Child protection investigators in Illinois can now get hands-on training in the state's capitol.
George Sheldon, who heads the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, helped dedicate the training center today at the University of Illinois Springfield.
It's called a residential simulation lab, and it's one of only two in the U-S. It's a house where case workers can get experience dealing with families, played by actors, and learn how to pinpoint signs of abuse and neglect.
Sheldon says this immersive training is critical to help case workers--who will have to decide whether to remove children from the home.
"Training needs to be more than just a textbook. That's what this house does and that's what the simulation in the courtroom does."
The University of Illinois Springfield also has a mock courtroom where case workers can practice testifying in court. Since the training center opened in February, more than 60 state workers have trained there.