The Work So Far and Next Steps: Notes From the Center’s National Convening

The Quality Improvement Center on Helplines and Hotlines hosted its first national convening in Atlanta in early September 2026.

The event brought together approximately 140 mandated reporters, child protection staff and leadership, people with lived experience of the child welfare system, researchers, practitioners, and more.

The gathering had two aims: first, for the Center to share its research findings to date, and second, to gather attendees’ perspective on the findings, with their input functioning as a qualitative data source to add further context to the findings. This unique aspect of the gathering aligns with the Center’s commitment to focus on the experiences and input of individuals with lived experience at every step and stage of the work, including participation in its leadership team and expert board as well as in its research activities.

The Center’s research focuses on two questions:

1. What is best practice in distinguishing families with material needs from instances of legal child neglect?
2. What is best practice in community helplines that serve as an alternative to unnecessary child protective services involvement?

In its first two years, the Center conducted several discovery activities across the country to explore these research questions:

• Literature reviews
• A review of state neglect statutes
• A review of community helpline practices
• Multiple nationwide surveys and listening sessions
• Key informant interviews
• Nine site visits to helplines
• A review of mandated reporter curricula
• And more

Attendees at the convening had an early opportunity to review findings based on these activities and offer relevant context to shape next steps as the Center embarks on Year 3 of its work. The Center will publish its research findings in the coming months.

Year 3 will build on the Center’s work so far by establishing five demonstration sites at helplines across the country. The Center will work closely with these sites as they use research findings to implement or improve best practices and to test a new mandated reporter curriculum. To receive updates on the Center’s work, subscribe  to our mailing list.