2025 Cultural Humility and Mandated Reporting: Providing Respectful Services to Clients and Families with I/DD Content

This training meets the new 2025 NYS requirement to include updated IDD curriculum for coursework/training in identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment (completion due by 11/17/26).

This workshop will focus on Mandated Reporting, Cultural Humility, and the value of relationship-building within potentially volatile family situations.

This workshop provides a thorough exploration of mandated reporting practices, emphasizing the importance of effective engagement with the client, family, and community stakeholders to improve data collection and facilitate proactive interventions. By fostering strong connections with the family unit, clinicians can better advocate for at-risk children and enhance the effectiveness of mandated reporting calls. The workshop also addresses strategies for managing interpersonal dynamics with clients and families, particularly in cases where a future report may be required and offers guidance on handling the emotional impacts of countertransference that workers may experience.

This workshop will account for cultural humility in worker/client/family connections and aims to assist in fostering meaningful relationships with family stakeholders. This session delves into the nuanced intersection of legal obligations, cultural sensitivity, and effective communication strategies. Taught using empirical research and interventions, attendees will gain meaningful insights that can be immediately implemented in daily practice, while honoring diverse cultural backgrounds and building collaborative partnerships with families.

With mandated reporting certification required to be renewed in New York State, this workshop is designed for mandated reporters in all fields and at all levels of experience.  Collaborative learning will take place throughout the session, with an aim of growth for all who attend. By attending this workshop, participants will not only deepen their understanding of mandated reporting but also gain practical strategies for promoting cultural sensitivity and fostering positive relationships with family stakeholders.

Learning Objectives:

1. Demonstrate the ability to recognize signs of abuse or neglect in a child or vulnerable population.
2. Illustrate mandated reporting protocols to hypothetical scenarios or case studies, specifically employing diverse examples including cultural, disability, and other examples.
3. Analyze dilemmas that may arise in determining nuanced circumstances of unclear mandated reporting scenarios.

Research: 

1. Azzopardi, C., Shih, C. S.-Y., Burke, A. M., Kirkland-Burke, M., Moddejonge, J. M., Smith, T. D., & Eliav, J. (2022). Supporting survivors of child sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic: An ecosystems approach to mobilizing trauma-informed telemental healthcare Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 63(1), 43–55
2. Carlson, Melanie & Wittrup, Erik & Moylan, Carrie & Velez Ortiz, Daniel. (2020). A Good Call?: Contextual Factors Influencing Mandated Reporting in Domestic Violence Programs. Journal of Family Violence. 10.1007/s10896-019-00101y.
3. Smith, E. P., Yzaguirre, M. M., Dwanyen, L., & Wieling, E. (2022). Culturally Relevant Parenting Approaches Among African American and Latinx Children and Families: Toward Resilient, Strengths-Based, Trauma-Informed Practices. Adversity and Resilience Science, 3(3), 209–224.
4. Vil, N. M. S., Sperlich, M., Fitzpatrick, J., Bascug, E., & Elliott, J. (2022). “I Thought It Was Normal:” Perspectives of Black Nursing Students From High-Risk IPV Communities on Causes and Solutions to IPV in the Black Community. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13-14).

Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, and other interested individuals.

We are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

Disclosure Summary: Sarah Sonenberg, MD (Activity Director), Tami Tobias, LMSW (Planner), and Wayne Brown, LCSW (Presenter) have nothing to disclose.

Start and End date of this online activity: 12/11/2024 - 05/22/2026