History of Our Organization
The Child Welfare Training Academy was established in compliance with Florida Statute 402.40 with the intent to: "provide a systematic approach to staff development and training for persons providing child welfare services" ; "positively impact on the quality of decisions made regarding children and families who require assistance from programs providing child welfare services"; and to, "afford better quality of care of children who must be removed from families."
The Child Welfare Training Academy resides within the Florida Mental Health Institute's Department of Mental Health Law and Policy (MHL&P), at the University of South Florida. MHL&P has been directly involved in child welfare pre-service and in-service training via the Training Consortium and it's predecessor, the Professional Development Center, at every level since 1988 when the Florida Legislature authorized development of a statewide child welfare training program. Since 1988 more than 50,000 child welfare and juvenile justice professionals have received training. Individuals trained have come from state agencies, community based-care organizations, and Sheriff's offices responsible for the investigation or supervision of child abuse and neglect cases. MHL&P has conducted classroom instruction, seminars, conferences, and has been a leader in the development and implementation of job coaching initiatives.