We offer trainings throughout the year on various topics related to children's law and child well-being. All of our programs are developed by former practitioners with years of experience and expertise in the topic area and are designed to ensure you get the most out of your training experience. Please check back for updates - trainings are added throughout the year.
This year’s annual Children’s Law Center Conference, addressing issues affecting children involved in South Carolina’s child protection and juvenile justice systems, will be held on Friday, October 23, 2026, from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm in Columbia at the SC Archives and History Center.
This two-hour virtual course is designed for individuals who have already attended a Children’s Law Center Mandated Reporter training or Train the Trainer session.
This 2-hour virtual 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 is being offered October 14th.
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's Training Center
in Columbia on September 15th.
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
October 26-30, 2026; additional dates in 2027 TBA .
This registration is not for DSS staff. If you are a DSS employee, register for this
course on the DSS LMS only.
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 training will be offered on September 22nd in Columbia.
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 full-day training is being offered on September 30th and December 8th.
This training will provide an overview of statutory requirements for taking a child into EPC, response time requirements, and other procedural and substantive information. This virtual training is being offered on October 30th and December 1st from 9-10:30 am.
This training will cover the aim and purpose of the investigative interview and the
importance of recognizing one’s own biases and its potential effect on the decision-making
process and will also address rapport building, open-ended questioning, active listening,
identification of subjective vs. objective language, and red flag responses.
This training is being offered on December 14th from 2-3:30 pm.
This virtual training will cover techniques and guidance on how to evaluate the three main elements of a medical neglect case: “adequate,” “remedial health care,” and “has caused or presents a substantial risk of causing physical or mental injury.” This training is being offered on October 29th and November 6th from 2-3:30 pm.
The Children’s Law Center is offering focused presentations by medical experts on
various medical aspects of child abuse investigations as follows: Understanding Medical Aspects of Abusive Head
Trauma - September 16, 2026 (1-2:15 pm)
Medical Aspects of Physical Abuse - October 7, 2026 (9:30 - 10:45 am)
Recognizing Medical Child Abuse - October 28, 2026 (9:30 - 10:45 am)
This three-day course is being offered to coroners, law enforcement, prosecutors, forensic medical professionals, and DSS investigators in South Carolina to focus on the responsibilities of investigating infant deaths. It is being offered October 21-23 in Charleston.
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.
The SC Children’s Justice Act Task Force is hosting this training on identifying, recognizing and reporting Drug Endangered Children. This training is being offered virtually on Wednesday, October 14th.
This training is for professionals who have attended a basic mandated reporter training with the Children’s Law Center and are interested in conducting mandated reporter training within their organization. This free, online training is being offered from 9 am - 4 pm on Sept. 23, 2026, Jan. 21, 2027 and May 12, 2027 (Participants will also be required to conduct a virtual presentation the following week.)
This live webinar for mandated reporters and professionals who have frequent contact with children is being offered to organizations upon request.
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.
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.
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.