ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — New York State is making new changes to their mandated reporter training, focused on addressing gaps in the program and reducing bias for race and income. 

It was designed to lessen the overload of calls made to the central register and provide better guidance on how to distinguish between warning signs of abuse and neglect. 

“What we know is last year over 100,000 were made to the state central register, only 27 percent of those calls were actually indicated for abuse,” Lisa Ghartey Ogundimu, Deputy Commissioner of the NYS OCFS Division of Child Welfare & Community Services, said.

The training covers the latest research on child trauma and new guidance on how to recognize possible abuse in a virtual setting. 

The OCFS will also provide money and resources to different communities across the state with online portals and mobile response units. 

It will also clarify the process of reporting for the thousands of mandated reporters across the state, including teachers, who are continuously exposed to and observing kids in schools who might be mistreated. 

“Making those things easier for schools is really the key so the professionals know what to do, when to do it and when to make the difference,” Kathleen DeCataldo, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Student Support Services at the NYS Education Department, said.

The training must be completed by April 1, 2025.