The purpose of this study is to increase an understanding of what prevents the mandatory reporting law, based on the preschool staff's approach to mandatory reporting law about child abuse and neglect to social services, and how these barriers affect their decision to report. The study will also understand what preschool staff experience facilitates the mandatory reporting process and what can be done to improve the process even more. The questions of the study were based on the purpose of the study and have been formulated in two questions: What prevents the mandatory reporting law requirements for preschool staff and how can these barriers be removed? What facilitates for preschool staff to be confident in the decision to report child abuse and neglect, to social services? The study used qualitative semi-structured interviews with five people working at the preschool, including two preschool teachers and three childcare workers. An interview guide was designed as a help to answer the questions about what the barriers are and what it is that makes it easier for the preschool staff, regarding the decision to report cases of child abuse and neglect to social services. The results, based on the five interviews , shows preschool staff's thoughts of the knowledge on the mandatory reporting law, the mandatory reporting process, their perspective of the mandatory reporting law and the uncertainty surrounding the mandatory reporting law. The study's analysis consists of the results that have been analyzed using the theory of social representations, in which the analysis shows an understanding of how the preschool staff act and think about the mandatory reporting law requirements based on their everyday knowledge. The analysis shows what prevents and facilitates the preschool staff's mandatory reporting process and the analysis shows the main parts that are based on the preschool staff's views on the mandatory reporting law. The analysis shows the preschool staff's approach to mandatory reporting requirements and how it is divided in two parts, it also describes how the concept of suspicion is perceived as a feeling that is shared within the workgroup, and the analysis shows the preschool staff's representation of the social services. The study concludes with a discussion of the study results and analysis, and the discussion also draws a link to the practice of social work. The discussion ends with a conclusion about the preschool staff’s work team and its significance for the mandatory reporting law.

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