Providing a quality Mandated Reporter Training is essential to helping Minnesota’s Mandated Reporters recognize and report situations where vulnerable children are at risk. As the Training Academy continues to learn more about the training needs of reporters, as well as incorporating the latest policy changes, we have and will continue to update and improve the training to meet learner needs and reflect the most current policy.

During 2025, 31,665 people completed the Academy’s no-cost mandated reporter training, and an additional 3,374 individuals completed the Mandated Reporter Training for Youth Programs. We have collected and compiled a recap of the changes and feedback about Mandated Reporter Training, and will continue to work to adapt to the ever changing needs of mandated reporters in Minnesota.

In mid-2025, the Training Academy revised the Mandated Reporter Training based on recent changes to policy. First, we updated content to reflect the new responsibility for child welfare and child protection to respond to allegations of sex and labor trafficking and exploitation as well as the removal of educational neglect as a child welfare response. Second, new legislation for Mandated Reporter training required increased time dedicated to identifying signs of maltreatment. Third, we enlisted the perspectives of multiple subject matter experts, including: attorneys, child welfare and child protection workers of various specialities (including intake and screening), educators, policy experts, law enforcement, medical practitioners, mental health professionals, and individuals with lived experience. Finally, we ensured the course is digitally accessible per new accessibility standards.

Overall, the results of this evaluation show the training strengthened learners' confidence and clarity across mandated reporter responsibilities, specifically areas involving applying judgement and decision making. Areas for improvement were minor and will be monitored for future revisions.

Analyzing Feedback from Learners

This section summarizes findings from the end-of-course feedback survey administered following the launch of the revised Mandated Reporter Training (August 29–October 31, 2025).

The goal of the survey was to understand:

  • Learner perceptions of usefulness, clarity, and preparedness
  • Changes in self-reported understanding of mandated reporter responsibilities
  • Which training components were most impactful
  • Areas where learners identified opportunities for improvement

Results are intended to inform continuous improvement of training content and delivery.

Who Responded to the Survey

Number of respondents: 481

Number of learners completing the training: 7,355

Response Rate: 7%

Respondents represented a wide range of professional roles associated with mandated reporter responsibilities. The largest proportions of respondents reported working in Education, Health Care, Social Services, and Child Care.

→ As with most voluntary post-training surveys, results reflect the perspectives of individuals who chose to respond and should be interpreted as descriptive feedback rather than population-level estimates.

Knowledge and Preparedness: Before- and After-Training Results

After completing the training, respondents were asked to reflect back on their understanding of key mandated reporter concepts prior to the training, and then to rate their understanding after completing the training. This retrospective approach allows participants to reassess their prior knowledge in light of the training content. Across nearly all content areas, a higher proportion of respondents reported agreement after the training than in their retrospective pre-training ratings.

  • The largest gains were observed in areas central to mandated reporter practice, including:
    • Awareness of resources that can be used to support families increased from 68.1% before the training to 97.2% after the training (+29.0 percentage points).
    • Awareness of the information that must be included in a report increased from 73.2% to 98.1% (+24.9 percentage points).
    • Understanding of the legal protections offered to mandated reporters increased from 72.8% to 97.6% (+24.8 percentage points).
    • Knowing when to offer resources instead of making a report increased from 75.3% to 98.1% (+22.8 percentage points).
  • Improvements were also observed in areas related to applied judgment and decision-making, such as confidence in applying critical thinking to reporting decisions, which increased from 80.9% to 98.7% (+17.8 percentage points).

→ Taken together, these results indicate that the training strengthened respondents’ confidence and clarity across a broad range of mandated reporter responsibilities. Gains were particularly pronounced for areas involving applied judgment, procedural understanding, and resource-based decision-making, rather than simple factual recall.

Overall Usefulness of the Training

  • A strong majority of respondents indicated that the training was useful.
    • Approximately three-quarters strongly agreed that the training was useful, with most remaining respondents indicating somewhat agree.
    • Very few respondents selected disagreement options.

→ Overall usefulness ratings suggest that the revised training is meeting learner needs in terms of relevance and applicability to their roles.

What Learners Found Most Useful

300 respondents provided substantive open-ended feedback on the most impactful parts of the training. Responses were thematically coded into primary themes and subthemes. Scenario-based learning (e.g., case studies, practice scenarios, knowledge checks) was the most frequently cited source of value.

  • Respondents also emphasized the importance of:
    • Real-world application,
    • Clear explanations of maltreatment types,
    • Step-by-step understanding of the reporting process, and
    • Critical thinking tools such as the THINK framework.
  • Many respondents described increased confidence and clarity in their decision-making.

→ Learners consistently valued training elements that supported applied reasoning and real-world decision-making, aligning closely with the goals of mandated reporter training.

Opportunities for Improvement Identified by Learners

A smaller subset of responses identified opportunities for refinement, including navigation and progress-saving functionality, training length and pacing, design or formatting issues, and concerns about specific visual elements. Two external emails echoed similar themes related to quiz structure and audio narration clarity.

→ Although less prevalent than positive feedback, these comments provide actionable insight for enhancing accessibility, usability, and the learner experience. As they do not point to critical content deficiencies or major technical issues, these items will be addressed through future updates rather than immediate revisions.

Alignment of Survey Findings with Statutory Training Content Areas

Minnesota Statute §260E.065 specifies that mandated reporter training must devote at least half of instructional time to identifying signs of suspected maltreatment and must cover definitions of each maltreatment type, reporting obligations, and expert-informed content. The survey results provide several points of alignment with these required content areas based on learner-reported perceptions of usefulness and knowledge gain.

Identification of Maltreatment (Signs, Definitions, and Distinctions)

Multiple survey findings indicate that respondents perceived content related to identifying maltreatment as impactful:

  • Understanding Maltreatment Types emerged as a prominent theme in open-ended responses, including references to:
    • Physical abuse indicators,
    • Neglect,
    • Exploitation and labor trafficking, and
    • General maltreatment definitions.
  • Respondents explicitly described the value of examples and explanations that distinguish maltreatment from poverty or cultural practices, indicating engagement with nuanced identification content.
  • Scenario-based learning and case studies were often cited as helpful for recognizing signs of suspected maltreatment in real-world contexts.

These qualitative patterns are supported by retrospective self-assessment results. Respondents reported increased agreement on multiple items directly related to identifying suspected maltreatment, including the ability to identify signs of maltreatment (+9.8 percentage points); distinguishing neglect from situations involving a lack of resources such as poverty or housing instability (+16.0 percentage points); and differentiating accidental injuries from potential physical abuse (+17.1 percentage points). That is, more respondents agreed that their knowledge in these areas had increased after completing the training.

→ Taken together, the qualitative themes and retrospective results indicate strong learner engagement with content related to recognizing and differentiating suspected maltreatment, consistent with statutory definitions.

Reporting Obligations and Procedural Knowledge

Survey results also align with statutory requirements related to reporting responsibilities.

  • Before/after self-assessments showed notable increases in respondents’ agreement that they:
    • Understand what information must be included in a report,
    • Are aware of timelines and reporting steps, and
    • Understand legal protections offered to mandated reporters.
  • Open-ended responses highlighted clarity around the mandated reporter role, including when and how reporting obligations apply.

Additional responses to closed-ended items further supported these points. Specifically, respondents reported sizable increases in agreement before versus after the course that they are aware of the information that must be included in a report (+24.9 percentage points) and understand the legal protections offered to mandated reporters (+24.8 percentage points).

→ These results suggest that respondents perceived improvements in their understanding of required reporting procedures following the training.

Use of Expert-Informed and Updated Content

Some respondents explicitly referenced appreciation for:

  • Updated information, including newer content related to labor trafficking; and
  • Clarifications around evolving definitions and reporting expectations.

These perceptions are consistent with before/after increases on items related to identifying maltreatment types and understanding reporting responsibilities, suggesting that respondents recognized and absorbed updated and specialized content presented in the training.

If you have any questions about the information in this article, contact us at info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.