Training matters : a publication of the NC DSS Children's Services Statewide Training Partnership [2010 : June, v.11 : no.2]

Training MATTERS A Publication of the NC DSS Family Support and Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership Volume 11. Number 2 • June 2010 Training Matters is produced by the North Carolina Division of Social Services Family Support and Child Welfare Services Statewide Training Partnership, an organization dedicated to developing and delivering competency-based, job¬ relevant, accessible child welfare train¬ ing. Partners include: • NC Division of Social Services • NC Association of County Directors of Social Services • Appalachian Family Innovations at Appalachian State University • Center for Family and Community Engagement at NC State, University • Independent Living Resources, Inc. • NC Child Welfare Education Collaborative • Resources for Change, Inc. • UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work (Jordan Institute for Families) • UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine • UNC-Greensboro Department of Social Work We Want to Hear from You! If you have questions or would like to comment about something that appears in Training Matters, please contact Patrick Betancourt, Child Welfare Ser¬ vices. NC Division of Social Services, 2408 Mail Service Center, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27699-2408, Courier: 56- 20-25. patriek. bctaneourtla dhhs.nc.gov. 919/334-1104. Visit Our Website Go to <www.trainlngmatters-nc.org> . This issue of Training Matters was produced by John McMahon of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. References for this issue can be found at <www.trainingmatters-nc.org> Training for North Carolina's Child Welfare Supervisors Like all those who provide child welfare services, by law North Carolina county DSS supervisors must complete 72 hours of pre-ser¬ vice training before assuming their job responsibilities. In addition, within 12 months of assuming managerial duties supervisors must complete 54 hours of additional training. To fulfill these require¬ ments, supervisors attend two courses: Child Welfare in North Carolina and Introduction to Su¬ pervision for Child Welfare Ser¬ vices. In addition, within their first year supervisors must attend these courses: Legal Aspects, Medical Aspects, Child Development, Step by Step: An Introduction to Child and Family Teams, and Building Awareness and Cultural Compe¬ tency. To learn more or to register for a Division-sponsored child welfare course, visit www.ncswlearn.org. Staying Power After their first year, by law supervisors must receive 24 hours of continuing education annually. To help meet this obligation the Division offers Staying Power! A Supervisor's Guide to Retaining Child Welfare Staff, a three-day, advanced classroom-based course that introduces supervisors to concepts, tools, and practices that improve staff retention. Upcoming training dates and locations are as follows: • September 13-15, 2010, Kinston, NC Regional Training Center (registration opens June 28) • December 8-10, 2010, Asheville, NC Regional Training Center (registration opens September 22) Staying Power! £ Я Я. 5 f A Supervisor’s Guide to Retaining Child Welfare Staff Supervisor Interventions to Help Workers Apply What They Learn in Training No matter how good the training, no matter how engaging and talented the trainers, if employees don't apply what they learn when they return to the agency, the agency has effectively lost any benefit i be this way. Here's what s Before Training 1. Conduct pre-training conference with trainee 2. Discuss workshop ex¬ pectations with super¬ visee 3. Begin to plan for ac¬ tion plan 4. Convey training as a priority might have derived from training. ipervisors can do: During Training 1 . Insure there are no distrac¬ tions (cover for trainee, if necessary) 2. Convey training is a priority 3. Discuss training and appli¬ cation of what has been learned between sessions (if multi-day training) 4. Attend training Fortunately, it doesn't have to After Training 1 . Meet within a week to re¬ view key points in train¬ ing and action plan 2. Give worker a chance to try out new skills 3. Provide reinforcement for use of new skills 4. Reduce barriers to appli¬ cation of new skills Source: Curry, D.H., Caplan, P. & Knuppel, J. (19941. Transfer of training and adult learning (TOTAL!. Journal of Continuing Social Work Education 5(11, 8-14.