| Training Name | ChildFirst® South Carolina |
| Training Description | Overview. ChildFirst® South Carolina is an intensive five-day course in which students learn the necessary skills to conduct an investigative interview - also known as a forensic interview - of a suspected child abuse victim. This interactive course combines lectures and demonstrations supplemented with homework assignments and a written examination at the end of the course. Participants also must conduct a 30-minute interview of a professional actor playing the role of a sexually abused child after which the interviewer is critiqued by a professional forensic interviewer and a group of fellow students. Completion of this training does not result in any recognized professional “certification” to conduct forensic interviews. Requirements. This course is designed for investigative teams of law enforcement officers, social workers, prosecutors, child protection attorneys, and forensic interviewers. However, you must meet the basic requirements of any team member: (1) You must be a South Carolina state professional, unless otherwise approved in writing by Zero Abuse Project and your ChildFirst® state coordinator, AND, a. You work in a job, through formal professional affiliation with a children’s advocacy center, in which you conduct forensic interviews of suspected child abuse victims, OR b. You refer children to a children’s advocacy center for forensic interviews as part of a child maltreatment investigation or defend forensic interviews in court. (Most frequently, these professionals are law enforcement officers, DSS attorneys, DSS caseworkers, and prosecutors.) Your participation in this training is focused on understanding the forensic interview process and how it fits into your comprehensive investigation. (2) You must commit to attending every session. Anyone who misses a session, does not complete the practical exercises, or fails the examination will not be awarded a certificate of course completion. |
| Training Location | Children's Law Center Training Center, 1114 Pickens Street, Columbia, SC 29208 |
| Training Start Date / Time | 2026-01-26 / 8:30 AM |
| Training End Date / Time | 2026-01-30 / 5:00 PM |
| CE Credits | This training has been approved by the SC Criminal Justice Academy for 32 hours of continuing education and by the SC Commission on CLE for 29 hours. |
If you have questions about the training, please contact Brianna Smalls by email at bdsmalls@email.sc.edu or by phone at (803) 576-7235.