The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) developed, and now offers, two courses for mandated reporters (professionals identified by law who must make a report of suspected or known child maltreatment). Mandated Reporter Training, available since August 2022, is for professionals who work in education, healthcare, social services, child care, education, corrections, law enforcement, ministerial duties, and so forth. The Mandated Reporter Training for Youth Programs course has been available since February 2023 and is designed for employees or supervisors who work in private or public youth recreation programs.

For both courses, the end-of-course feedback survey results through September 2023 were summarized. Over 5,600 professionals completed the Mandated Reporter Training survey, and over 1,000 youth professionals completed the Mandated Reporter Training for Youth Programs survey. This post shares information about how learners reacted to these two training offerings.

For both trainings, over 90% of the survey respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that the training experience was useful. All survey respondents agreed that their understanding of key concepts had improved from before to after the training. For example:

  • Sixteen percent (16%) of the respondents who took the Mandated Reporter Training strongly agreed that before the training they had “a multi-step standardized process to follow prior to making a decision to report,” but after the training 89% strongly agreed with this statement. You can see the full Mandated Reporter Training survey results here.
  • For respondents who took the Mandated Reporter Training for Youth Programs course, 28% strongly agreed that before the training they could “identify what information needs to be included in a report,” whereas 95% strongly agreed with this statement after the training. You can see the full Mandated Reporter Training for Youth Programs survey results here.

Access to these trainings can be found on our website. You will also find links to resources and the statutes behind these trainings. Feedback surveys help us to understand the experiences and perspectives of learners completing our courses. The information we gather provides valuable insights that will allow us to continuously improve our courses.