion formalizing the County’s commitment to shifting toward a supportive, prevention focused approach that centers families and reduces unnecessary reporting.
Knowledge Is Power Summit: Using Data to Advance Racial Equity for Families and Communities (lacounty.gov) - Recordings and materials from a summit organized by Los Angeles County’s Commission for Children and Families that leveraged data and narrative to tell the story of what brings Black families into contact with the County’s child welfare system, and to propel the development of strategies to effectuate meaningful change at the individual, organizational, and systems-levels.
From Mandated Reporting to Mandated Supporting: A Community Vision to Get Families the Resources They Need to Thrive Together (PDF) - Uplifts voices of community members, namely those who have personal, lived experience with mandated reporting, to help us better understand the current impacts of mandated reporting and community members’ vision for change.
Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Educator Listening Sessions in partnership with Inglewood Unified School District (PDF) - Illustrates local educator perspectives on mandated reporting, highlighting challenges, needs, and opportunities for more supportive approaches.
District Readiness Checklist - A practical planning tool for LEAs to assess and strengthen their systems, policies, and practices aligned with a mandated supporting framework and implement changes brought about by AB 2085.
California's Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Taskforce report - Recommendations and report advanced by California’s Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Task Force (MRCS) and approved by California’s Child Welfare Council to drive reform across the state.
CONNECT WITH US
Alicia Garoupa, LCSW
Chief of Wellbeing and Support Services
garoupa_alicia@lacoe.edu
Lakeah Dickerson, Ed.D.
Coordinator III
Wellbeing and Support Services
dickerson_lakeah@lacoe.edu
