NAMI Ask the Expert: How to Talk About Child Abuse and Neglect OD034

An on-demand video and transcript of the presentation are available here [opens in new tab].

About The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They are an alliance of more than 650 local Affiliates and 49 State organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education to people with mental illness and their loved ones. Through awareness, advocacy and education, NAMI is committed to building stronger communities and a better future for everyone affected by mental illness.

Course Summary

Practice Level: Beginner

This course, based on the Ask the Expert webinar series by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), offers practical, trauma-informed strategies for talking with children and adolescents about suspected abuse and neglect, including how to respond supportively to disclosures and how to balance care with legal obligations. Presenters review prevalence and consequences of maltreatment, the critical role of empathic, non-interrogative conversation, and concrete skills (e.g., grounding, paced breathing) to support youth in crisis. The training also clarifies fundamentals of mandated reporting, variability across states, and how to prepare youth for potential next steps. Finally, the course highlights youth-preferred access points (text/chat hotlines), safety planning, and referrals to evidence-based resources.

The course, with an intended audience of social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and counselors, then presents current research, ethical/legal standards, and practical interviewing skills for responding to suspected child maltreatment in clinical, school, and community settings.

Course Format

This course contains a participant guide, practice test, and on-demand video. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” or “Enroll” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify supportive verbal and nonverbal responses that promote safer, more effective child maltreatment disclosures.
2. Explain core elements of mandated reporting, including common cross-state variations and ways to prepare youth for possible next steps.
3. Examine text/chat-friendly, trauma-informed strategies to real-world scenarios.

Course Syllabus

• Framing the Issue: Scope, impacts, and why disclosure responses matter
• Mandated Reporting Essentials: Roles, thresholds, variability by state, and preparing youth with choice and transparency.
• A Practice Roadmap for Conversations: Listening to understand → co-creating options → checking fit → wrap-up, with empathic core.
• Youth-Centered Support & Safety: Using text/chat hotlines, coping/grounding skills, referrals, and follow-up

Current References

Administration for Children & Families. (2025). Child maltreatment 2023 (ACF-22025). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.https://acf.gov/cb/report/child-maltreatment-2023[opens in new tab]

Bipartisan Policy Center. (2025). Defining and reporting child neglect: Recent state legislative activity [Issue brief].https://bipartisanpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Child-Neglect-Issue-Brief.pdf[opens in new tab]

Casey Family Programs. (2025). How are some jurisdictions transforming mandated reporting?  

Childhelp. (2023). Supporting youth through text and chat hotline services: Key considerations (PACTECH).https://childhelphotline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Childhelp-KeyConsiderations_March-2023_final.pdf[opens in new tab]

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2023). Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect (State statutes current through May 2023). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau.https://cwig-prod-prod-drupal-s3fs-us-east-1.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/manda.pdf[opens in new tab]

Fares-Otero, N. E., Carranza-Neira, J., Womersley, J. S., Stegemann, A., Schalinski, I., Vieta, E., Spies, G., & Seedat, S. (2025). Child maltreatment and resilience in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 55, e163.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725001205[opens in new tab]

Kilkku, I., Liias, I., Laajasalo, T., Ellonen, N., & Ikonen, R. (2025). The disclosure of child psychological maltreatment: A systematic review. Child Protection and Practice, 7, 100233.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2025.100233[opens in new tab]  

Luo, Z., Chen, Y., & Epstein, R. A. (2025). Risk factors for child abuse and neglect: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health, 230, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.028[opens in new tab]

McGinn, T., Chereni, A., & McGinnis, E. (2026). A systematic review of the perceived barriers to and facilitators of technology assisted child sexual abuse disclosure. Child Abuse & Neglect, 172, 107869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107869[opens in new tab]

Niu, L., Liu, S., Chen, R., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Lin, S., Li, Y., Pagán, J. A., Moran, A. E., & Diaz, A. (2026). Association of childhood maltreatment with hypertension outcomes in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 172, 107840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107840[opens in new tab]

Schwab-Reese, L. M., PettyJohn, M. E., Tasnim, R., & Fingerman, M. (2025). Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report. Child Protection and Practice, 7, 100158.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2025.100158[opens in new tab]

Instructors

Larel Jacobs, Director of Hotline Operations at Childhelp

Larel Jacobs serves as Director of the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline. Her career has been dedicated to addressing the mental health needs of children and families impacted by child abuse and neglect. Her professional work has included direct clinical service in residential treatment, school-based settings and the hotline industry. Prior to the director role, Larel served as Clinical Program Manager at Childhelp and worked collaboratively on quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation of hotline services in order to help counselors utilize the evidence-informed practice model to support help seekers reaching out to the hotline. She has earned a Master of Arts in Education, School Counseling as well as a Master of Science, Family and Human Development.

Dr. Laura Schwab-Reese, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University

Dr. Schwab Reese is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue University. Her primary research focuses on family violence prevention, specifically understanding child maltreatment-related help-seeking and services. She completed the Berger Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. She earned an MA in mental health counseling and a PhD in public health from the University of Iowa.

Nicole Errickson, LCSW

Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia. She brings over 19 years experience in the social work field, primarily working in school systems as a school social worker and with the McKinney-Vento grant. Over her career, Nicole has had several opportunities to help develop and execute professional development events. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Alabama and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE4Less.com maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/08/2024–08/08/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credits.

Level Education Group, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0835.

Level Education Group, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0355.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.