Who's Training the Trainers? Supervising the FTO Program

Every agency has FTOs. Far fewer have real supervision over the program those FTOs run. Trainee evaluations vary by whoever happens to be training that week, training files get built inconsistently across the unit, and struggling trainees don't get flagged until it becomes a problem instead of a documented plan. That gap in oversight is exactly what surfaces when a training file becomes evidence in a grievance, an EEOC complaint, or a lawsuit.

Who's Training the Trainers? Supervising the FTO Program is built to close that gap. This 4-hour live online session gives FTO coordinators, patrol supervisors, training managers, and command staff a working framework for the supervisory side of field training: evaluation standards, documentation practices, remediation planning, instructor accountability, and succession planning.

Commander Michael P. Evans, Ph.D. leads participants through what it actually takes to run a defensible field training program, from how the program is structured through how it's documented, evaluated, and defended when it's challenged. This course is not an entry-level FTO certification program; it's built for the people who oversee the process, not the officers running it day to day.

What You Will Learn

• FTO program design and structure: how to build or audit a field training program's core structure, from selection criteria and training phases to graduation standards, so it reflects current legal expectations rather than legacy practice that hasn't been reviewed in years

• Trainee evaluation systems: how to implement standardized evaluation instruments, such as Daily Observation Reports, that produce consistent, comparable, and legally defensible assessments across every FTO and every trainee in the program

• Documentation standards: what a complete, defensible training file actually contains, and the level of detail required to hold up when that file becomes evidence in a termination grievance, an EEOC complaint, or civil litigation

• Liability reduction: the specific points of failure in FTO programs, inconsistent standards, undocumented remediation, unqualified FTOs, that expose agencies to negligent training and negligent retention claims, and how supervisory oversight closes each one

• Performance remediation: how to identify a struggling trainee early, build a legally sound remediation plan with measurable benchmarks, and document the process in a way that supports whatever decision ultimately follows, extension, termination, or certification

• Instructor accountability: how to evaluate FTO performance itself, including scoring consistency, adherence to program standards, and how to identify FTOs who need retraining, additional support, or removal from the role

• Succession planning: how to build and maintain a pipeline of qualified FTO candidates so the program keeps functioning as senior FTOs promote, transfer, or leave, rather than losing institutional knowledge every time turnover hits

• Managing the field training unit day to day: scheduling, workload distribution across shifts and squads, and how to structure oversight so the program runs on a consistent standard rather than depending on the judgment of whichever FTO is on shift

• The distinction this course draws between supervising the FTO process and delivering FTO training directly: built for the people who oversee the program, not an entry-level FTO certification course for officers becoming FTOs for the first time

• Auditing an existing FTO program against current legal and operational standards, and identifying specifically where policy language, documentation practices, or evaluation tools need to be rebuilt

Who Should Attend:

This course is built for FTO coordinators, patrol supervisors, training managers, and command staff responsible for overseeing field training programs, not for officers becoming FTOs for the first time. These are the people accountable when a training file gets pulled into a grievance or a lawsuit, when a struggling trainee's remediation wasn't documented, or when the program itself has no real oversight structure behind it. This course gives them the framework and documentation standards to run a defensible program rather than an informal one.

Your Instructor:

Commander Michael P. Evans, Ph.D. is a senior law enforcement executive and university-level educator with extensive experience in leadership development, criminal justice instruction, and training program design. He teaches at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and consults with agencies on organizational leadership, curriculum modernization, and public safety operations. His doctoral research focuses on officer wellness, critical incident intervention systems, and evidence-based program evaluation, giving him a research-grounded perspective on how training programs and their documentation actually hold up under scrutiny. His areas of expertise, supervisory and executive leadership development, training and curriculum design, use of force and human performance, and organizational change management, directly inform how he teaches this course: from a program-oversight and accountability standpoint, not as an entry-level FTO certification.

Cost: $199 per person.

Payment Options: Credit card online, purchase order, or check. Invoice will be generated prior to class but is not due before. Checks payable to Training Force USA, 7769 McClure Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

Cancellations and Substitutions: Registrations are confirmed upon submission and participants are responsible for payment regardless of attendance. Substitutions are welcome at any time by phone, email, or online. If minimum enrollment is not met, the class will transition to an on-demand format and all registered participants will be notified. A full refund is also available.

Questions: Phone: 850-556-4544 | Email: contactus@trainingforceusa.com | www.trainingforceusa.com