Problems relating to child abuse and neglect are complex and difficult, both for the child and the parent. Situations are often so intricate that no single discipline can effectively assess a child’s interests and a family's full needs.

In answer, First Star has established the Multidisciplinary Centers of Excellence (MCEs), which will offer comprehensive training to those professionals responsible for the welfare of abused and neglected children across the United States, such as doctors, judges, lawyers, nurses, social workers, teachers, journalists and police officers. The MCE curriculum will incorporate course work from nationally-recognized schools of law, social work, nursing, psychology and public health, and students will learn to apply a holistic, collaborative approach to the child’s situation, needs and interests.

The First Star Multidisciplinary Centers of Excellence (MCEs) are a collaborative project between First Star, the University of San Diego School of Law, the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Columbia Law School . The First Star MCEs will feature multidisciplinary classroom-based and experiential curriculum modules for students enrolled in graduate schools of law, medicine, social work, education, nursing, public health and psychology. The MCEs will also offer continuing education courses for professionals currently working in areas relevant to children and child protection, including judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers, social workers, guardians ad litem, Court Appointed Special Advocates, journalists and administrators. A distance-learning component will link the partner institutions, and make the curriculum available to individuals nationwide. As best practices are discussed, analyzed and taught in the MCE classrooms, faculty and students will lead the way in raising advocacy standards for children in the United States.

In order to guide the development of the MCE interdisciplinary curriculum, First Star and its three partner institutions developed the Bridges to Excellence conference series that took place during 2006 and 2007. The conferences invited child welfare experts to participate in an ongoing discourse on how multidisciplinary collaboratives can be created and sustained to better serve America’s children. The conference series convened representatives from:

• The country’s leading academic centers for children’s law
• The country’s leading centers for children’s healthcare
• Physicians and medical personnel who are experts in the area of child abuse
• Public policy and advocacy groups for children and families
• State courts involved in child protection and dependency proceedings
• Political leaders who have championed legislation.