PA Act 126: Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Act
This act requires professional development for all school entities in specific areas:
- The recognition and reporting of child abuse
- The Pennsylvania Educator Misconduct Act
- Maintenance of professional relationships with students
All employees of a school district who have direct contact with children must be trained. This training shall be a minimum of three hours and cover all required topics.
The intent of the training requirement is to protect the children of Pennsylvania by ensuring that all those working with them understand how to recognize and report suspected child abuse.
You can access free online training by going to the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center: www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu; or contact 717.795.9048.
Register for the Mandated and Permissive Reporting in Pennsylvania Online Training Instructions:
Please make sure to complete all fields accurately. Please refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQ) section after you login.
This course is approved for three (3) continuing education credits and has been approved by the PA Department of Human Services and Department of State to meet mandated reporting (PA Act 31) license requirements. All other licensing-related questions should be referred to your respective Board(s).
Upon completion of the course you will be prompted to print out the Mandated Reporter Training Certificate. Please send a copy of the certificate to the Human Resources office within 30 days of your hire date or recertification date.
In addition, as required by law, any arrest or conviction for an offense enumerated under 24 P.S. 1-111(e) needs to be reported in writing by filling out the attached form within seventy-two (72) hours of arrest or conviction.