Advanced Mandated Reporter Training - Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

This training, designed for individuals who have already attended a CLC Mandated Reporter training or Train the Trainer session includes a review on the role and responsibilities of the mandated reporter, long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect, and recent legislative changes to the statutes that govern mandated reporting. 

Child Death Investigations: Overview of the Multi-Disciplinary Team Approach

This 2-hour virtual training will provide an overview of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach to child death minvestigations in South Carolina. This training will address the manner and causes of child deaths, the expectations of an MDT response according to the SC Child Abuse Protocol, and applicable criminal statutes for child death investigations.
This virtual training will be offered February 3, 2025 from 9-11:00 am.

Child Death Investigations: The Basics

Topics will include causes and manners of deaths; response and review of a child death, to include an overview of the Child Death Investigation Task Force; proper procedures for conducting reenactments; interviewing parents/caregivers and witnesses; documenting investigative findings; multi-disciplinary coordination of investigations; and the appropriate roles of DSS and law enforcement. 
This full-day training will be held at the Children's Law Center Training Center in Columbia on November 18, 2025 and March 24, 2026.

ChildFirst® South Carolina

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.
This training will be offered at the Children’s Law Center's Training Center  in Columbia January 26-30, 2026; additional dates in 2026 TBA .
This registration is not for DSS staff. If you are a DSS employee, register for this course on the DSS LMS only.  

Child Physical Abuse and NeglectInvestigations: The Basics

This training will begin with a focus on understanding the prevalence of child abuse and neglect, recognizing red flags and risk factors, distinguishing between inflicted and accidental injuries, the EPC process, and interviewing.  The training will also cover proper documentation and evidence collection and applicable definitions of abuse and neglect and criminal laws.
This training will be offered April 17th in Newberry and April 28th in Columbia.

Child Sexual Abuse Investigations:The Basics

This training will address the roles and function of the multidisciplinary team (MDT), the dynamics of child sexual abuse, legal issues in child sexual abuse cases, common evidentiary hearsay exceptions used in child abuse cases, and unique child hearsay statutory exceptions. It will also cover interviewing techniques, and methods and strategies to corroborate a child’s disclosure of abuse.

This trainig will be offered on March 26th in Columbia and May 22nd in Taylors, SC.

Conducting Reenactments in Child Death Investigations

This 1-day, in-person training focuses on conducting reenactments with caregivers in child death investigations and incorporates hands-on practice in a mock crime scene apartment.
This training will be held at the Children’s Law Center’s Training Center in Columbia on  February 24, 2026 and June 8, 2026.

Emergency Protective Custody: Working as a Multidisciplinary Team

This training will provide an overview of statutory requirements for taking a child into EPC, response time  requirements, and other procedural and substantive information. County memorandums of understanding will be shared for adaptation at the county level across the state. 

Fundamentals of Investigative Interviewing

This virtual training will cover the general principles and techniques of good investigative interviews. The presenter will cover the aim and purpose of the investigative interview and the importance of recognizing one’s own biases and their potential effect on the decision-making process.
This virtual training is being offered from 2-3:30 pm on January 16, 2026 and May 1, 2026.

GAL and CASA Training: Exploring the GAL Confidentiality Statute and Important Policy Changes

This training, offered exclusively for current guardians and attorneys with the Cass Elias McCarter GAL Program and Richland County CASA, will explore the GAL confidentiality statue and important policy changes guardians should be aware of. This virtual training will be offered on January 30th.

Investigating Medical Neglect Cases

This training will focus on investigating medical neglect cases using the definition in the Children’s Code as the guide, where there are concerns that there is a failure “to supply the child with adequate…health care though financially able to do so and the failure to do so has caused or presents a substantial risk of causing physical or mental injury.” This virtual training will be offered on April 7, 2026 fom 9-10:30 am.

Investigative Interviewing in Child Death Investigations: A Simulation Training 

This training, focusing  on investigative interviews during the child death investigation, will be held in Columbia at the Children’s Law Center’s Training Center on the following dates:
- January 23, 2026
- February 12, 2026
- March 9, 2026
- April 22, 2026
- May 14, 2026
- June 5, 2026

Medical Aspects in Child Abuse Investigations (Virtual Trainings)

The Children’s Law Center is offering focused presentations on various medical aspects of child abuse investigations. These presentations will be conducted by South Carolina Child Abuse and Neglect Network (SC-CANN) qualified child abuse pediatrics medical providers. Each presentation will cover the unique medical aspects of a different form of maltreatment, and will be offered as follows:
- Recognizing Medical Neglect and Failure to Thrive
   2/5/26 (3:00 - 4:15 pm)
- Recognizing Medical Child Abuse
   2/25/26 (9:00 - 10:15 am)
- Understanding Medical Aspects of Abusive Head Trauma
    3/12/26 (9:30 - 10:45 am)
-  Medical Aspects of Physical Abuse
    3/19/26 (9:30 - 10:45 am)
-  Medical Aspects of Sexual Abuse
    4/13/26 (10:00 - 11:15 am) 

Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Webinar – OPEN SESSION

This webinar is designed for mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect, and professionals who have frequent contact with children, who play a key role in protecting children by identifying possible maltreatment and reporting it to the agencies responsible for investigation and intervention.  This training will be offered virtually from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm on January 8th & 20th, February 2nd & 18th, and March 3rd & 18th.

Recognizing and Responding to ProblematicSexual Behaviors in Youth (Virtual Training)

The training will identify myths, describe sexual development of children and adolescents, outline considerations in determining whether the behavior is problematic or inappropriate, and identify co-occurring behavioral problems and family dynamics. It will also include a discussion of commonly used interventions and risk and recidivism. The training will be offered virtually on February 11th.

Training of Trainers: Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

In this free training, participants will learn how to deliver the Children’s Law Center’s Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect (Mandated Reporter) Training and answer frequently asked questions about mandated reporting. Participants will be required to attend the full training, pass a quiz, and present a 30 minute presentation the following week. 
This virtual training will be be held on the following dates:
- October 22 & 29, 2025
- January 21 & 28, 2026
- April 22 & 29, 2026

Recognizing & Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Webinar

This live webinar for mandated reporters and professionals who have frequent contact with children is being offered to organizations upon request.

Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

This interactive online training is designed to equip mandated reporters with information regarding their role and responsibilities as mandated reporters and to increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills in reporting child abuse and neglect.

South Carolina Child Abuse Response Protocol Training

This on-line, self-paced training consists of approximately 3.5 hours of instruction and includes the following topics: Introduction to the SC Child Abuse Response Protocol; The Initial Child Abuse Response for DSS and Law Enforcement First Responders; Referral to a SC Children’s Advocacy Center and Services Provided; The Forensic Medical Exam and the SC Children’s Advocacy Medical Response System; The Investigative Process, Joint Investigation (DSS and law enforcement), and Special Issues; The GAL and Court Appointed Special Advocate; The Court Process and Preparing the Child for the Courtroom; and Resources, Revisions, and Maintenance of the Protocol.

Youth "Arrest" in South Carolina: A Guide for Law Enforcement

In this training, trainees will learn the legal process for youth “arrest” and detention in South Carolina, identify which youth are eligible for juvenile detention and for what offenses, describe the importance of consulting with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice in the detention decision, and explore factors officers should consider in exercising their discretion, as well as limits on their discretionary authority. Finally, this training introduces a Juvenile Detention Decision-Making Tool to guide law enforcement through the steps in deciding whether juvenile detention is appropriate. This course has been approved for 0.5 hours of continuing education credit by the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.