NC DSS Children's Services Statewide Training Partnership... year-end training report : delivering competency-based, job-relevant, accessible training for North Carolina's child welfare social workers.

              2009 Year-End Training Report
July 2010
Developed by
JORDAN INSTITUTE FOR FAMILIES UNC-CH SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AND THE STAFF DEVELOPMENT TEAM CHILD WELFARE SERVICES NC DIVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICESCONTENTS
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 1
NC DSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership .......................................... 2
Chapter 1
1. Strategic Planning for the NC Statewide Training Partnership .............................................. 5
Chapter 2
1. Engage Families and Youth in the Learning System ............................................................. 6
2. Enhance Professional Development of Social Workers ......................................................... 8
3. Enhance Professional Development of Supervisors ............................................................. 12
4. Support Leadership Development among Administration and Management Staff .............. 14
5. Expand Training and Support to Enhance Skills of Foster Parents ...................................... 16
6. Enhance Professional Development of Trainers .................................................................. 17
7. Promote the Professional Development of Work First Staff ................................................ 18
8. Incorporate Technology and E-Learning into the Learning System .................................... 19
9. Insure Evaluation Is an Integral Component of the Learning System .................................. 24
10. Integrate Training, Practice, and Policy ............................................................................... 27
11. Increase Understanding of and Expand Access to the Learning System .............................. 30
Chapter 3
1. Challenges, Responses, and Recommendations ................................................................... 32
Appendices and Tables ............................................................................................................. 38
Appendix A: Members of the Partnership
Appendix B: Members of the Advisory Committee
Appendix C: Regional Training Centers
Appendix D: Curriculum Structure
Appendix E: Descriptions of Courses Offered in 2009
Appendix F: Child Welfare Training in NC, 2009
Table 1: Training Events and Days Delivered
Table 2: Training Opportunities Over the Years
Table 3: Registrants from County DSS Agencies by Curriculum
Table 4: Registrants from Other Agencies by Curriculum
Table 5: Registrants by County DSS
Table 6: Registrations Received and Training Events Scheduled at the Regional Training Centers
Table 7: Child Welfare Education Collaborative NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is an update on the progress we have made in the development of North Carolina’s child welfare training system during 2009. By issuing this report, the NC Division of Social Services Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership hopes not only to answer your questions but to generate new questions and new ideas for promoting a positive learning environment for our state's child welfare workers.
As the chart below makes clear, the Partnership provided many training opportunities for staff from county departments of social services and other community agencies throughout North Carolina during 2009. 2009 Key Statistics Total
Curricula offered
44
Training events offered
283
Number of the above events scheduled at regional training centers
176
Training days delivered
2,300
Times Child Welfare in North Carolina: Pre-Service Curriculum for New Social Workers and Supervisors was offered
36
Registrations from county department of social services
8,809*
Registrations from other agencies
632
(*) Includes 1,275 county DSS workers who took on demand courses, for which registration is not required.
2009 Highlights Ninety-nine county DSS agencies were served by one or more of our training events. 1,091 (47%) of 2,300 training days were devoted to offering Child Welfare in North Carolina: Pre-service Training for new supervisors and line staff. 143 (51%) of 283 training events were offered at the regional training centers. New Courses. Three new curricula were developed, including a course to enhance the cultural knowledge and sensitivity of social workers and supervisors. Advances in E-Learning. Efforts were accelerated to provide training using the Internet. Advances included the development of three online courses, live online forums for Child and Family Team facilitators, and webinars to enhance best practice in child welfare services. National Recognition. Vol. 14, No. 3, of the Partnership’s Children’s Services Practice Notes, which focused on ―Child Welfare Practice and Data: Making the Connection,‖ was featured as an important resource for child welfare professionals on the Administration for Children and Families’ Child Welfare Information Gateway.
We at the North Carolina Division of Social Services are proud of our accomplishments this year. We will build on these achievements in 2010 as we continue to pursue our vision: A North Carolina child welfare training system that guarantees competency-based, job-relevant, accessible, affordable, consistent, timely, and thorough training for children’s services workers. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 2
NC DSS CHILD WELFARE SERVICES STATEWIDE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP
Mission
The NC Division of Social Services Child Welfare Services Section has developed the Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership (the Partnership), whose mission is to develop, implement, and evaluate a responsible, accessible training and educational system and to achieve a competent child welfare workforce committed to ensuring safe, permanent, nurturing families for children at risk of abuse, neglect, or dependency. To support its mission, the Partnership seeks the following outcomes: Service providers who demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to help families and children achieve safety and timely permanence. Supervisors and managers who demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to help service providers achieve successful outcomes. Training programs and other learning resources that are open and accessible to community agencies and staff members.
History
The NC Division of Social Services began providing training to county departments of social services’ children’s protective services (CPS) social workers in 1985 through a federal child abuse and neglect grant. Effective FY 1987–88, the training model that was developed through the federal grant was integrated into the regular state budget through a state appropriation specifically designated for CPS training. This funding created two consultant/trainer positions and one clerical position. Over the next six years, the training that was developed and provided to CPS social workers was related to CPS policy and practice, legal aspects of child protective services, and medical aspects of child maltreatment.
In 1991 Governor James G. Martin made this training mandatory through Executive Order 142, ―Children’s Protective Services.‖ To provide this training, the Division received funding for three additional training positions and an additional clerical position. In 1993, the Division added the requirement that staff members attend risk assessment training. In 1997 the curricula Child Development in Families at Risk and the Effects of Separation and Loss on Attachment also became required.
In 1995, the General Assembly passed 131D-10.6A. This law required foster care and adoption social workers to receive 84 hours of pre-service training and 18 additional hours of in-service training annually thereafter. It also required that foster parents receive 30 hours of training prior to licensure and ten hours of in-service training annually thereafter. To implement this law, two additional trainer positions were added, one in foster care and one in adoption. These two trainers focused primarily on ensuring that foster and adoptive parents receive the required training. A contract with the Family and Children’s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families within the NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 3
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, was initiated to provide mandatory training to foster care and adoption social workers.
In August 1997, the General Assembly passed a law that made pre-service (prior to direct client contact) and in-service training mandatory for all county DSS child welfare services staff and supervisors. This law was amended in 2000:
G.S. 131D-10.6A. Training by the Division of Social Services required.
(a) The Division of Social Services, Department of Health and Human Services, shall require a minimum of 30 hours of pre-service training for foster care parents either prior to licensure or within six months from the date a provisional license is issued pursuant to G.S. 131D-10.3 and a mandated minimum of 10 hours of continuing education for all foster care parents annually after the year in which a license is obtained.
(b) The Division of Social Services shall establish minimum training requirements for child welfare services staff. The minimum training requirements established by the Division are as follows:
1) Child welfare services workers shall complete a minimum of 72 hours of pre-service training before assuming direct client contact responsibilities;
2) Child protective services workers shall complete a minimum of 18 hours of additional training that the Division of Social Services determines is necessary to adequately meet training needs;
(3) Foster care and adoption social workers shall complete a minimum of 39 hours of additional training that the Division of Social Services determines is necessary to adequately meet training needs;
4) Child welfare services supervisors shall complete a minimum of 72 hours of pre-service training before assuming supervisory responsibilities and a minimum of 54 hours of additional training that the Division of Social Services determines is necessary to adequately meet training needs;
5) Child welfare services staff shall complete 24 hours of continuing education annually.
The Division of Social Services may grant an exception in whole or in part to the requirement under subdivision (1) of the subsection to child welfare workers who satisfactorily complete or are enrolled in a masters or bachelors program after July 1, 1999 from a North Carolina social work program accredited pursuant to the Council on Social Work Education. The program’s curricula must cover the specific pre-service training requirements as established by the Division of Social Services.
The NC Division of Social Services shall ensure that training opportunities are available for county departments of social services and consolidated human service agencies to meet the training requirements of this subsection.
In 1997, to provide the additional pre-service and in-service training required by this law, the NCDSS Child Welfare Services Section reorganized to create the Staff Development Team, which operates as the central management organization for child welfare training in North Carolina. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 4
In 1998, the Staff Development Team named the training program ―The Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership‖ (see Appendix A) to reflect its collaborative structure. Guided by a Statewide Child Welfare Services Training Advisory Committee (see Appendix B) and in partnership with North Carolina's community colleges, the Partnership also created four regional training centers. These centers are located on the campuses of Asheville/Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, and Lenoir Community College in Kinston (see Appendix C). That same year saw the development of a statewide training database, a curriculum structure (see Appendix D), and collaborative relationships with the University of North Carolina system, as well as with private training providers.
Since then, the General Assembly has allocated funds to create a fifth regional training center to serve southeastern North Carolina. The fifth regional training center in Fayetteville, located at the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, was established in 2001 and opened in 2002.
In 2008, the Division added the requirement that all child welfare social workers and child welfare supervisors hired on or after February 1, 2008, attend the course Step by Step: An Introduction to Child and Family Teams within the first year of employment. In addition, the course Anchors Away! How to Navigate Child and Family Teams: The Role of the Facilitator was mandated for anyone facilitating a CFT meeting in high and intensive risk cases.
In December 2009, the Division added the requirement that all child welfare social workers and child welfare supervisors hired on or after January 2010 attend the course Building Awareness and Cultural Competency within the first year of employment. In recognition of the number of core curricula required during the first year of employment, Effects of Separation and Loss on Attachment was made an elective course.
Vision
In 2004 the Statewide Training Advisory Committee revised and developed a new Vision Plan for the next five years (2005-2010). This vision is that the learning system must establish a continuum of learning opportunities for those within Child Welfare Services, continually adapt curricula to insure relevance and accessibility, provide support for knowledge and skills in the working environment, communicate effectively about the learning system, systematize approaches to learning for staff development personnel, integrate evaluation into all levels of the learning system, involve families and youth to inform the learning system, and strengthen partnerships. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 5
Chapter One
1. STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE NC STATEWIDE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP
In 2004, the Partnership’s Advisory Committee created five-year strategic plan. Creation of this plan began with the gathering of information and input from a wide variety of stakeholders. The Committee also reviewed the NCDSS training history since 1970 to discover both advances and setbacks that could inform the vision for the future, and it explored potential blocks, barriers, and contradictions, as well as areas to be considered such as collaboration, support for participants and trainers, supervision and leadership, and evaluation. The objectives of the NC Statewide Training Partnership’s 2005-2010 strategic plan are as follows:
1. Engage families and youth in the learning system
2. Enhance professional development of social workers
3. Enhance professional development of supervisors
4. Support leadership development among administration and management staff
5. Expand training and support to enhance skills of foster parents
6. Enhance professional development of trainers
7. Promote the professional development of Work First staff
8. Incorporate technology and e-learning into the learning system
9. Insure evaluation is an integral component of the learning system
10. Integrate training, practice, and policy
11. Increase understanding of and expand access to the learning system
In 2009 the Partnership continued to concentrate on examining and improving our practice, inviting others in, connecting the elements of the system, and experimenting with new approaches. Specific activities included converting two classroom-based curriculum into online courses: Understanding Child Mental Health Issues and Understanding an Intervening in Child Neglect; live online forums for CFT facilitators; three 90-minute webinars (Finding Families for Teens, Working with Native American Families and Tribes, and Working with Families Who are “Stuck”); and development of several new curricula for child welfare social workers.
Members of the Partnership also participated in REAP (Reaching for Excellence and Accountability in Practice), a project to implement a child welfare technical assistance model to improve consistency and promote best practices in all 100 counties in the state that is being conducted with assistance from the Children’s Bureau’s Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center.
These and other training-related activities contributed to North Carolina’s completion of its second federal Program Improvement Plan (PIP) in spring 2010.
Next year, the Partnership will develop a new strategic plan for the future of child welfare training in North Carolina; the current plan expires in 2010.NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 6
Chapter Two
1. ENGAGE FAMILIES AND YOUTH IN THE LEARNING SYSTEM
In 2009 the Partnership continued to promote engagement with families and youth in the learning system in many ways, including the following:
Fostering Perspectives. The Division continued to co-sponsor the newsletter Fostering Perspectives in partnership with the NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association, Strong Able Youth Speaking Out (SaySo), a youth-led group advocating for children in substitute care, and the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. As part of the Fostering Perspectives Advisory Board, foster and adoptive parents and former foster youth help shape the content of every issue.
Fostering Perspectives shares the voices and opinions of children who are or who have been in foster care by publishing their essays, poems, and artwork. Every issue invites these children to participate in a writing contest on a child welfare-related theme. For example, the May 2009 issue asked young people under 18 who have siblings and were or have been in foster care to describe why their siblings are important to them. The November 2009 issue featured responses from young people to the question, ―Why are fathers important?‖ All submissions are published either in the print edition or in the web version (www.fosteringperspectives.org) of each issue. Children whose work is published receive a letter of congratulations and a small cash award.
The May and November 2009 issues of Fostering Perspectives also featured articles from birth, foster, and adoptive parents.
NCFAPA 2009 Education Conference. The Division provided financial support for the NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association’s 2009 Education Conference – Awakening the Aloha Spirit…Changing Tides, Changing Lives, which offered dozens of skill workshops and institutes to over 350 foster parents, adoptive parents, kinship parents, and social workers from public and private child welfare agencies. The impact foster and adoptive parents have on children and families in our state was celebrated during this event. The Institute was held May 1–3, 2009 in Charlotte.
Family Trainers and Youth Partners. The Partnership recognizes that the voices of family and youth provide a unique perspective that can support the transfer of classroom learning to child welfare practice in the real world. Through collaboration with family and youth partner trainers in curriculum development and delivery, the Partnership has sought to infuse the perspectives of families and youth in current and new curricula in order to convey to workers the impact and importance of family-centered child welfare practice on families’ lives. For example, the Center for Family and Community Engagement (CFFACE)’s training team now utilizes a co-training model for its introductory training on Child and Family Teams (CFTs); this means that workers and their supervisors learn about CFTs from the perspectives of trainers who have facilitated NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 7
the meetings and trainers who have been family members at CFTs. Youth voices have been incorporated into the CFFACE training program through inviting foster youth to serve as guest speakers for online facilitator forums and showing excerpts from a video of focus groups with youth transitioning out of foster care. Feedback from trainees highlights that family and youth partners increase their awareness of the importance of respecting family participants, acknowledging cultural differences, and fostering partnerships.
Other courses offered by the Partnership, such as Introduction to the Monthly Foster Care Contact Record, a 1.5 hour, self-paced online course features video vignettes in which participants hear recommendations from youth in care about using monthly visits to develop trusting, supportive relationships.
Other Courses. During 2009, families and foster parents participated actively as trainers and consultants in the delivery of the following courses: Child Welfare Domestic Violence Policy Training Child Welfare Practices for Cases Involving Domestic Violence Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting (MAPP/GPS) Shared Parenting Step by Step: An Introduction for Child and Family Teams NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 8
2. ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORKERS
In 2009, the Partnership continued to provide the required pre-service, foundation, and advanced level training for child welfare services professionals based on the following curriculum structure (for course descriptions please refer to Appendix E):
100 Series training (Foundation Level Training). Social workers and social work supervisors with child welfare services responsibilities must complete 72 hours of pre-service training prior to having direct contact and/or assuming supervisory responsibility. The primary pre-service training, Child Welfare in North Carolina: Pre-Service Curriculum for New Workers and Supervisors, is a blended (classroom and online) course comprised of the following:
— Foundations of Child Welfare (Week I)
— Family Assessment (Week II)
— Transfer of Learning (Week III)
— Family Change Process (Week IV)
200 Series, Tier 1 (Foundation Level Training). Social workers and supervisors must complete the 200 Series, Tier 1 training within one year of assuming a child welfare services position. These courses meet the required 18/39 hours of additional training within the first year of employment. Tier 1 is comprised of four courses: Child Development in Families at Risk (online course) Building Awareness and Cultural Competency Legal Aspects of Child Welfare Services Medical Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect for Non-Medical Professionals Step by Step: An Introduction to Child and Family Teams
200 Series, Tier 2 (Specialized Training). Social workers and social work supervisors must complete job-relevant 200 Series, Tier 2 training within one year of assuming a child welfare services position. These courses also meet the required 18/39 hours of additional training within the first year of employment. Tier 2 training is comprised of the following courses: Adoptions in Child Welfare Services Anchors Away! How to Navigate Child and Family Teams: The Role of the Facilitator CPS Assessments in Child Welfare Services CPS In-Home Child Welfare Services Family-Centered Practice in Family Preservation Programs Family Support in Practice: Connecting with Families Foster Family Home Licensing in Child Welfare Services NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 9
Intake in Child Welfare Service LINKS 101 Placement in Child Welfare Services
300 Series (In-Service Training). Social workers and social work supervisors, regardless of employment date, are required to have 24 hours of continuing education every year after their first year of employment. To help them meet this requirement the Partnership offered the following courses in 2009: Adult Mental Health Issues which Impact Families Served by Child Welfare (online course) An Introduction to Child and Family Teams: A Cross-system Training from the Family’s Perspective Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Training: Understanding the Instrument, Ratings, and Outcomes Child Forensic Interviewing Child Welfare Domestic Violence Policy Training Child Welfare Practices for Cases Involving Domestic Violence Coaching in the Kitchen: Guiding Parents through Teachable Moments Deciding Together: A Program to Prepare Families for Fostering or Adoption on an Individual Basis Effects of Separation and Loss in Attachment Financial and Legal Aspects of Adoption Fostering and Adopting the Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused Introduction to Child Sexual Abuse Introduction to the Monthly Foster Care Contact Record (on-demand online course) Introduction to Substance Abuse for Child Welfare Services Introduction to Supervision for Child Welfare Services IV-E: An Overview LINKS 201 – “The Sequel” Methamphetamine: What a Social Worker Needs to Know (on-demand online course) Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting/Group Preparation and Selection Money Matters: Foster Care Funding Basics Shared Parenting The ABC’s of Including Children in Family-Centered Meetings Understanding and Intervening in Child Neglect Understanding Child Mental Health Issues Understanding the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 10
UNITE Advanced Seminar for MAPP/GPS Leaders Widening the Circle: Child and Family Teams and Safety Considerations
Foster Parent Training. The following courses help foster parents develop the broad range of knowledge, skills, self-awareness, and patience needed to care for children living in their homes. Foster parent applicants, newly licensed after July 1, 1995, must receive 30 hours of training prior to licensure and all existing and new foster families must receive 10 hours of in-service training on an annual basis. In 2009, the Partnership offered the following courses: Helping Youth Reach Self-Sufficiency Real World Instructional Event
2009 Curriculum Delivery
During 2009 the Partnership provided many training opportunities for staff in county departments of social services and other community agencies (see Appendix F). A total of 44 different curricula were offered during 2009. These courses were offered many times, for a total of 283 training events or 2,300 days of training (see Table 1).
Of the 8,166 training registrations received in 2009, 7,534 (92%) were from county DSS workers (see Table 3) and 632 were from other agencies (see Table 4). Ninety-nine of 100 county departments of social services were served at one or more of these training events (see Table 5). In addition, 1,275 county DSS workers took on-demand online courses, for which registration is not required.
Regional Training Centers
During 2009, a total of 143 training events were held at the Regional Training Centers (RTCs) in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Kinston. The primary responsibility of each center is to deliver the required pre-service, 200 series, and 300 series training. Additional office space at the Fayetteville RTC provides temporary offices for multi-disciplinary field staff in the Southeastern region.
Curriculum Revisions
During 2009, the Partnership revised or converted into online courses the following courses:
1. Adult Mental Health Issues which Impact Families Served by Child Welfare (implemented in 2009)
2. Introduction to Supervision in Child Welfare Services
3. Understanding and Intervening in Child Neglect (to implemented in 2010)
4. Understanding Child Mental Health Issues (to be implemented in 2010)
5. Placement in Child Welfare Services NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 11
Curriculum Development
During 2009, the Partnership developed and/or implemented the following new courses:
1. Building Awareness and Cultural Competency (to be implemented in 2010). A foundational classroom training to enhance the cultural knowledge and sensitivity of social workers and supervisors working with culturally diverse individuals and families.
2. Keeping It Real! Child and Family Teams with Youth in Transition (implemented in 2009). A classroom training designed to offer service providers a formalized method for amplifying the voices of foster care youth in their individual transitional living plans.
3. Staying Power! A Supervisor’s Guide to Retaining Child Welfare Staff (implemented in 2009). An advanced classroom training that introduces supervisors to concepts, tools, and practices that improve staff retention.
Other Training Initiatives
Technical Assistance and Learning Supports (TALS). Transfer of learning from the training room to the workplace is enhanced when workers receive not only in-class training but also ongoing supports tailored to their specific working environments. In 2009, to support the Division’s focus on transfer of learning related to Child and Family Team meetings, the Center for Family and Community Engagement (CFFACE) offered Technical Assistance and Learning Support (TALS) to county departments of social services, their community partners, and social work students. Modes of delivery include both online and on-site approaches. This year, TALS included: Additional and local offerings of two mandatory child and family team (CFT) training events. Assistance to DSS agencies on ways to organize CFTs to support family engagement, cultural respect, and community and cross-system collaborations. Support of county DSS agencies, including coaching on CFT practices, mini-workshops, and distance education. Orientation of MSW students to CFTs and cultural diversity.
Additionally, CFFACE communicated with participants through a Google group and an online facilitation newsletter. The online newsletter, Facilitation Focus, provided professionals interested in CFTs with practice tips, training announcements, and general facilitation news.
NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 12
3. ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERVISORS
In 2009 the Partnership continued to provide professional development opportunities to supervisors. The following learning opportunities were offered:
Introduction to Supervision for Child Welfare Supervisors. This nine-day course addresses the needs of new supervisors who are moving from direct service to management for the first time. This course teaches new supervisors to understand their role within the agency, their strengths as a supervisor, and ways to manage change. Participants also learn to assess their workers’ skills, use individual development plans for workers, and provide feedback prior to the formal evaluation process. In 2008 the Division, in partnership with One Plus One and Resources for Change, who were involved in development of this curriculum, began to work on a major revision to incorporate both the changes made by current trainers and those required by the system.
Staying Power! A Supervisor’s Guide to Retaining Child Welfare Staff. Adapted from a course originally developed as part of a federally-funded child welfare recruitment and retention project, this three-day, advanced classroom-based training introduces supervisors to concepts, tools, and practices that improve staff retention. Supervisors attending this course explore why employees stay, why they leave, and learn new skills in the following areas: orienting new hires and preparing them to succeed, supporting existing staff, recognizing and responding appropriately to signs of worker disengagement and burnout, and using supervisory tools and practices that promote retention. Participants knowing how to intervene at key points in the supervision process to prevent staff turnover.
NC Child Welfare Supervision Work Group. This group, which began meeting monthly in October 2007, was convened to address the need for a more thoughtful and comprehensive approach to child welfare supervision across the state. The group includes county staff (front line supervisors and program managers), training partners (universities and contractors), and state administrators (managers and coordinators within staff development, CFSR, MRS, and CPRs). The purpose of this group, which has representation from more than 20 county DSS agencies, is to establish a clear vision for supervision within child welfare, to identify necessary training and supports, to outline necessary changes, and to organize the group’s work into a formal strategic plan for child welfare supervisors.
In 2008, the group began assessing the current culture of child welfare supervision, exploring the gap between stated expectations of supervisors and the actual practice of supervision, and discussing how the training provided to supervisors could be improved. Staff from the National Resource Center for Organizational Improvement and the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology are facilitating the strategic planning process.
Twelve directors of county departments of social services signed commitment agreements to implement a strategic plan. The group developed a strategic plan that clarifies the supervisor’s role with regard to data and outcomes and identifies ways NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 13
supervisors can most effectively impact casework practice. Consistency of practice across the state is another area the strategic plan addresses, especially as it relates to the staffing of common case decision points, the review of documentation, the frequency of individual and group supervision, and the levels of supervision and professional development supervisors themselves receive. This strategic plan is a key part of our state's federal Program Improvement Plan.
In 2009, the Child Welfare Supervision Advisory Committee (CWSAC) continued to meet on a monthly basis while implementing the strategic plan and serving as the primary voice of supervisors. CWSAC served as the advisory group for revisions to the Structured Decision Making Tools and presented information on supervisory best practices on a NRCOI webinar and a MRS/SOC conference call. A supervisory tool kit site (http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/best_practices_pilot/) has been developed and released for use by all 100 counties. The site includes supervisory record review tools, personnel tools, case management, and System of Care tools. In 2010, CWSAC will make recommendations for staffing requirements in North Carolina.
NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 14
4. SUPPORT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AMONG ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT STAFF
The Staff Development Team within the Child Welfare Services Section of the NC Division of Social Services manages the Statewide Partnership. As the central management organization of the Partnership, the Division has established an administrative structure that carries out the purpose of the system. In addition, it provides a program administrator who bears day-to-day management responsibility and assesses the Partnership's progress toward the purposes mentioned above. This program administrator serves on the Child Welfare Services Section Management Team, which meets twice a month. The program administrator reports directly to the Chief of Child Welfare Services, who in turn reports to the Director of the NC Division of Social Services. The program administrator directly supervises three trainers who travel from site to site, two curriculum writers/trainers, one contract administrator, two administrative support staff in the central office, and one program manager.
Leaders in Transition Course
In 2006 Leaders in Transition was developed and piloted with the directors of the departments of social services (DSS) in Durham, Pitt, and Swain counties. The goal of this course is to impart leadership skills and practices to new DSS directors so they can better support the goals, practices, and outcomes associated with MRS.
For public social services, Leaders in Transition is especially timely. In the near future, a large percentage of DSS directors will become eligible to retire. This time of transition is a teachable moment: before the new director is too busy with his or her new job, he or she is likely to be open to new ideas. Although this program is tailored to each new director’s particular needs and situation, Leaders in Transition teaches every director leadership skills for: Forging partnerships inside and outside the agency in support of improved results for families Creating an organizational culture characterized by trust, respect, and collaboration, as described in the six principles of partnership Creating an agency environment characterized by shared and distributed leadership at all levels of the organization Creating an organizational culture characterized by continuous learning for the purpose of management and staff development Creating an organizational culture committed to the continuous improvement of results for families.
Throughout the course, participating directors engage in dialogues with other regional and local leaders from various sectors including government, business, and non-profits. These leaders will be individually selected and matched with the areas of interest NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 15
and improvement sought by the participating director. When possible, they will also have a facilitated conversation with their predecessor in their position.
The vision for the future of this program includes the establishment of an active alumni cohort of new directors who can call upon each other to help solve problems and with whom to brainstorm.
In 2009, as an effort to conserve travel resources and respond to feedback from participants, the structure of the Leaders in Transition was changed; this change proved quite successful. This year, Leaders in Transition was delivered to a group of six directors over the course of five days. The days were split into two sessions – the first lasting three days, followed by the remaining two days the next week. Department of Social Services directors from Chatham, Cleveland, Hoke, Nash, Union, and Warren counties completed the program on May 1, 2009.
Maintaining the integrity of the program, participants were given the opportunity to hear and discuss leadership issues with individuals representing varying perspectives ranging from business, private industry, government, education, and policy. All sessions focused on elements of leadership development and excellence. Throughout the informal presentations, participants had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues specific to their current environment. Reflective sessions that allowed participants to reflect and incorporate new knowledge were held every day and were structured for individual as well as group processing. This allowed participants to continuously refine their own learning plans to address a current issue facing them and their agencies, culminating in a completed learning plan for each participant at the close of the program.
Individualized Training Assessment
In 2009, the Partnership continued to make available to county DSS child welfare social worker and line supervisors the web-based application Individualized Training Assessment (ITA).
Using Part A of the ITA, workers can view and print their training requirements based on their job functions.
Part B of the ITA is a self-administered, self-assessment tool that provides workers and supervisors with an opportunity to identify training interests and needs. On a scale of 1 to 10 workers indicate how relevant a competency is to their job and their desire for training on that competency. The goal of Part B of the ITA is to guide workers to appropriate training and help the Partnership identify gaps in the training system. Although optional, workers were encouraged to take the ITA Self-Assessment in consultation with their supervisors in order to identify possible areas for professional development. Supervisors gained access to the reports and results of their workers’ ITAs.
During 2009, 702 child welfare social worker and supervisors representing 84 county DSS agencies accessed the ITA one or more times to check their training requirements and a total of 193 workers and supervisors from 59 county DSS agencies took the Self-Assessment. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 16
5. EXPAND TRAINING AND SUPPORT TO ENHANCE SKILLS OF FOSTER PARENTS
Becoming a Therapeutic Foster Parent Training for Trainers (TOT). In 2006-2007, the Partnership developed, piloted, and finalized a 10-hour (two-day) pre-service curriculum for therapeutic foster parents. In 2007, staff from the Division’s Regulatory and Licensing Section began offering periodic training sessions to workers from public and private child-placing agencies to teach them to teach Becoming a Therapeutic Foster Parent to prospective TFC parents. Unfortunately, budget restrictions and other factors have reduced the number of train-the-trainer (TOT) events Division staff can offer.
Therefore, the Division asked faculty from the Jordan Institute for Families to turn this TOT event into an online course. In 2009, faculty from UNC observed the TOT in the classroom and developed a plan for converting it to an on-demand, self-paced, asynchronous course through www.ncswlearn.org, the Division’s e-learning portal. Development began in 2009; the course will be available in September 2010.
Fostering Perspectives Training Credit. In addition to the above courses, foster parents can earn in-service training credit for reading Fostering Perspectives (FP), a newsletter with the mission of enhancing foster care and adoption in North Carolina. Fostering Perspectives features information and essays, as well as writing and artwork by foster children. Published twice a year, FP goes out to all foster parents licensed through the NC Division of Social Services. Past issues are made available via <www.fosteringperspectives.org>. 2009’s themes were: Moving Ahead – and Growing! – in Uncertain Times (May 2009) Honoring and Maintaining Sibling Connections (November 2009)
Other Training. In 2009 the Partnership offered the following additional training to foster/ adoptive parents to support and enhance their skills (for course descriptions see appendix E): Fostering and Adopting the Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused (CSA/MAPP) Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting-Group Preparation and Selection Shared Parenting NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 17
6. ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINERS
Online Facilitation Skills. Training for NCDSS trainers during 2009 focused on the development of facilitation skills necessary for the delivery training sessions using the synchronous learning platform Adobe Connect Pro. Through the completion of a self-paced preparation and development plan, staff members gained exposure to all aspects of participating in and facilitating live online learning events. Through online videos and live online training sessions, staff gained knowledge and awareness of the roles of both participants and presenters. The features of the Adobe Connect Pro meeting room (such as screen sharing, polling, and web touring) were further explored during online staff meetings.
Policy to Practice Skills. Training available to all NCDSS staff (including trainers) during 2009 highlighted the importance of the transfer of child welfare policies to child welfare practice. Opportunities for cross-training of members from all teams within Child Welfare services included: Monthly “Policy to Practice” (P2P) Meetings. Topics discussed included: engaging fathers, domestic violence assessment tools, the Fostering Connections legislation, the revised Structured Decision Making Tools, etc. MRS Conference Calls. Held three times monthly and easily accessible for county DSS staff, these calls provided an opportunity for NC DSS staff and county DSS staff to discuss changes in child welfare policies and the implications for practice. Dialogue Regarding Disproportionality in NC’s Child Welfare System. (Discussion facilitated by Ralph Bayard, Casey Family Foundation; Dean Duncan and Joy Stewart, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC-CH School of Social Work.) This training event emphasized how child welfare data informs child welfare practice. Structured Decision-making Tools Training. This training addressed the 2009 revisions to the following tools: Family Risk Assessment of Abuse/Neglect, Family Assessment of Strengths and Needs, and Case Decision Summary/Initial Case Plan. These training events prepared county DSS supervisors and trainers to support the statewide implementation of the revised tools in 2010.
NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 18
7. PROMOTE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORK FIRST STAFF
Cross-System Training Effort
In 2009, the Partnership continued to provide joint training opportunities for Work First and child welfare staff through the delivery of the following courses: CFT Training. Training on Child and Family Teams (CFTs) are open to child welfare staff and other units within social services because CFT meetings include formal and informal supports needed by the children and their families. CFT trainings focus on learning what a child and family team is, how it can be used, when one should have a CFT, what different people’s roles are, how to effectively facilitate a meeting, how to prepare children for family meetings, how to ensure participant safety, and how to achieve ―buy-in‖ from family and community members. Introduction to Substance Abuse. This two-day course focuses on families and children affected by alcohol and other drug abuse. Participants enhance their understanding of addiction and how it develops, how substance abuse affects parenting and child development, and intervention techniques for case management in child welfare. Participants learn ways to screen for substance abuse in client families, what treatments are effective for substance abuse, and what plans are needed for children. Methamphetamine: What a Social Worker Needs to Know. This on-demand online course teaches participants to respond in an effective, family-centered way to the threats to children posed by the illegal production and use of methamphetamine. Motivating Substance Abusing Families to Change: An Advanced Practice Course. This is a one-day advanced course on working with families where children are endangered by a caretaker’s alcohol or drug abuse. The course focuses on effective ways to motivate families to engage in substance abuse treatment. Participants have an opportunity to engage in practice activities to enhance their skills. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 19
8. INCORPORATE TECHNOLOGY AND E-LEARNING INTO THE LEARNING SYSTEM
In 2009 the Partnership continued to accelerate efforts to provide training using the Internet. Advances included the development of three online courses, three webinars to enhance best practice in child welfare services, and the further development of the Training Information Management System (TIMS), which facilitates access to e-learning. These approaches significantly increased the number of child welfare social workers the Partnership was able to serve.
Online Courses
Adult Mental Health Issues Which Impact Families Served by Child Welfare. Previously offered as a two-day classroom-based training. This online course consists of:
(a) Foundation live online session: This two-hour session focuses on the risks posed to children, to the person with the illness, and to workers, on how the normal brain functions, and the stigma of mental illness.
(b) Self-paced online session: After completing the Foundation session, participants have two weeks to complete this self-paced online session (about 4–6 hours of online work), which consists of four learning modules and four short "first-person account" readings on the following mental illnesses: schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depression), and borderline personality disorder. Each module focuses on the causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment of these mental illnesses.
(c) Knowledge Assessment: After completing the self-paced online session, participants must take the Knowledge Assessment.
(d) Putting It into Practice live online session: After completing the Knowledge Assessment, students engage in a 2.5 hour live online session about how a client’s mental illness impacts permanency planning. Participants have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss best practice. After this live online session, participants receive a certificate of completion via e-mail.
Understanding and Intervening in Child Neglect. Previously offered a classroom-based two-day training. This online course consists of:
(a) Self-paced online session: Participants have two weeks to complete this interactive self-paced online session (about 6-8 hours of online work). Participants leave with an understanding of how poverty and neglect are linked (but not the same) and develop skills for working with families who are neglectful. This training encourages participants to recognize the need for various approaches when providing services to families, depending on safety and risk levels. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 20
(b) Online discussion forum: As part of the self-paced modules, participants are required to interact with other participants through an online discussion forum. The discussion forum is a place for participants to demonstrate what they have learned from the course and how they are going to apply this knowledge in their future practice.
(c) Knowledge Assessment: After completing all of the learning modules, participants take a Knowledge Assessment, after which they receive a certificate of completion via e-mail.
Understanding Child Mental Health Issues. Previously offered as a three-day classroom-based training, this course provides a basic understanding of the childhood mental health problems most commonly seen in child welfare settings: pediatric depression, juvenile bipolar disorder, ADD, reactive attachment disorder, oppositional-defiant and conduct disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. This course teaches about causes, symptoms, prognosis, risks, treatments and interventions for each of these mental health problems. Course components consist of:
(a) Self-paced online session: Participants have three weeks to complete this self-paced online session (about 8–10 hours of online work). This session contains modules and "first-person account" readings focused on the six disorders.
(b) Knowledge Assessment: After completing all learning modules, participants must take the Knowledge Assessment.
(c) Putting It into Practice live online session: After completing the Knowledge Assessment, students engage in a 2.5 live online session about how a child’s mental illness impacts permanency planning. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss best practice. After this live online session, participants receive a certificate of completion via e-mail.
Statewide Training Information Management System
The regional training centers and the central office, as well as other statewide training partners, child welfare social workers, and supervisors, have immediate and simultaneous access to training information through the North Carolina Statewide Training Information Management System (TIMS) via the web portal www.ncswLearn.org. This password-protected site is a place where North Carolina's human services professionals can discover and engage in the learning opportunities provided by the Division.
In 2009, webinars (online seminars) were fully incorporated into ncswLearn.org. Child welfare professionals can now register and attend online seminars via their ncswLearn.org account. In addition, webinar participants have their webinar participation included in their ncswLearn.org training attendance history (credited towards their 24 hour continuing education requirement). They can also print a certificate for webinars they have completed.
This web portal provides access to the following components: NCSTS (4.0). Training administrators use this site to process logistics related to training registrations. Designed for use over the Internet, this database system (1) tracks the enrollment and completion of training by social workers in North Carolina, and (2) provides administrators with information useful for monitoring the demand and supply of child welfare training statewide. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 21
Personalized Learning Portfolio (PLP). Trainees across North Carolina can create their personal ncswLearn.org account and then view their own training attendance history, register online, view up-to-date training availability, engage in online learning, and take an individualized training assessment. Curriculum Management Tool. Curriculum developers can access the system to view the universe of competencies, and to develop and modify competency-based curricula. Supervisor Resources. This section allows supervisors to manage all aspects of training related to the employees they supervise. Supervisors are able to: add an employee not currently in the training system, edit personnel information for employees who are currently in the training system, register their employees for training, find upcoming training events, view their employees’ training schedule, cancel employee registrations as needed, view their employees’ training attendance history, and learn their employees’ training requirements. County Training Manager Resources. This section allows a county DSS designated staff development manager or a training coordinator to assess the child welfare training needs of the child welfare staff in the entire agency. Individualized Training System (ITA).
­Part A–Training Requirement. County DSS child welfare social workers and supervisors can view and print their training requirements based on their job responsibilities. Workers learn what trainings are required, recommended, or elective.
­Part B–Self-Assessment. When county DSS child welfare social workers and supervisors use this section to assess themselves on competencies pertaining to their job functions, they receive a report that will help them plan and prioritize their professional development. A tool to track county trainings not provided or sponsored by the Division. To prevent fragmentation of workers’ training histories, human services professionals, workers, supervisors, and county DSS training managers can use this section of ncswlearn.org to enter and track workers’ attendance at trainings not provided or sponsored by the NC Division of Social Services. This tool is available for the agency's convenience; each agency must decide whether and how to implement it, who will enter data, and who is responsible for the accuracy of information entered. On-Demand online courses. On-demand online courses are entirely self-paced courses that require no registration; child welfare social workers and supervisors can take them at any time via an ncswLearn.org account.
Webinars
In 2009, to continue the efforts to provide training using the Internet, the Division sponsored three webinars. A live 90-minute webinar format was selected in part because such webinars fully online, allowing participants to build knowledge and hone skills NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 22
while reducing classroom time, travel time, and travel costs. These webinars enabled the Division to communicate a variety of important messages about policy and practice to a significant portion of its target audience: aproximately 860 individuals registered for these events, including line social workers, supervisors, managers, and agency directors. All webinars were open only to county DSS agencies.
The following webinars, focusing on topics relevant to North Carolina’s Program Improvement Plan (PIP), were developed and offered in collaboration with the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work:
Finding Families for Teens held on March 19, 2009, this webinar served well over 160 child welfare professionals from at least 66 of North Carolina's 100 county DSS agencies. Continuous recruitment and retention of foster homes are vital to effectively serve abused and neglected children. Recruitment and retention are also key components of our Program Improvement Plan as related to the federal Child and Family Services Review. This event offered real-world examples and practical suggestions for recruitment and retention. Featured presenters were Nancy Carter (Independent Living Resources), Tamika Williams (Permanency Coordinator with the Division of Social Services), and two youth who have been in foster care.
Working with Native American Families and Tribes held on October 21, 2009, this webinar served approximately 250 child welfare professionals from at least 49 of North Carolina's 100 county DSS agencies. To support diligent efforts to improve the timely identification of Native American children and recruitment of Native American foster families in North Carolina's 100 county departments of social services, this training event offered examples and practical suggestions for child welfare staff wishing to enhance their partnership with the state’s tribes to improve outcomes for families. Featured presenters were Gregory Richardson, Executive Director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs; Najda Jones, Senior Community Development Specialist for the National Indian Child Welfare Association; and Karma Warren, Licensing Consultant for the Division of Social Services.
Working with Families Who are “Stuck” held on December 8, 2009, this webinar served approximately 460 child welfare professionals from at least 69 of North Carolina’s 100 county DSS agencies. This training event helped workers and supervisors understand motivation and learn tools to increase families’ readiness to change. Feature presenters were Avis Alston and Sadio Lloyd, Child Welfare Social Workers at Guilford County DSS, and Rodney Little, Clinical Instructor at the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work UNC-Chapel Hill.
Format. The format of these learning events was modeled on past successful webinars. Each featured presenters selected for their experience, expertise, and perspective. Each presented evidence from research and had a practical focus, with the goal that webinar participants would be able to apply in the afternoon the things they learned in the webinar that morning. For each event, handouts (including presenter slides) were developed and made available to participants through the Division’s online learning portal, www.ncswlearn.org. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 23
Each webinar event was delivered using Adobe Pro Connect. This online learning platform enabled presenters to speak to participants and each other, show slides, and interact with participants via chat and polling questions. Due to class size—most events served well over 100 people—participant microphones were not enabled to maximize bandwidth.
For each event the Jordan Institute provided research and presentation development assistance, marketing, registration, technical support, a webinar host, and participant evaluation forms. Individuals participating in these webinars received 1.5 contact hours of training credit through ncswLearn.org.
Marketing/Promotion. Promotion of each webinar began approximately seven weeks prior to the event. Word was spread through administrative letters from the Division to directors of county departments of social services sent out via the Division’s cwlistserv, the Division’s MRS listserv, e-mails to past webinar participants, and through ads on the main page of www.ncswlearn.org. These marketing efforts were extremely effective, eliciting a large number of registration requests.
Participant Satisfaction. Based on an analysis of all Electronic Participant Satisfaction Form (E-PSF) results, the vast majority of participants were very satisfied with the webinars and with the webinar learning format in general. An average of ninety-three percent of those who completed an E-PSF agreed or strongly agreed that the webinar they attended was well organized, relevant to their jobs, and increased their understanding of the topics covered. An average of ninety-six percent agreed or strongly agreed that they were glad they attended the webinar and said they planned to use what they learned in the webinar in their work with families. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 24
9. INSURE EVALUATION IS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF THE LEARNING SYSTEM
Training evaluation focused on five major areas in 2009: assessment of trainee satisfaction; assessment of learning in Pre-Service Training; assessment of learning in foundation level courses; technical assistance on development of the transfer of learning (TOL) evaluation for Coaching in the Kitchen; completion of the supervisory curriculum analysis and review process; and technical assistance to the NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative. A brief summary of each of these work areas follows. Also included is a description of the change in the use of the performance-based contracting review process that has been used by the Division since 2005.
Assessment of Trainee Satisfaction
During 2009, Participant Satisfaction Form (PSF) data from child welfare trainings conducted during 2008 were analyzed. The primary purpose of the PSF is to furnish information for management of the training system based on timely identification of trainee satisfaction and dissatisfaction with various aspects of training. A revised version of this form was implemented in January 2008; that version continues to be used.
In all, 6,790 PSFs were completed and returned from a total of 440 training events (specific training occasions, analogous to a specific class session). Training was conducted by 89 different trainers, covering 45 courses of different levels. Nine courses spanned more than one week; in these cases, trainees completed a PSF for each week of the course. The term ―training‖ is used to refer to both the single week courses and each week of the multiple-week courses. Thus, there were a total of 60 ―trainings,‖ including revised versions of some courses, for which PSF data was collected. In addition to the 2008 PSF report, two separate supplemental reports were prepared during 2009 to provide training managers with information on participant perceptions of individual trainers during this time period.
These PSFs were extremely positive. Training participants appear to be very satisfied with almost all aspects of the training system, including the curriculum and trainers. Suggestions were made for review of several curricula.
Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009 a total of 4,319 PSFs were completed and returned from 222 training events, conducted by 60 trainers across NC, covering 37 courses of different levels. The 2009 PSF data will be analyzed and reported in spring 2010.
Through the contract with University of North Carolina – Greensboro (UNC-G), the Division received eight service renewals of the Teleform software program. This technology is used to collect and compile PSF data.
Assessment of Learning in Pre-Service Training
The Pre-Service Training (PST) Knowledge Assessment is administered to PST trainees at the end of training. It is a requirement for successful completion of the course. Regional Training Center (RTC) administrative staff send the answer sheets to UNC-G, where they are scanned and scored. Score reports are then sent back to the RTC NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 25
administrative staff person to send to the trainee’s supervisor as a part of the feedback package sent back to the county. The process of validation of this instrument is ongoing in order to obtain more accuracy and to minimize the error component associated with the reported scores. Two Knowledge Assessment Reports were completed in 2009 and included PST results for the periods Jan. 1, 2008 – Dec. 31, 2008 (447 participants were assessed) and July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009 (427 participants were assessed).* These reports provided information about the validation of the instrument as well as summary score reports.
A revised version of the instrument was put into place effective February 2008, and data from July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009 have been analyzed to determine whether further changes were needed to enhance reliability of the new instrument. While the reliability value of the overall test remains strong at .88, with a small standard of error (3.1%), results for two of the subtests, ―Protection‖ and ―Family-Centered Practice,‖ were lower than the desired level of .60. A small number of items may need to be added to improve those subtest results. UNC-G evaluation staff will work with trainers during 2010 to make any needed changes to the instrument.
Assessment of Learning in Foundation Level Courses
In previous years evaluation staff collaborated with curriculum writers and trainers to develop knowledge assessments for the following core courses: Medical Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect for Non-Medical Professionals, Legal Aspects of Child Welfare in North Carolina, Effects of Separation and Loss on Attachment (no longer designated as a core course and assessment is no longer being done), and Child Development in Families at Risk. These assessments are used in an embedded evaluation design: after trainees take the assessments near the end of training, trainers go over the answers with trainees as a part of the learning process. No scores are reported to counties, as these assessments are intended for curriculum evaluation purposes only. Summary reports for each training are sent to the person responsible for each of the curricula.
Knowledge assessment reports for the periods Jan. 1, 2008 – Dec. 31, 2008 and July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009 provided information about the validation of the instruments as well as summary score reports. The table below indicates the number of participants who took each assessment for each of the two time periods.* Instrument Jan-Dec 2008* July’08-June’09*
Legal Aspects
364
356
Medical Aspects
418
411
Child Development
238
254
In 2008, project staff began work with trainers to develop an assessment for the new core course, Step by Step: Introduction to Child and Family Teams. The pilot test for this knowledge assessment began in the second part of 2009, and initial analysis of the psychometric properties of the instrument have been completed. A total of 211
* Please note 6 month overlap in the two reports. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 26
participants took this knowledge assessment in 2009. A second pilot is currently underway. The instrument is expected to be finalized by July 2010.
Evaluation of TOL for Coaching in the Kitchen
In 2009, evaluation staff began to provide technical assistance to Appalachian Family Innovations (AFI) on evaluation of their Coaching in the Kitchen curriculum. A data collection plan, including appropriate instrumentation, was developed to assess the extent to which participants are able to transfer knowledge and skills learned in the training to the job. Data collection will begin in February 2010. UNC-G evaluation staff will be responsible for some aspects of data analysis, interpretation, and report writing.
Analysis and Review of Supervisory Curricula
The purpose of this curriculum analysis was to identify overlapping competencies, learning objectives, and topics among existing curricula provided to child welfare supervisors by the NCDSS Child Welfare Services Staff Development Team, identify consistencies and inconsistencies among the curricula, identify gaps in curriculum content related to effective supervision, and make recommendations for revisions to existing curricula as well as the need for new trainings.
Information from this review was intended to be used in current efforts to reform supervisory training in North Carolina into a Supervisor Academy that will offer trainings and other forms of professional development that are sequentially related to each other. Review and reconceptualization of the role of the child welfare supervisor was identified as a strategy in the most recent Program Improvement Plan.
The bulk of this work was completed by the end of 2008. The last work group meeting was held in January 2009, and the final report, with recommendations, was released in March 2009.
Performance-Based Contracting
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) decided that, beginning with contracts for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, all vendors would engage in some form of performance-based contracting (PBC) with respect to the deliverables in their contracts. Evaluation project staff, in collaboration with the Training Evaluation Advisory Committee (TEAC) and the Staff Development Team, developed a PBC plan and set of procedures that were followed, and the TEAC met to review and approve the plans. Although the TEAC did not meet in 2009 to review vendor PBC plans due to budget and personnel cuts and travel restrictions, vendors still presented the FY 2009-2010 PBC results to the Division in their end of fiscal year reports and included PBC plans for their FY2010-2011 contract proposals.
NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative
As a part of the evaluation of the entire training system, during 2009 evaluation staff provided ongoing technical assistance to the NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative. UNC-G staff prepared PST Knowledge Assessments for the Collaborative students, scored these assessments, and reported scores to the Collaborative main office. A summary report of the results was also provided to the Collaborative. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 27
10. INTEGRATE TRAINING, PRACTICE, AND POLICY
Publications
To augment classroom training and promote communication about policy, family-centered practice, and to facilitate progress on North Carolina’s Program Improvement Plan, the Partnership produces the following newsletters:
Children’s Services Practice Notes. Practice Notes helps North Carolina's child welfare social workers stay on top of developments in their field and improve their practice with children and families. Practice Notes goes out to 2,300 child welfare workers in North Carolina. In 2009, print publication of Children’s Services Practice Notes was discontinued. To review past issues, visit <http://www.practicenotes.org>. 2009’s topics were: Accomplishments and Continuing Challenges Child Welfare Practice and Data: Making the Connection Child Welfare’s Response to Diversity Increasing Our Focus on Visits
Training Matters. Training Matters shares important news and ideas related to child welfare training in North Carolina. As an insert in the newsletter Children's Services Practice Notes, Training Matters goes out to 2,300 child welfare workers in North Carolina. In 2009, print publication of Training Matters was discontinued. To review past issues, visit <http://www.trainingmatters.org>. 2009’s topics were: How Do People Change? Building Awareness and Cultural Competency
MRS! This publication is designed to support county DSS agencies as they put the strategies and principles of the Multiple Response System and System of Care into practice. It spotlights successful family-centered practices, provides news and updates, and features information about relevant training opportunities. To view past issues, visit <http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss/MRS/>. 2009’s topics were: Innovation Profile: Breakthrough Series Collaborative How Will Fostering Connections Impact Child Welfare Practice in NC? If No One Can, Then Perhaps Everyone Can Looking Back on the Year’s Gifts
Fostering Perspectives Training Credit. A forum for those touched by foster care in North Carolina, Fostering Perspectives features information and essays, as well as writing and artwork by foster children. Published twice a year, print copies of FP go out to all foster parents licensed through the NC Division of Social Services and to all public child welfare workers in the state. Past issues and current issues are available via <http://www.fosteringperspectives.org>. 2009’s topics were: Moving Ahead – and Growing! – in Uncertain Times Honoring and Maintaining Sibling Connections NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 28
Collaboration Across Systems
Multiple Response System Reform Effort. In 2002, North Carolina began to reform its child welfare system through the seven strategies of the Multiple Response System (MRS). Under MRS, rather than treating every report as if it were potentially a serious case of criminal child abuse/neglect, intake reports are carefully sorted into one of two approaches. The first, the investigative assessment approach, resembles the classic child protective services (CPS) response in which workers perform a rigorous investigation. In the second, the family assessment approach, child safety is still the first concern, but the overall nature of the agency’s contact with the family is much more supportive.
MRS does more than change the way agencies respond to reports of abuse and neglect. Because the aim of this effort is to make the child welfare system more family-centered, MRS employs seven strategies for reform. These seven strategies, outlined below, prescribe changes in the way social workers, foster parents, and others do their jobs throughout the entire continuum of child welfare.
Strategies of the Multiple Response System
1. Strengths-based, structured intake process
2. Choice of two approaches to reports of child abuse, neglect, or dependency
3. Coordination of law enforcement agencies and child protective services while using the investigative approach
4. Redesign of in-home family services
5. Child and family team meetings
6. Shared parenting meetings
7. Collaboration between work first and child welfare programs
MRS (referred to as Alternative or Differential Response in other states) began as a pilot demonstration in 2002 in ten county departments of social services: Alamance, Bladen, Buncombe, Caldwell, Craven, Franklin, Guilford, Nash, Mecklenburg, and Transylvania. In 2003 MRS was expanded to 42 additional counties and in January 2006 MRS was taken statewide with the remaining 48 counties.
In 2009, monthly conference call meetings were held in which discussions on MRS related issues occur, success stories were shared, and challenges and barriers were addressed. While the MRS Policy Consultant facilitates these conference calls, the county child welfare staff attending each of the meetings provides the real MRS expertise. Open discussions during these meetings allow counties to collectively brainstorm solutions to challenges and barriers. In support of one of the seven MRS strategies – Child and Family Team Meetings, a total of 46 training events of the following courses were offered in 2009 to approximately 730 workers and supervisors to maximize the effectiveness of their Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings: Anchors Away! How to Navigate Child and Family Teams Step by Step: An Introduction to Child and Family Teams The ABC’s of Including Children in the Child and Family Teams Widening the Circle: Child and Family Teams and Safety Considerations NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 29
Training
Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Training: Understanding the Instruments, Ratings, and Outcomes. In 2009, the Partnership continued to offer this one-day training, which provides information to county staff wanting to participate in their county’s on-site Child Family Services Review (CFSR), including information on how to rate items and outcomes on the CFSR instrument. In addition, the training outlines changes in the state’s Quality Assurance program as a result of the federal CFSR. Due to state budget cuts, this training was delivered only three times during this year (offered 12 times in 2008). A total of 94 child welfare workers completed the course.
Child Welfare Cases Involving Domestic Violence. In 2009, the Partnership continued to offer this skill-building training that covers assessment and intervention when domestic violence related to child maltreatment has been identified. The intention of this training is to link the domestic violence policy to child welfare practices. It answers the question: ―Now that we know the policy, what do we do?‖ In this interactive training using simulations and other exercises, participants have the opportunity to practice strategies to use with family members experiencing domestic violence. This training was delivered six times during 2009 (three additional events were canceled due to budget cuts); 94 child welfare workers completed the course.
Other Initiatives
Community Engagement. In 2009, the Partnership sponsored a community dialogue for Robeson and Hoke Counties and the Lumbee Tribe. The event, facilitated by the Jordan Institute for Families, was held in May to address four stakeholder-selected outcomes.
1. Keeping Indian families together (prevention)
2. Increase number of American Indian foster families
3. Improve collaboration and communication
4. Improve cultural awareness.
During this event, community stakeholders, including representatives from county DSS agencies and the Lumbee tribe, formed a Performance Team dedicated to improving performance related to these outcomes. This Performance Team meets monthly.
Timely, Specialized Training. The Division responds in a timely way when urgent training needs arise. An example of the Division’s responsiveness is the statewide training it offered to help counties understand and implement recent changes to the Risk Assessment (DSS-5230) and Risk Reassessment (DSS-5226) tools in 2009.
REAP. In 2009, members of the Partnership participated in REAP (Reaching for Excellence and Accountability in Practice), a project to implement a child welfare technical assistance model to improve consistency and promote best practices in all 100 counties in the state that is being conducted with assistance from the Children’s Bureau’s Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 30
11. INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF AND EXPAND ACCESS TO THE LEARNING SYSTEM
Education Collaborative
The NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative (the Collaborative) is a joint effort of North Carolina social work education programs, the NC Division of Social Services, and other partners such as the NC Association of County Directors of Social Services and the NC Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Established in 1999, the Collaborative strengthens public child welfare services by increasing the number of well trained and highly committed BSW and MSW social workers employed in local departments of social services. Offering specialized educational opportunities emphasizing public child welfare practice, the Collaborative provides financial support for selected social work students who will commit to work in a North Carolina county department of social services. While they are in school, Collaborative students (child welfare scholars) satisfy all requirements for the state-mandated child welfare pre-service training. Collaborative students can begin field placement with a county department of social services without having to take the 72-hours pre-service course, and agencies can hire these students as fully qualified for child welfare social work positions and do not have to incur the expense of pre-service training.
The NC Legislature approved funds for 2008-2009 year that allowed for four additional universities to participate in the Collaborative consortium. In all, five MSW programs (UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University, Fayetteville State University, and the NC A&T State University/UNC-Greensboro–Joint MSW) and eight BSW programs (East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, Western Carolina University, UNC-Pembroke, and Appalachian State University, UNC-Greensboro, and NC A & T) offered the child welfare scholars program in FY 2009-2010. These programs worked with 149 child welfare scholars: 91 undergraduate and 58 graduate students. Eighteen students graduated in December 2009 and 71 are anticipated to graduate in May 2010 (see Table 7).
In addition to the programs above, a number of additional social work students and programs participate in a pre-service training waiver from the NC Division of Social Services. In the waiver programs, students can complete the pre-service training requirement while enrolled in their social work programs. Unlike scholars, these waiver students do not have a contractual work obligation upon graduation. The following programs are certified to offer a university-based version of pre-service training:
 NC A&T State University (BSW)
 North Carolina Central University (BSW)
 University of North Carolina-Greensboro (BSW)
 Appalachian State University (MSW)
 North Carolina State University (MSW) NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 31
Collaborative funding was significantly reduced in 2009-10; this led to several program changes. As suggested by the data above, program priorities shifted to emphasize participation by BSW students. In 2008-2009 approximately 45% of the total students served were BSW compared to 61% of total students who are BSWs in 2009-10. Other changes included reducing the faculty FTE at all participating universities, eliminating support staff positions except at the Central Office and centralizing all fund distribution to students and all student record keeping at the Central Administrative Office at UNC-Chapel Hill. It should also be noted that this reduction in program support has impeded the progress of the four new universities. It typically requires about 2 years to establish a program when there are no significant challenges or barriers. Full development of the newer sites will take longer than the two year norm since support and resource availability has fluctuated since the programs became funded.
Information on the Internet
In 2009, the Partnership continued its effort to make training information available and easily accessible to DSS social workers across the state via the Internet. To obtain training information and other professional development-related information, social workers can visit the following web sites:
 www.ncswLearn.org. At this site North Carolina's human services professionals can discover and engage in the learning opportunities provided by the Child Welfare Services Statewide Partnership. Workers can obtain up-to-date information pertaining to upcoming training events. They may access their Personalized Learning Portfolios (PLP), which will allow them to review their training history, assess their training needs, register for courses, and engage in online learning.
 www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss. With this site social workers can obtain additional information on resources, laws, policies, forms and manuals, as well as download the child welfare training schedule issued twice a year.
Training Matters Newsletter
Training Matters shares important news and ideas related to child welfare training in North Carolina. As an insert in the newsletter Children's Services Practice Notes, Training Matters goes out to 2,300 child welfare workers in North Carolina. In 2009, print publication of Training Matters was discontinued. To review past issues, visit <http://www.trainingmatters.org>.
Statewide Training Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee is comprised of state, regional, and county staff and consortium members who advise the Staff Development Team. The committee focuses on the effectiveness and quality of the training program, paying special attention to strategic and operational planning and program evaluation. The committee did not meet in 2009. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 32
Chapter Three
1. CHALLENGES, RESPONSES, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
North Carolina’s Statewide Child Welfare Training System was identified in our most recent federal Child and Family Services Review as an area of strength for our state in achieving Federal outcomes. Following is a description of some of the challenges our training system faced in 2009, an explanation of how the Partnership responded, and recommendations for developing and strengthening our system to ensure it will continue to serve North Carolina’s families and children by enhancing the skills of child welfare professionals.
1. E-Learning Implementation
In 2009 the Partnership continued to accelerate efforts to provide training using the Internet. Advances include the development of three online courses, the provision of live online forums for Child and Family Teams (CFT) facilitators, and webinars to enhance best practice in child welfare services. These approaches significantly increased the number of child welfare social workers the Partnership was able to serve.
CHALLENGES: Participation in e-learning courses has continued to be challenged by the lack of workers’ privacy. Agencies tend to be busy places where line workers often either share an office or work from a cubicle. Trainees have expressed concerns about being unable to find a quiet place where there would not be interruptions. Other challenges include trainee’s lack of computer skills, their attitudes toward computers, and lack of Information Technology (IT) support within the agencies.
Because they have the potential to threaten the Partnership’s efforts to deliver online learning, these barriers could prevent North Carolina’s child welfare system from reaping the benefits of online learning, which allows participants to build knowledge and hone skills while reducing classroom time, travel time, and travel costs.
RESPONSES:
Online Courses: Prior to taking the online courses, Participants are provided well in advance with detailed information about the computer requirements in order to engage in e-learning. Participants’ supervisors are sent a letter requesting their assistance with providing the workers with the support they need during the online course. They are encouraged to meet with the workers to discuss the content of the online courses and specific ways in which the training will help in the job, as well as to make arrangements for reserving uninterrupted blocks of time to take the online course while at work, and satisfy the course requirements. Participants and their supervisors are provided with access to a web site where they can test the microphones/headsets ahead of time. In addition, an NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 33
online tutorial has been developed and made available at anytime for downloading via the Personalized Learning Portfolio at ncswLearn.org. For self-paced online courses participants have access to an orientation module that explains how to navigate the self-paced course. For courses with live online sessions, participants have access to an interactive 16-minute live online orientation that helps them to get familiar with the different tools used to communicate during a live session, as well as to properly set up their computers’ speed connections and microphone/headsets.
Webinars: Despite lack of familiarity with this modality of e-learning, the demand for participating in webinars increased for each of the three webinars offered in 2009. To support their successful engagement in webinar, participants: Are provided well in advance with detailed information about the computer requirements in order to participate in the event. Are given access to a five minute online orientation, where they have opportunity to test and setup their audio capabilities. Have opportunity to participate as part of a group with only one person accessing the webinar room and the remaining participants watching the webinar projected on a screen by LCD. Have immediate access to technical support staff to help with technical problems that may emerge during the webinar.
CFT Facilitator Forums: The online forums allowed facilitators to share resources, network with colleagues, and post questions in a supportive web-based environment. In advance of online sessions: New users are oriented as to how to set up their computers, sign in, and participate; and at the start of the sessions, features of the online system are briefly reviewed. This as well as participants’ increasing familiarity with e-learning has eased challenges with this format. In addition, online surveys are used to collect participant feedback on the session and ways to further enhance participants’ learning.
RECOMMENDATIONS Continue and/or expand the number of webinars, on-demand courses, and CFT facilitator forums offered to county DSS agencies. Continue support to county DSS agencies as they engage in e-learning activities. Continue to enlist director, program manager, and supervisor support for trainees to engage in e-learning. With the current resource constraints, it is important to maintain the core information technology functions (i.e., ncswLearn.org) that have been developed over the past 12 years. These are essential to the continued success of online learning and the child welfare training system as a whole, since NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 34
they facilitate core functions in virtually every part of the training system, from the logistics of participant registration to providing data necessary for administrative decisions.
2. Trainer Professional Development
CHALLENGES: As the Partnership continues to accelerate efforts to implement e-learning, the technological world keeps evolving. In 2009 we continued to face the challenge of developing trainers’ expertise using technology for training delivery.
Another challenge has been the difficulty freeing up trainers to attend courses targeted for them. Finding free days to pursue their own professional development is always challenging for busy trainers. This is even harder when vacant positions are being covered by existing staff and budget cuts restrict travel.
RESPONSES: In 2009, the system addressed these needs in several ways. NCDSS trainers focused on the development of facilitation skills necessary for the delivery training sessions using the synchronous learning platform: Adobe Connect Pro. Through the completion of a self-paced preparation and development plan, staff members gained exposure to all aspects of participating in and facilitating live online learning events. Through online videos and live online training sessions, staff gained knowledge and awareness of the roles of both participants and presenters. The features of the Adobe Connect Pro meeting room (such as screen sharing, polling, and web touring) were further explored during online staff meetings
RECOMMENDATIONS Provide training and professional development activities for trainers online. Continue to promote ways to support trainers, curriculum developers, and training managers in transition from traditional classroom training to an online training delivery method. Engage trainers in professional development through the use of the Learning System Development tools.
3. Training Evaluation Plan
CHALLENGES: The new training evaluation plan for 2008-2013 has great potential for positive impact on the training system. In addition to continuing to evaluate curricula and trainee knowledge and skill acquisition, the new plan also includes attention to important aspects of the training system that have not previously been evaluated, including Results (in terms of impact on performance effectiveness, agencies, and families and children) and Financial Impact (cost and benefit analysis). There are a number of methodological challenges, as there are few existing models for these types of evaluations in human services, and high quality impact evaluation, in particular, can be both expensive and time-consuming. Currently, limited resources for evaluation have resulted in only minimal work being done on training system evaluation since the plan was approved, including the work of the UNC-G evaluation staff and other training partners. Furthermore, the Training Evaluation Advisory Committee has not met since April 2009, so there is no ongoing overview or oversight of implementation of the NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 35
evaluation plan. Within the current economic climate, it appears unlikely that substantial progress can be made toward plan implementation until required resources are available and training evaluation again becomes a higher priority in the Division. The March 1, 2010 mandated 10% cut to university training partner budgets further reduces the ability of the evaluation team to maintain even the diminished level of services that were provided during 2009-2010.
RESPONSES: Various forms of training evaluation have differential impacts. Assessment of learning in Pre-Service Training (PST) and provision of scores to county supervisors allows supervisors to identify areas in which new employees need additional training before assuming responsibility for a caseload. Having Collaborative scholars take the same PST Knowledge Assessment allows Collaborative faculty and staff to identify areas where student learning may need to be enhanced and also provides evidence for mastery of PST content among scholars. Assessment of learning in the core child welfare courses not only provides evidence of how well trainees are mastering the content, but also, by using an embedded evaluation design, allows trainers to go over answers with trainees and clarify any misunderstandings of the content. Assessment of participant satisfaction (PSFs) allows training managers to identify courses or trainers that may need attention. If the final product of the supervisor curriculum review is used as intended, this work should have a major impact on the structure and design of the Supervisor Academy. Even before the report was completed, the review committee members were identifying ways to make important linkages between curricula and how to incorporate more content related to areas such as cultural competence and system of care.
RECOMMENDATIONS With current resource constraints, it is important to maintain the core evaluative functions that have been developed over the past 10 years. Therefore, it is recommended that assessment of participant satisfaction and assessment of learning continue. Pilot testing of the knowledge assessment for the now-required Step by Step: An Introduction to Child and Family Teams training needs to be completed so the effectiveness of this training can be measured and monitored, as is the case for the other foundation courses. It is also important to continue to monitor the performance of all knowledge assessment instruments and make revisions as necessary. Ongoing technical assistance for Coaching in the Kitchen will be necessary for Appalachian Family Innovations to complete that transfer of learning evaluation.With resource cuts to the Education Collaborative, it will be important to clarify whether Scholars will continue to take the PST knowledge assessment as a part of that program’s evaluation.
4. Training Participation
CHALLENGES: The Partnership is making every effort to provide a variety of training opportunities to staff members in county departments of social services. Unfortunately, routinely on the first day of class there are registrants who do not show up for the training, and who have not canceled their attendance. In many cases this means other NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 36
registrants were turned away who would have been able to attend had they been provided with the opportunity. In addition, funding cutbacks and travel restrictions have limited the ability of the Partnership to deliver several other classroom-based trainings.
RESPONSES: In response to these challenges, in 2009 the Partnership continued to market both the availability and the value of the training it offers. Marketing took place through the variety of means, including the Division’s semiannual training calendar, the online training listings at ncswLearn.org, publications (Training Matters, MRS!, and Children’s Services Practice Notes), and through listservs. At the same time, the Partnership continued to work on converting classroom-based trainings into online courses and to develop new online courses with special attention to the different technological challenges facing the counties.
RECOMMENDATIONS Consider making more supervisory training mandatory to strengthen supervision and to address low attendance in supervision training.
5. Rural Workforce Development
Another challenge is ensuring rural counties reap the benefits of the skilled child welfare workers who graduate from the NC Education Collaborative. Several of the Collaborative’s participating programs offer distance education opportunities so cohorts of students from more remote areas can participate as Collaborative Scholars. With the support of the Division, the Collaborative has experimented with a variety of additional incentives (for example, travel stipends) for students to complete field placements (and therefore increase the likelihood of employment) in rural areas. While we have made strides in this area (see below), we continue to explore ways to creatively address this workforce challenge.
RESPONSES: The receipt of funding for the four additional university programs has allowed the Collaborative to extend its reach into traditionally underserved, largely rural areas of North Carolina. While the ultimate impact of this expansion will not be seen until the students graduate and move into the workforce, it is known that, overall, there is a strong trend for Scholars to go to work close to their University program – approximately 75% of Scholars do so. In 2009-10 graduates went to work for the first time in counties such as Scotland, Swain, Jackson, and Richmond.
Across all of our programs, the Collaborative’s positive impact on employment retention in child welfare continues. Since it is known that staff turnover in child welfare is significant (averaging 30% annually), and that such turnover has implications for the length of investigations and the timeliness of permanency planning, we are pleased that we are contributing to improved staff retention in the counties that employ the Scholars. As in prior years, we know that about 90% of graduating Scholars enter the child welfare workforce; of these, nearly 90% complete their employment commitments (ranging from 1-3 years). The longevity of the graduates beyond their employment commitments continues to be high as well, suggesting that intensive screening, training, and support of students prior to beginning their child welfare careers can be an effective strategy for addressing the urgent workforce needs in departments of social services. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 37
RECOMMENDATIONS Continue efforts to expand the number and increase the reach of Education Collaborative programs.
Other Recommendations Develop a strategic plan for the future of the partnership; the current plan expires in 2010. Continue work on implementation of the strategic plan for child welfare supervision. Travel restrictions will make face-to-face meetings difficult so the recommendation is to engage committee members in teleconference and online meetings as much as possible. Continue efforts to work with our DSS partners to maximize the retention of child welfare personnel. Continue to develop online training opportunities to advance access to learning opportunities.
NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 38
APPENDIX A: NCDSS CHILD WELFARE SERVICES STATEWIDE TRAINING PARTNERSHIP MEMBERS, 2009
• Appalachian Family Innovations (Appalachian State University, Institute for Health and Human Services)
• Children and Family Services Association–NC
• Cumberland County Department of Social Services
• Independent Living Resources, Inc.
• NC A & T State University Social Work Program
• NC Association of County Directors of Social Services
• NC Community College System
• NC Division of Social Services
• NC Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network
• Center for Family and Community Engagement NC State University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Family & Children’s Resource Program, Jordan Institute for Families (UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work)
• UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine
• UNC-Greensboro Department of Social Work NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 39
APPENDIX B: MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CHILD WELFARE SERVICES TRAINING ADVISORY COMMITTEE 2009
1. Fasih Ahmed, Faculty, Carolina Evaluation Center, NC A & T University
2. Ginger Caldwell, Trainer, Staff Development Team, NC Division of Social Services
3. Dan Comer, Trainer, Appalachian Family Innovations, Institute for Health and Human Services, Appalachian State University
4. Lane Cooke, Program Coordinator, Family and Children’s Resource Program, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC-CH School of Social Work
5. Sue Dickinson, Trainer, Staff Development Team, NC Division of Social Services
6. Susan Gasman, Trainer, Center for Family & Community Engagement, NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
7. Vilma Gimenez, Support Systems Analyst, Family and Children’s Resource Program, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC-CH School of Social Work
8. Ruth Harrison, NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative, ECU School of Social Work
9. Angela Holloway, Trainer, Staff Development Team, NC Division of Social Services
10. Rebecca Huffman, Regional Training Program Manager, NC Division of Social Services
11. Donna Johnson, Training Manager, Mecklenburg County DSS
12. Jenny King, Training Coordinator, Center for Family & Community Engagement, NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
13. Betsy Lindsey, Faculty, Department of Social Work, UNC-Greensboro
14. Basil Oaqshi, Research Scientist, Department of Social Work, UNC-Greensboro
15. Joan Pennell, Director, Center for Family & Community Engagement, NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
16. Amy Ramirez, Training Coordinator, Family and Children’s Resource Program, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC-CH School of Social Work
17. Laurie Selz-Campbell, Evaluation Coordinator, NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative, UNC-CH School of Social Work
18. Teresa Turner, Team Leader, Staff Development, Child Welfare Services, NC Division of Social Services
19. Patrice White, Program Director, Home Remedies, Appalachian Family Innovations, Institute for Health and Human Services, Appalachian State University
20. Evelyn Williams, Director, NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative, UNC-CH School of Social Work NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 40
21. Catherine Williamson-Hardy, Trainer, Appalachian Family Innovations, Institute for Health and Human Services, Appalachian State University NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 41
APPENDIX C: REGIONAL TRAINING CENTERS
Asheville Regional Training Center
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Haynes Building, 4th Floor
1459 Sand Hill Road – Training Rooms: 408 & 409
Candler, NC 28715
Trainers: Steve Elledge
Charlotte Regional Training Center
Central Piedmont Community College
West Campus
3210 CPCC West Campus Drive
Training Rooms 2105 & 2110
Charlotte, NC 28208
Trainers: Dee Hunt and Rhonda Paul
Fayetteville Regional Training Center
Cumberland County Department of Social Services
1225 Ramsey Street – Training Rooms: G-05A, G-05B, & G-05C
Fayetteville, NC
Trainer: Sue Dickinson and Veronica McPhatter
Greensboro Regional Training Center
Guilford Technical Community College
Greensboro Campus, Adult Education Center
3905 East Wendover Avenue— Training Rooms: 217 & 218
Greensboro, NC 27405
Trainers: Kaye Moody
Kinston Regional Training Center
Lenoir Community College
Main Building – Training Rooms: 202 & 205
Highway 70
Kinston, NC 28502
Trainer: Yolanda Davis and Faith Lee NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 42
APPENDIX D: CURRICULUM STRUCTURE
NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 43
APPENDIX E: DESCRIPTIONS OF COURSES OFFERED IN 2009
1. Adoptions in Child Welfare Services. This three-day specialized curriculum focuses on children awaiting adoptive placement and families interested in adopting children. Topics covered include: policies, laws, and best practices that support a broad-based community approach to finding families; the importance of ensuring families are willing, able, and informed about the parenting of children who are available for adoption; the importance of gathering firm assessment information about the child’s needs and the prospective families’ strengths; the skills necessary to prepare the child and family for the adoption experience; and, to increase permanence, the need for a plan for post-placement support for the family. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work and later revised by the NC Division of Social Services.
2. Adult Mental Health Issues which Impact Families Served by Child Welfare. This curriculum is an e-learning (online) course. It is designed to address the mental health needs of parents and caretakers involved with the child welfare system. It focuses on mental health illnesses that often affect a person’s ability to parent, bringing the family to the attention of DSS. In this training participants will learn the causes, symptoms, prognosis, treatments, and interventions for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-depression), borderline personality disorder, and what risks may be posed to children, to the person with the illness, and to workers. Developed by Family and Children’s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at UNC-CH School of Social Work.
3. Anchors Away! How to Navigate Child and Family Teams: The Role of the Facilitator. This four-day learning event is an intensive, skill-building opportunity for those who facilitate family-centered meetings as part of MRS. Participants learn how to effectively facilitate family meetings by first understanding how this role is different than traditional social worker roles and conducting their own self-assessment of their facilitation skills. Strategies are presented for partnering with the case-carrying social worker, creating an environment of physical and emotional safety, encouraging effective communication amongst meeting participants, managing conflict and denial, and working with children at the meetings. It explores the various features of family-centered meetings and how to use these features according to the family’s culture and situation. The highlight of the training is a ―mock‖ meeting in which participants are able to experience the process themselves. This curriculum replaced the "Facilitator Training for Family Centered Meetings: Getting Started" and "Sharpening Your Skills." Developed by the Center for Family and Community Engagement, NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
4. Building Awareness and Cultural Competency. This is a three-day interactive, foundational training designed to enhance the cultural knowledge and sensitivity of social workers and supervisors working with culturally diverse individuals and families. Day one of the training is designed to develop participants’ knowledge of significant facts and concepts related to cultural competency, diversity and inclusion. Day two assists participants in making connections between theory and their own experiences. The final day of the training introduces participants to a range of tools, tools that facilitate continued personal awareness, cross-cultural communication and relationship-building, collaboration in multicultural communities, and conflict management, with ample opportunity for practice and reflection during the training session. Developed by the National MultiCultural Institute. (to be implemented in January 2010) NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 44
5. Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Training: Understanding the Instrument, Ratings, and Outcomes. This one-day training provides information to county staff wanting to participate in their county’s on-site CFSR, including information on how to rate items and outcomes on the CFSR instrument. In addition, the training outlines changes in the state’s Quality Assurance program as a result of the federal CFSR. Developed by the NC Division of Social Services Child and Family Services Program Review Team.
6. Child Development in Families at Risk. This curriculum is an e-learning (online) course. This foundation curriculum builds on pre-service training. The course focuses on normal developmental milestones for infants and toddlers, school age children, and adolescents. It also covers the effects of abuse, neglect and trauma, such as environmental stress on the development of children. New research in the areas of brain development, temperament, and resiliency are explored. Case studies are used to practice developmental assessments, family-centered practice, and case planning. Developed by Family and Children’s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work.
7. Child Forensic Interviewing. This five-day specialized curriculum is designed to provide the social worker with a foundation in legally defensible, developmentally appropriate interviewing of the alleged child victim in investigative assessments of child abuse. Topics covered include developing and maintaining rapport, appropriate questioning, memory and suggestion issues, assessing credibility, and interviewing the avoidant child. The course emphasizes small group exercises and role plays to practice a semi-structured interview approach. Developed by the Program on Childhood Trauma and Maltreatment in the UNC-CH Department of Psychiatry.
8. Child Welfare Domestic Violence Policy Training. This two-day policy training enables participants to institute child protective services that are consistent with the Division’s domestic violence policy. Day one provides basic information about the dynamics and dangers of domestic violence, the link between domestic violence and child maltreatment, the impact of domestic violence on children and behavioral characteristics of family members, and the interventions required to protect both adult and child victims. These issues are discussed, incorporating key policy points. Day two focuses specifically on policy and its implementation and also includes an overview of the domestic violence resources for enhanced practice, domestic violence assessment tools, and the domestic violence personalized safety plan. Developed by NC Division of Social Services.
9. Child Welfare in North Carolina: Pre-Service Curriculum for New Workers and Supervisors. This three-week competency-based curriculum provides social workers and supervisors with an orientation to the North Carolina child welfare system. During this training, participants are provided with an overview of the organizational structure of the county DSS; information about child welfare laws, policies, and standards; best practices related to family-centered practice and the family assessment; and the change process, from CPS intake to adoption. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work and later revised by the NC Division of Social Services.
10. Child Welfare Practices for Cases Involving Domestic Violence. This two-day skill-building training covers the specific issues of assessment and intervention when domestic violence related child maltreatment has been identified. The intent of this interactive course is to link the domestic violence policy to child welfare practice. It answers the question: ―Now that we know the policy, what do we do?" Using simulations and other exercises, participants will have the opportunity to practice strategies to use with family members experiencing domestic violence. The training team includes a survivor who courageously shares her real life experience as a victim of NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 45
domestic violence working with the child welfare system to achieve safety for herself and her children. Developed by the NC Division of Social Services.
11. Child Welfare Services in North Carolina for BSW Students. This curriculum is targeted toward individuals pursuing a BSW from a North Carolina-accredited school of social work. In addition, students must also complete an internship in a North Carolina public child welfare agency. This training provides students with an overview of DSS and specific information regarding a case from the point of intake through adoptions. This training, in combination with the BSW educational requirements and a public child welfare field placement, meets the 72-hour pre-service training component required by law. Developed by the NC Division of Social Services.
12. Child Welfare Services in North Carolina for MSW Students. This curriculum is targeted toward individuals pursuing a MSW from a North Carolina-accredited school of social work. In addition, students must also complete an internship in a North Carolina public child welfare agency. This training provides students with an overview of DSS and specific information regarding a case from the point of intake through adoptions. This training, in combination with the MSW educational requirements and a public child welfare field placement, meets the 72-hour pre-service training component required by law. Developed by the NC Division of Social Services.
13. Coaching in the Kitchen: Guiding Parents Through Teachable Moments. This four-day advanced training builds on Child Welfare in North Carolina: Pre-Service Training as well as Child Development in Families at Risk. This training focuses on helping social workers develop coaching skills in order to assist parents in the field with behaviors that are challenging throughout their child’s development. Participants explore a partnership-based model for coaching parents that uses guided self-discovery, family-centered language, and supportive coaching techniques. For each stage of child development, from pre-natal through adolescence, participants (a) examine the roles of both parent and child, (b) identify typical behavioral challenges and tools for addressing those behaviors, (c) develop coaching strategies, (d) identify possible community supports, and (e) explore additional parenting resources for each stage. Actual case studies are used to practice effective supportive coaching. Developed by Appalachian Family Innovations.
14 Cornerstone IV: Supervisors Working with Others, Working with Outcomes. This four-day curriculum provides supervisors with the skills necessary to collaborate across program lines both within the agency and with the larger community. The curriculum also provides supervisors with skills to construct and participate in a process- and outcome-oriented system. Supervisors learn how to analyze data and, using that data, how to measure progress toward successful outcomes, and how to articulate those successes to their various stakeholders. An outcome-oriented supervisory feedback system provides staff and agency management with continuous information on the family outcomes of safety, permanence, and well-being. Supervisors identify where they are successful and where they need to adapt and improve their approaches. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. (training event canceled in 2009 due to budget cuts)
15. CPS Assessments in Child Welfare Services. This four-day specialized curriculum provides participants with knowledge and skills necessary to complete both family assessments and investigative assessments with families who have been referred for possible child abuse, neglect or dependency. This training provides instruction and skills practice in a family-centered approach to conducting CPS assessments. Training topics include: CPS assessment policy; strengths-based, solution-focused interviewing with parents, children, and collaterals; recommended formats for initial and follow-up home visits; structured decision-making tools; frontloading services; cultural competency; and case documentation. CPS Assessments in Child NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 46
Welfare Services provides in-depth, skill-based training for new workers and offers a variety of tools for more experienced workers.
16. CPS In-Home Child Welfare Services (formerly titled "Case Planning & Management in Child Welfare Services") is a four-day specialized curriculum focusing on the skills, beliefs and competencies that are necessary to achieve successful outcomes with families and children. This training is interactive and includes numerous opportunities for skill practice. Topics covered include the role of the case manager, relationships as a foundation for practice, identifying and building on strengths, family centered casework, meeting with resistance, the case planning process and services provision, reassessment decision-making tools, family group decision-making, monitoring the case, case closure/transition, and case documentation. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work and later revised by the NC Division of Social Services.
17. Deciding Together: A Program to Prepare Families for Fostering or Adoption on an Individual Basis. This three-day curriculum is based on the Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting/Group Preparation and Selection (MAPP-GPS) program. This program focuses on the twelve key abilities necessary for successful foster and /or adoptive parenting that are the basis of MAPP/GPS. Deciding Together develops individual families at a level equal to that of MAPP/GPS. This individual preparation and selection program provides the agency with a flexible alternative to the group preparation and selection process. Developed by the Child Welfare Institute.
18. Effects of Separation and Loss on Attachment. This two-day foundation curriculum is designed for social workers responsible for the removal and placement of children. It includes information about the attachment process, separation from the viewpoint of the child, grief reactions based upon child developmental ages and stages, and strategies to help a child reattach. Developed and revised by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work.
19. Family Support in Practice: Connecting with Families. This six-day specialized curriculum is designed for family support and family resource center workers and provides instruction in the skills necessary for working successfully with families in center-based programs, in support groups, and through home visiting. The training is interactive and skill-based. Developed by Appalachian Family Innovations at Appalachian State University.
20. Family-Centered Practice in Family Preservation Services. This six-day specialized curriculum for family preservation and other home-based services workers provides instruction in the skills necessary for a successful in-home intervention. Developed by Appalachian Family Innovations at Appalachian State University.
21. Financial and Legal Aspects of Adoption. This two-day specialized curriculum covers the financial and legal components of the adoption process. This curriculum was previously called ―Understanding North Carolina Adoption Laws.‖ Developed by the NC Attorney General’s Office and the NC Division of Social Services.
22. Foster Family Home Licensing in Child Welfare Services. This two-day specialized curriculum focuses on the process of licensing foster parents through a county department of social services. Topics covered include North Carolina licensing procedures, issues of kinship and pre-adoptive placements, assisting families in the self-selection process and in their partnerships with other team members, matching children with the most appropriate placement, MEPA considerations, the roles of the licensing worker and the child placement worker, preventing disruptions, and skills for working with foster parents. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work and later revised by the NC Division of Social Services. NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 47
23. Fostering and Adopting the Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused. This is a four-day train-the-trainer curriculum designed to train child welfare staff who serve in the role of trainer to develop the skills of foster and adoptive families who work with sexually abused children. Participants are able to train experienced foster and/or adoptive families to make an informed decision about their willingness and readiness to apply specialized skills for meeting the needs of sexually abused children. Topics the participants learn to train include: understanding child sexual abuse, handling the double trauma of sexual abuse and placement, responding to disclosures of prior sexual abuse, managing behaviors to meet the needs of children who have been sexually abused, handling false allegations of sexual abuse, and teamwork with mental health, legal, and social service providers for the child who has been sexually abused. Developed by the Child Welfare Institute.
24. Helping Youth Reach Self-Sufficiency (Foster Parent Training). This three-day curriculum is designed to develop a core group of foster parents to provide continuing education and training to local foster parent associations on assisting foster youth to reach self-sufficiency. Developed by Independent Living Resources, Inc. (training event canceled in 2009 due to budget cuts)
25. Intake in Child Welfare Services. This three-day specialized curriculum provides essential knowledge and skills to workers responsible for receiving reports of child maltreatment, assessing whether those reports meet the criteria for child abuse/neglect/dependency in North Carolina, and participating in the decision as to how the agency will respond. Much of the learning involves participant interaction, and participants are expected to engage in skill practice through experiential and group activities. Topics covered include reporting child maltreatment, relating to the caller, educating the public, intake interviews, screening, consultation, documentation, time frame issues, triage, and safety considerations. Developed by Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work and later revised by the NC Division of Social Services.
26. Introduction to Child Sexual Abuse. This six-day specialized curriculum is designed to provide the social worker with a foundation for identifying and assessing child sexual abuse. Part 1 includes legal definitions of sexual abuse and related North Carolina statutes; personal and societal values and attitudes regarding sexual abuse; dynamics of the survivor, siblings, non-offending parent, and offender; and policy and best practice in conducting child sexual abuse investigations. Part 2 includes practicing interviewing techniques with the victim, siblings, non-offending parent, and the offender; working with the juvenile offender; developing family-centered protection plans and case plans; treatment modalities; and ways to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. Developed by the NC Division of Social Services in collaboration with Family and Children's Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work.
27. Introduction to Substance Abuse for Child Welfare Services. This two-day curriculum focuses on children and families affected by alcohol and other drug abuse. Participants enhance their understanding of addiction and how it develops, how substance abuse affects parenting and child development, and intervention techniques for case management in child welfare. Participants learn (through presentations, videos illustrations, skills practice, group discussion, and case studies) ways to screen for substance abuse in client families, what treatments are effective for substance abuse, and what plans are needed for children. Developed by Family and Children’s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families at the UNC-CH School of Social Work.
28. Introduction to Supervision for Child Welfare Services. This nine-day curriculum focuses on the complex challenges new supervisors face. Participants are presented with ways to NCDSS Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership 2009 Year-End Report 48
get support, information, and a way of addressing the interpersonal dynamics that can influence the effectiveness of the unit. Applications-oriented topics include individual learning styles, leadership sk