(Missourinet) – Discussions are taking place to build a curriculum for mandatory reporting of child abuse in Missouri. Emily van Schenkhof, with Missouri Kids First says there’s a communication gap that needs to be fixed.

“We have a lot of people that are legally mandated to report child abuse when they see it that have no idea what that means. That’s scary,” says van Schenkhof. “That’s one of the things our task force is really focused on is making sure that folks who are mandated by law to report child abuse are trained and understand what their obligations are. That’s a pretty big gap that we have going on in our state,” says van Schenkhof.

Van Schenkhof says the standardized curriculum will be available for people and will explain the state’s child abuse laws.