The Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Board is pleased to announce it granted reaccreditation status to the Internal Revenue Service Basic Instructor/Facilitator Training Program (BIFT) at the April 22, 2010 meeting in Annapolis, Maryland.
The BIFT was initially designed and implemented in 1986 for IRS special agents to prepare cadre instructors for short-term training assignments at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). At that time, the program was known as the Basic Instructor Training Program. In 1998, the program was redesigned to incorporate the principles of adult learning. Since the introductory class, emphasis has been placed on student-centered learning rather than the traditional instructor-centered format. The goal of the instructor team is to engage the participants in a variety of activities, exercises, conversation, and discussion that challenge the traditional way of seeing problems and applying solutions. Numerous courses in education and training principles are presented to prepare instructors to conduct quality training.
FLETA Board Member Mike Hanneld commented on how much he appreciated the importance of instructor training and noted the BIFT is the IRS National Criminal Investigation Training Academy’s primary tool for preparing its instructors and adjunct instructors. He commended the IRS specifically on their ELMS (Enterprise Learning Management System), which is used to plan, communicate and coordinate training and development of activities, and track training completions, all online.
To achieve accreditation, an agency must undergo a voluntary thorough assessment of their academy and/or program to ensure compliance with the FLETA standards. These professional standards were developed to increase agency effectiveness and efficiency. The standards address the following areas: Academy Administration; Qualifications and Development of Training Staff; Program Administration; and Program and Curriculum Development.
Once an academy or program is accredited, they must undergo reaccreditation every three years using the current standards and process. Reaccreditation takes a fresh look at all information to determine if the evidence supports the agency’s continued compliance with FLETA Standards. To maintain accredited status, agencies also are required to submit annual reports to the FLETA Board.
The FLETA Board is nationally recognized by federal law enforcement agencies, as well as stakeholders in law enforcement training. It is the Board’s goal to improve the federal law enforcement community with each accreditation, and the Board has now awarded 36 program accreditations and 12 academy accreditations.
If you would like more information regarding the FLETA process, please visit the website at www.FLETA.gov or contact FLETA at 912-261-3684.