Child Protection Training Academy established by DCFS and UIS
Clint DeRoze

Investigators for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will be getting more hands on training soon.

DCFS teamed up with the University of Illinois in Springfield to create the Child Protection Training Academy. The academy uses actors and a room covered in cameras to simulate a home where a child is being mistreated.

Instructors watching nearby can give advice on what trainees did right and where they need to improve.

The academy's director, Susan Evans, says “We don't want to leave a child in a situation where they may be harmed or where we could have helped the family because the worker doesn't feel confident, doesn't know how to answer the questions, or is uncomfortable.”

There’s plans to expand the program to include supervisors with the academy having already trained more than 100 students.