Investigations of Child Physical Abuse and Death

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  • This event meets the criteria for specific mandated training
  • Non members please click here to contact us to request access to online registrations.

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Date: Monday, February 23, 2026
Ends On: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 20, 2026
Time: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Instructor Location:
LETAC Training Center & Office
840 S. Spring Street, Suite B
Springfield, IL 62704
Driving Directions
Instructor: Jennifer Hillgoth
Member's Fee: $0
Non-Member & Civilian Fee: $160
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This training covers the following mandates:
Human Rights 5.30 hours
Juvenile Law 2.00 hours
Lead Homicide Investigator 16.00 hours
Officer & Youth Interaction 3.00 hours
Procedural Justice 2.00 hours
Psychology of Domestic Violence 1.00 hours
Reporting Child Abuse & Neglect 6.00 hours
Purpose of Course: Provide officers guidance regarding their response to child abuse and child death investigations while appreciating the unique characteristics involving a child's disclosure, discuss components of these crimes that officers can recognize upon their responses and consider best practices when documenting such information. This 16-hour session is designed to take the medical aspects of child abuse into an educational discussion relatable to law enforcement and interviewers so they better understand how this information applies to their cases. Current literature will be reviewed so law enforcement can apply this knowledge to their approaches and investigative techniques.  Case specific information will be presented to assist both patrol and detectives with evidence preservation and collection specific to child abuse and death. This course will also stress the importance of trauma informed responses and ethical/ professional investigations while learning to objectively approach all allegations of child abuse and death investigations to avoid false accusations against families or even missing deadly abuse. The instructor will provide attendees the tools needed to effectively investigate these cases which include resources for expertise and scene reenactments

Course Description: This course is more in depth than the 8-hour course offered, with added discussion and exercises. It is designed to provide law enforcement officers with a comprehensive overview of various crimes against children involving child abuse. Each topic will be discussed in a way that professionals working child abuse can recognize and distinguish various offenses involving children, appreciate their unique characteristics, dispel common myths and outdated practices, discern how injuries may or may not present, understand the complexities involved and learn how to overcome the challenges these cases present. This session will also provide guidance with responses to these specific calls while acknowledging the unique characteristics and discuss how to work with an MDT for the best outcome. The importance of an adequate investigation will be highlighted on cases where victims are unable to tell their story.  The focus will include real case scenarios of incident investigation, suspect interviews, child interviews, non-offending caretaker/witness interviews, crime scene evaluation and creation of timelines.  The most common forms of physical abuse will be discussed, which will include bruises, burns, fractures and abusive head trauma as well as child death investigations.
 
To Register: Email registration to register@letac.org. You may also fill out and submit our online registration form through the website at www.letac.org or call 217-726-7014 to register by phone (be sure to include all pertinent information). MTU #10 local member department officers will be given registration preference until seven days prior to the date of class. After that date, registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, regardless of MTU status. We cannot accept registrations from individual officers. All registrations must go through your Chief, Sheriff, or department training office, even if you are attending class on your own time.

Cancellation: If a class must be canceled for any reason, every effort will be made to do so at least 2 weeks before the class is scheduled to begin. However, there are circumstances where last minute cancellation is out of our control. All officers who have been registered for training will be contacted at the email address given at registration, so please be sure to provide an email address which is checked often