The university of south florida details a comprehensive curriculum and training initiative to enhance the skills of child protection professionals and mandated reporters

This federal Cooperative Agreement award, provided by the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the Improving the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse and the Regional and Local Children's Advocacy Centers program (CFDA 16.758), will fund a comprehensive curriculum and training initiative led by the University of South Florida (USF). The $428,396 project aims to enhance the skills of child protection professionals and mandated reporters through online training modules, specialized academic courses, and certification tracks. Key activities include developing evidence-based practices, addressing implicit bias and disproportionality in child welfare, and improving mandated reporters' understanding of nondiscrimination obligations. The initiative will follow an instructional design framework and use a mixed-methods approach to assess needs, collect performance data, and evaluate trainee knowledge. The project will run from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

The project will be led by a highly qualified team of experts in child welfare, mental and behavioral health, and social policy. Their collective experience in systems change will enable the development of a curriculum that is comprehensive, individualized, culturally competent, and prevention-focused. The project team will provide the necessary support for professionals to understand the science behind necessary changes and implement evidence-based practices that support children exposed to violence and engage them with appropriate services earlier to prevent and reduce harm. The project will also focus on increasing awareness of implicit bias regarding poverty, race and ethnicity in child welfare decision making, and the disproportionality that has resulted. Key activities include developing online training modules, partnering with academic institutions to integrate specialized courses into existing curricula, and offering certification tracks to validate expertise gained through training. The initiative will include expert-led online discussions, distribution of comprehensive resource materials, and awareness campaigns through professional networks to enhance the preparedness and awareness of child- and family-serving professionals regarding the impacts of violence and trauma on children. The curriculum will follow the addie framework for instructional design, ensuring IT is well-informed and thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of various audiences. A mixed-methods approach will be used to conduct needs assessments, obtain feedback for continuous quality improvement, collect performance measure data, and assess trainee knowledge. The training will also improve mandated reporters' understanding of their nondiscrimination obligations when reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.