(Lake City, Fla.) On December 31, 2014 the state of Pennsylvania began requiring that all healthcare professionals applying for a license or renewing a license must complete Child Abuse CEs to identify child abuse and maltreatment. To meet this requirement CEUfast has developed two new PA specific courses on Child Abuse.
This requirement is a result of Act 31, a law that was passed by the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and the Department of Human Affairs toward the end of 2014.
It states that all health-related licenses and a substantial list of professions outside of the healthcare field are “mandatory reporters” under the Child Protection Services Law.
These courses are mandatory for the following professions and people who come in contact with children:
- A person licensed or certified to practice in any health-related field under the jurisdiction of the Department of State.
- A medical examiner, coroner or funeral director.
- An employee of a health care facility or provider licensed by the Department of Health, who is engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment of individuals.
- A school employee(Governed by ACT126).
- An employee of a child-care service who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- A clergyman, priest, rabbi, minister, Christian Science practitioner, religious healer or spiritual leader of any regularly established church or other religious organization.
- An individual paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual's role as an integral part of a regularly scheduled program, activity or service, accepts responsibility for a child.
- An employee of a social services agency who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- Employees having contact with children
- An employee of child care services.
- A self-employed provider of child care services in a family child care home.
- An individual 14 years of age or older who is applying for or holding a paid position as an employee with a program, activity or service as a person responsible for the child’s welfare or having direct contact with children. • If the program, activity or service is an internship, externship, work-study, co-op or similar program, only an adult applying for or holding a paid position with an employer that participates in the internship, externship, work-study, co-op or similar program with a school and whom the employer and the school identify as the child's supervisor and the person responsible for the child's welfare while the child participates in the program with the employer must obtain the certifications.
- Any individual seeking to provide child-care services under contract with a child care facility or program.
- An individual 18 years of age or older who resides for at least 30 days in a calendar year in the following homes which are subject to SUPERVISION OR licensure by the department under Articles IX and X of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code:
- A family living home.
- A community home for individuals with an intellectual disability.
- A host home for children.
- This does not include an individual with an intellectual disability or chronic psychiatric
- disability receiving services in a home.
- An individual who applies to the Department for a certificate of compliance or a registration certificate to provide child day care in a residence shall include criminal history record and child abuse record information required under section 6344(b) for every individual 18 years of age or older who resides in the home for at least 30 days in a calendar year.
- A peace officer or law enforcement official.
- An emergency medical services provider certified by the Department of Health.
- An employee of a public library who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- An individual supervised or managed by a person listed above, who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- Parent/Guardian chaperones for schools
- Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts
- Agency volunteers that help with transportation or other services
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters
- Literacy programs
- Little League
- Coaches
- Church Sunday school teachers, child event coordinators
- Hospital volunteers working with children
- An independent contractor who has direct contact with children.
- An attorney is a mandated reporter if he/she is affiliated with an agency, institution, organization or other entity, including a school or regularly established religious organization that is responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control of children.
- A foster parent.
- A prospective adoptive parent.
- An individual 18 years of age or older who resides in the home of a foster parent for at least 30 days in a calendar year or who resides in the home of a prospective adoptive parent for at least 30 days in a calendar year.
Beginning January 1, 2015, every person applying for issuance of an initial health-related license will be required to complete 3 hours of DHS - approved training in child abuse recognition and reporting requirements as a condition of licensure.
After the initial 3 hour CE is attained, all health-related licenses (and funeral directors) applying for the renewal in the following renewal periods hereafter will be required to complete at least 2 hours of board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting requirements in order to renew their license.
In compliance with the law, CEUfast has published two courses:
- Child Abuse: Pennsylvania Mandated Reporter Training - 3 hour initial license training Course Summary
- Child Abuse: Pennsylvania Mandated Reporter Training - 2 hour renewal of license training Course Summary
CEUfast automatically provides instant electronic reporting to the PA state board for users with active subscriptions.
With a $39 annual subscription, you will have unlimited access to CEUfast’s course library for an entire year.
You will always have access to your certificates of completion that you’ve earned, whether your subscription is active or not.
CEUfast is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's COA. Our courses are accepted in virtually every state.
If you don’t already have an account with us, visit ceufast.com/register.
