The University of Illinois Springfield Child Protection Training Academy, part of the UIS Alliance for Experiential Problem-Based Learning, has been awarded $720,000 in federal appropriations to increase the number of trained frontline child protection and law enforcement professionals.

The funds were secured by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, through Congressionally-directed spending for Illinois projects in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Omnibus appropriations bill.

The UIS Child Protection Training Academy hosts trainings for Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) investigators and supervisors through a state contract. The federal funding will allow UIS to offer simulation training for the first time to multidisciplinary team members who coordinate and investigate child abuse through Children’s Advocacy Centers across Illinois, officials stated.

This story aired on WCIA on March 28, 2022. Read the full story here.