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Task force backs expanded mandatory‑reporter training, CAC liaison roles and MDT standardization
Summary
Members recommended requiring DCFS‑approved annual training for all mandated reporters, exploring CEU recognition, adding supervised‑visit monitors to reporter lists, and assigning DCFS liaisons to CACs to improve MDT coordination and reduce case delays.
A task force working on child‑abuse investigation processes recommended expanding mandatory‑reporter training, clarifying confidentiality rules and strengthening coordination between Child Advocacy Centers (CACs), multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and DCFS.
Staff proposed requiring DCFS‑approved training for all mandated reporters and discussed whether training should be annual or tied to professional license renewal. Dr. Hook suggested offering continuing‑education credit to encourage compliance: “if we can get the boards to recognize that for continuing education, that would definitely be something that would be a benefit to the provider.”
Members also recommended adding supervised‑visit monitors to the list of mandated reporters and preserving reporters’ ability to remain anonymous if they choose. Ms. Wascomb asked for clarification on anonymity and received confirmation from staff that anonymity would remain available.
On coordination, staff recommended assigning a DCFS employee to each CAC and standardizing statewide protocols so cases are flagged to all MDT members when a new case opens. CAC representatives and clinicians argued that the actual investigator’s presence at MDTs is valuable for timely information sharing, while acknowledging regional staffing limits that might make a mandated investigator attendance infeasible.
Why it matters: Members said better training, a consistent DCFS liaison at CACs and standardized MDT protocols could reduce delays, improve evidence retention and limit variation between parishes.
What’s next: Task force staff will draft recommended statutory and policy language, and members asked for data on provider availability, wait times for counseling services and regional capacity to inform implementation details.
