What is the OCA’s Mandated Reporter Training?
In August 2023, the OCA launched a training for mandated reporters of child neglect and abuse in the Commonwealth, with two learning paths – a general learning path and an educator learning path. The general learning path consists of a General Training with essential information relevant to all mandated reporters while the educator learning path includes the General Training and a School Personnel Training which has content particularly relevant to Massachusetts’ K-12 educators.
In response to requests for a shorter training for individuals who are required to engage in periodic retraining, the OCA launched a shorter General Refresher Training in July 2026.
Key features of the OCA training includes:
- The training is free, online, and on-demand.
- The training is accompanied by an extensive online Resource Library available at any time and to anyone without the prerequisite of registering for or taking the training.
- The full-length General Training is available in Spanish.
- Each learning path is composed of one or more training courses, pre- and post-training quizzes, and an exam. After completion, each learner receives a completion certificate with a unique identifier.
- Organizations can create an organizational account to allow them to assign staff to a learning path, track learner progress and results, and access each learner’s certificate of completion. All organizations can create a free basic account, and all Massachusetts schools can receive a free upgraded account with additional features suitable for managing a large number of users.
The Massachusetts Mandated Reporter Training is available online at our Mandated Reporter Training website.
What is the difference between this Mandated Reporter Training and other Mandated Reporter Trainings already available?
The OCA’s Mandated Reporter Training curriculum was developed with input from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and uses OCA’s child-centered approach. The full General Training and the General Refresher provide state-specific information, legal citations, and resources relevant to the obligations of all mandated reporters in Massachusetts. The School Personnel Training, which is part of the educator learning path, is designed to explore common and complex situations that educators may encounter.
In addition to discussing when and how mandated reporters should report suspected child abuse or neglect, the OCA training addresses how mandated reporters can respond to concerns that do not rise to the level of a report. It also discusses important issues such as how a mandated reporter’s personal experiences or biases could affect their decisions about when to make a report and help learners to better understand disproportionality in child welfare.
The training also has a companion Resource Library that houses extensive materials to help users learn more about the topics discussed in the training. It is available to users at any time, even if they have not registered for or completed the training. The Resource Library contains Massachusetts-specific information, including legal references, worksheets and tip sheets created specifically to address issues relevant to mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect.
The OCA updates the training regularly to account for changes in the law, practice, and emerging issues. Each learning path includes pre- and post-training assessments so that learners can demonstrate what they have learned and gives learners the opportunity to provide feedback to the training creators to support continuous improvement.
What is the difference between the General Training and the General Refresher Training?
The full General Training and the General Refresher Training are modules that are suitable for all mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect. They are part of both the general learning path and the educator learning path.
The General Training provides comprehensive foundational content essential for all mandated reporters, while the General Refresher Training is a shorter course designed to refresh key concepts for learners who have previously completed the General Training.
Whether they are on the general or educator learning path, learners must complete the full General Training the first time they take the training. After completing the General Training, the General Refresher Training becomes available for future retraining for up to three years. To ensure learners receive the most current content, after three years, those who need to retrain must retake the full General Training. Learners may also choose to take the full General Training instead of the General Refresher Training at any time.
What is the educator-specific learning path?
Users who are seeking educator-specific mandated reporter content should register for the School Personnel Training. This learning path includes two courses, the General Training and an educator-specific course – the School Personnel Training. The School Personnel Training builds on the foundational content of the General Training and gives additional, more detailed information that is relevant to K-12 personnel.
After a learner completes the School Personnel Training the first time, when re-training within the next three years, they will be given the option to start with the either the General Training or the shorter General Refresher Training. In the shortened refresher training, learners will receive the same shortened general mandated reporter content available to all users taking the General Refresher Training, and the full-length content of the School Personnel Training.
After three years, all educator-learners who are retraining using the educator-specific learning path will receive the full General Training and the School Personnel Training.
How long does it take to complete the training?
The General Training takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete, and the General Refresher Training takes approximately 45 minutes when played at default narration speed.
When completing the full educator-specific learning path, learners will need approximately 1 additional hour to complete the School Personnel portion of the training after completing either the full General Training or the General Refresher.
The estimated completion times above are based on the default narration speed. Users can speed-up or mute narration, so actual completion times may vary depending on each learner's pace and accessibility preferences.
Can learners take the School Personnel Training module or the shorter General Refresher Training module without taking the General Training first?
No, both the general and the educator learning paths allow learners to access the shorter General Refresher Training only after they have completed the full General Training.
The School Personnel Training module builds on foundational information introduced in the General Training module and is designed to be completed after the General Training. Learners who select the educator-specific learning path complete the General Training module first, followed by the School Personnel Training. Together, these two modules, along with the pre-assessment and post-training exam, make up the educator-specific learning path.
The General Refresher Training is designed for learners who must periodically engage in retraining. As a shorter version of the General Training, the General Refresher is only available for learners who have completed the full General Training, including educators who have completed the educator-specific learning path.
Whether taken as a stand-alone training or as part of the educator learning path, the General Refresher Training is available for only three years after a learner has taken the full General Training. After three years, learners must again complete the full General Training to ensure their knowledge remains current and to see any updates to the training that may have been made. After completing the General Training again, the General Refresher becomes available for another three years of retraining, and so on. path
How have you made the OCA training accessible to all learners?
The OCA Mandated Reporter training include several accessibility features, including narration, closed captioning, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility. Learners can mute the narration or adjust the narration speed to accommodate their individual learning preferences and accessibility needs.
What is an organizational account and what are its features?
The OCA’s mandated reporter training platform allows organizations to easily register an account. Creating an organizational account allows an administrator to assign a specific learning path to individuals by inviting them to participate. An organizational account also allows the administrator to track learner progress and results, as well as access each learner’s certificate of completion.
Does an organizational account have a cost?
Currently the basic organizational account is free for all organizations. An upgraded account with additional features suitable to support administration and management of mandated reporter training for larger organizations or entities is available at no cost to Massachusetts schools and school districts including public and private schools, charter schools, collaboratives and special education schools. Please remember that individual learners can always register, complete the Massachusetts Mandated Reporter Training, and receive their completion certificate(s) for free.
How does an individual or organization access the training and administrative features?
Individuals can access the training by setting up an individual account. To do so, they should visit the Mandated Reporter Training website at https://mandatedreportertraining.com/massachusetts and click "Join for Free" at the top of the page.
To set up an organizational account, the person who will act as the administrator should first set up an individual account as described above. If the administrator already has an individual account, they can use that account to create their organizational account.
Within their individual account, the administrator should go to their Profile page and click on the Create Organization tab in the upper-right corner. After submitting the required information, a new tab will open to show the organization’s administrative account, where the administrator can begin managing learners and assigning training. Additional administrators can also be added.
For assistance with setting up or managing an individual or organizational account click on Get Help at the top of the mandatedreportertraining.com page.