System

This registration is not for DSS staff. If you are DSS, you register for this course on the DSS LMS only.  This registration is for non-DSS attendees only. 

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 state professional “certification” to conduct forensic interviews.

Requirements. If a team from your county has attended a previous session of ChildFirst® South Carolina or Finding Words South Carolina and you work as part of that team, you may register as an individual. 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.

(2) You must 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.

(3) You may also attend if you refer children to a children’s advocacy center for forensic interviews as part of a child maltreatment investigation or you 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.

(4) 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.

Tuition is $425.00 per person. After registering, you will receive an email regarding payment. Participants are responsible for their own lodging and per diem arrangements and expenses.

2023 Location: The course will be conducted at the Children's Law Center's Training Center, 1114 Pickens Street, Columbia, SC 29208. 

This registration is not for DSS staff. If you are DSS, you register on the DSS LMS only.