ChildFirst®
ChildFirst® is an intensive five-day course in which students learn the necessary skills to conduct a competent, investigative interview of a child abuse victim using the ChildFirst® Forensic Interview Protocol.
ChildFirst® is an interactive course which combines lectures with demonstrations and hands-on experience. ChildFirst® is a flexible model and takes a holistic approach and explores for all forms of maltreatment. Students will conduct a 30 minute interview with an actor/actress playing the role of an abused child and will be critiqued on their performance and take a written exam.
ChildFirst® is the ideal course for investigators, child protection workers, forensic interviewers, and prosecutors working within a multidisciplinary team seeking to enhance their ability to speak to children.
Please inquire with questions about CLEs and CEUs for prosecutors, law enforcement and social workers.
Virtual Course Dates: September 15-19, 2025
VIA ZOOM | REGISTRATION FEE: $795
In-Person Course Dates: December 1-5, 2025
ORLANDO, FLORIDA | REGISTRATION FEE: $850
Certificates will not be issued until invoice has been paid.
Please note: ChildFirst National prioritizes applications from those that are from states that are not currently part of the ChildFirst Coalition. If your state has a ChildFirst program, we encourage you to reach out to your state coordinator about local offerings of ChildFirst. All coordinator contact information can be found towards the bottom of the page here.
Finding words can be difficult for a child victimized by abuse. Conflicting emotions of fear and love for the perpetrator may cause a child to be reluctant to reveal abuse. If a child tries to speak of abuse, he or she may lack the verbal skills to adequately communicate the event to an adult.
Finding words can be difficult for a police officer, social worker or prosecutor who must speak to a child about abuse. In order to communicate competently with a child, the interviewer must be able to speak in a manner consistent with the child’s linguistic and developmental abilities.
Finding words can be difficult for a child forced to tell a jury about abuse.
Finding words can be difficult for an investigator or prosecutor forced to defend an interview from an attack by defense counsel that the child was “led” into making a false accusation.
Application Information
*All applicants will be notified of their acceptance or wait-list status approximately three weeks prior to the beginning of training.
ChildFirst® is the forensic interview training program of Zero Abuse Project.
ChildFirst® is an intensive five-day course in which students learn the necessary skills to conduct a competent, investigative interview of an alleged child abuse victim. The ChildFirst® forensic interview course has been approved by the National Children’s Alliance to meet accreditation standards and instruction includes research, lecture, experiential, and best practices in the field.
ChildFirst® National is limited to 30 participants per session. Preference will be given to those currently working in the field of child abuse investigations, law enforcement, child protection caseworkers, forensic interviewers, and prosecutors.
