The troubling scene inside the dingy Chicago apartment seems real: dangling exposed wires, open pill bottles near a sleeping baby and a kitchen strewn with dog feces and cockroaches.
But the mock apartment — with a lifelike infant doll, candles emitting foul smells and plastic insects — is part of a new simulation lab to train workers who investigate child abuse claims across Illinois.
"Sometimes textbooks, they sugarcoat things. Teachers sugarcoat things, but this is real life," said Beth Brown of Murphysboro, who recently trained at the so-called "dirty apartment." ''This is what you're going to experience."
Illinois' use of such experiential training focused on child welfare workers is being held up by experts as a national leader as the state plans to expand with a third simulation lab and its university experts write new research on the topic.
The use of simulation training isn't unusual for first-responders: Many medical schools have opened multimillion-dollar facilities. However, it's a newer concept in child welfare, said Victor Vieth, a longtime expert who has trained child protective workers nationwide.
The first child welfare simulation labs emerged roughly 15 years ago at universities.
The first lab opened in 2016 inside a home on the University of Illinois Springfield campus that was a gift.
Some experts suggest the simulation training could help, particularly with burnout. Illinois researchers are studying data from the centers.
UIS professor Betsy Goulet, who helped design the centers, said early signs suggest trainees are less likely to leave.
For Brown, 40, the simulations are refreshing after the classroom.
"It's not something that a teacher can tell you what to do," she said. "This is something you need to experience in order to get better and understand the job."
This article appeared in U.S. News & World Report on August 23, 2019.
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