New Jersey Department of Education

Training: Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, What School Personnel Need to Do

Welcome to the Training Modules on Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, What School Personnel Need To Do. These training materials have been developed to provide local school districts with comprehensive reference materials to assist in training school personnel, volunteers and interns about the requirement to report potential abuse and neglect child situations as required in N.J.A.C. 6A:16-11.1.

Historical Overview

The NJ Child Welfare Citizens Review Panel (the Panel) convened a roundtable discussion on April 30, 2007. Participants at the roundtable included the Commissioners of New Jersey's Department of Children and Families and Department of Education, their respective administrative staff, and key community stakeholders. The roundtable discussion was the culmination of the Panel's work regarding the interface between the education and child welfare systems.

The Panel found that communication and collaboration between child welfare and education agencies should be improved to achieve better educational and emotional outcomes for children under the Division of Child Protection and Permanency's (DCP&P) supervision and those served through the Children's System of Care (CSOC), with an emphasis on children in out-of-home placemenst.

As a result of this discussion, the Departments of Education (DOE) and Children and Families (DCF) convened a DOE/DCF workgroup to address issues surrounding the interface between education and child welfare systems. One of the key efforts of this group was the development of standardized training materials for school personnel on the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect to meet the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:16-11.1 "Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect."

How to View the Training Modules

Each module has been developed using Microsoft PowerPoint and includes a voice narration.  The PowerPoint slides are not “timed” and must be advanced manually.  This will enable the audience to complete their discussion, as needed, for each individual slide before moving to the next.  Schools are also permitted to download the modules for ease of use, if so desired.

The ideal method for viewing the presentation is in the context of a group so that school personnel can be engaged in discussion and common understandings about the material.  An audience will find it most useful to have accessed and printed out the sets of handouts prior to viewing the PowerPoint modules.  The accompanying handouts recommended for each presentation are indicated on the introductory page of each module.  The length of time required for each module will vary, depending on the amount of discussion that may be generated by a group. In general, a group may reasonably expect to spend 30 to 60 minutes for each module.

Each module includes a summary slide that can be printed and used for an “at-a-glance” view of the highlighted areas of each respective module.  Additionally, a post-test has been provided to test the understanding of the viewer. 

The training modules should be accessed in sequential order.  To begin training, click on the appropriate blue drop down bar:


If you have any questions regarding school district reporting requirements of potential abused or neglected children under N.J.A.C. 6A:16-11.1, you may call (609)376-9109.  For other inquiries related to abuse or neglect reporting, please contact the Division of Child Protection and Permanency’s State Central Registry at 1 (877) NJABUSE or 1 (877) 652-2873.


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