Training academy teaches how to spot abuse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois Springfield and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services have announced the launch of a new training academy.

The Child Protection Training Academy, created through a partnership between the university and DCFS, will be the first of its kind in the country according to the State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/2f6G8bq).

Director of CPTA Susan Evans said the academy will greatly improve training for child welfare investigators so they can better curb child abuse and neglect. All hires are required to complete simulation training, where trainees will interact with actors playing parents of a child in a simulated household where abuse was allege. The simulation lab is in a formerly vacant home on campus.

Investigators will also learn to improve their testimony by going through a mock courtroom experience.

"This gives them a much better sense of what the job is about and how to go out and accurately assess whether or not the department needs to be involved," said Evans, who is a 24-year veteran of DCFS.

Over 140 new DCFS investigators have gone through simulation training and mock courtroom training, Evans said. She added the academy's goal is to open up to other DCFS staff, law enforcement, first-responders and interested UIS students.

The CPTA started when former child investigator and current UIS Child Advocacy Studies program coordinator Betsy Goulet approached DCFS with the idea of a joint partnership, since she said she felt unprepared to do the job of an investigator the first time she was sent out.

The Child Advocacy program is expected to expand with two new grants, one through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and one through the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com