ORIGINAL ARTICLE Development and Initial Evaluation of a Cost-effective, Internet-based Program to Assist Professionals in Reporting Suspected Child Maltreatment Maureen C. Kenny 1,2 & Angel M. Lopez-Griman 3 & Brad Donohue 4 # Springer International Publishing 2016 Abstract Many professionals in the U.S. are deficient in the identification and federally-mandated reporting of suspected child maltreatment, and there is a dearth of evidence- supported training programs in child maltreatment reporting. The Internet offers great promise for delivering such training because it is cost-effective and permits a vast audience. In this feasibility study, we describe the development and initial eval- uation of an Internet-based training module specific to the identification and reporting of suspected child maltreatment. Participants who completed this training program gained a greater knowledge of child maltreatment reporting practices and were able to identify signs and symptoms of child abuse better than participants in a control condition (p < .001). There was also a significant change in participants’ self-reported knowledge (p < .001) after taking the tutorial. Finally, qualita- tive analyses indicated that participants reported that their ex- perience with the training program was very positive. The results of this preliminary study suggest positive training out- comes in child maltreatment reporting can be achieved in a relatively short amount of time and without substantial cost. The examined training program may offer educational admin- istrators in pre-professional child service delivery systems a method of training future professionals to manage child mal- treatment. The study results also provide a base in which in- vestigators can enhance training in child maltreatment reporting. Keywords Child maltreatment training . Internet . Child abuse reporting . Training module . Knowledge . Skills . Reporting behavior More than 3.6 million referrals for child maltreatment were made in 2014 to child protective service agents in the United States (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration of Children and Families 2016). This finding is particularly impressive when considering the vast majority of child maltreatment incidents are not reported to child pro- tective service agencies (Putnam 2006). Alvarez et al. (2004) suggested that professionals often fail to report child abuse due to a lack of training in identification of the signs and symptoms of child maltreatment, and scarcity of empirically- supported training programs to assist in the process of making child maltreatment reports. Indeed, the development of train- ing programs in this area is desperately needed (Gilbert et al. 2009). In the United States, professionals, including educators, physicians, and mental health providers, are mandated to re- port suspected child maltreatment to the appropriate authori- ties (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration of Children & Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families 2016). However, there remains no national standard governing the amount and content of child abuse training required by mandated professionals. Post-secondary educational settings, such as colleges, nursing This study was funded by Florida International University Division of Information Technology (Grant number 09–047) to Maureen C. Kenny. * Maureen C. Kenny kennym@fiu.edu 1 Department of Leadership and Professional Studies, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA 2 College of Arts, Sciences and Education, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, ZEB 245A, Miami, FL 33199, USA 3 The Village South, Miami, FL, USA 4 Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA Journ Child Adol Trauma DOI 10.1007/s40653-016-0110-3