Work group debates mandated‑reporter duties and moves incident submissions to EdLink

Several members recommended clarifying that individual mandated reporters must report suspicions directly to the appropriate child‑protection authority (DCFS) rather than routing allegations through center management. One member said training and written procedures should be required so centers are not automatically cited for an employee's failure to report when the center has completed mandated training, maintained policies and acted promptly upon notice.

A licensing representative said the state is transitioning incident reporting to the EdLink critical incident form and recommended removing duplicative language that asked providers to both email and submit via EdLink within 24 hours. "We were just recommending since we're requiring everyone to move to EdLink to submit their critical incident reports," a licensing representative said, urging consolidation of the bulletin language to reduce duplication.

Work group members asked staff to clarify whether the bulletin should say mandated reporters must report directly to child‑protection authorities and to add a written procedure and training requirement so centers can demonstrate they met expectations even if individual employees failed to report.