Professionalism in Family-Centered CPS (Tier 1, Class #1):

• Worker understands the ethical framework that underlies family-focused child welfare practice, including high standards of personal conduct, integrity, impartiality, respect, support of client self-determination, and the presence of limits to the client's right to confidentiality.
• Worker understands social work values and principles in child welfare practice, including respect for the family's cultural identity and each family's uniqueness, strengths, and capacity for self-determination.
• Worker understands the dynamics of helping relationships, the importance of setting appropriates boundaries, and the need to avoid dual relationships with clients.
• Worker will understand the concept of cultural competence, and how personal biases, cultural and ethnic differences may affect the delivery of child welfare services.
• Worker understands the mandates of MSW 20, the guiding principals of the NASW Code of Ethics, and standards of practice in the provision of family-focused child welfare services.
•  Worker will know the historical and legal basis of child welfare services
• Worker will know the principles of Family Centered Public Child Welfare, how these principle guides their relationships with clients and community members.
• Worker will be able to recognize the influence of culture on clients, colleagues and self
• Worker will be able to describe the qualities of their roles as helper and authoritarian and identify techniques for appropriately integrating the two roles.
• Worker will be able to identify the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive qualities of protective capacities of parents and caregivers.
• Worker will be able to identify ways to keep themselves safe in both the field and the office.

 

Legal Aspects of Child Welfare (Tier 1, Class #2):

• Worker will understand the legislative purposes of applicable federal legislation, the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Wisconsin Children's Code, and Tribal Child Welfare Codes; and how these promote a family-centered, community-based approach to services.
• Worker will know how to use state and tribal legal definitions of abuse and neglect to guide decision-making.
• Worker will understand of the role of the children's court and tribal court systems in child welfare, and how to use the courts to protect children.
• Worker will know the basics on gathering pertinent evidence and preparing cases for filing and presentation in court.
• Work will know the case manager's role and responsibility in the courtroom.
• Worker will know how to follow the written notification procedures related to the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Engaging for Building Trusting Relationships (Tier 1, Class #3):

 Introduction to Training:

• Create personal learning objectives for the training
• Understand the scope of the training
• Know the titles and general content of the trainings in the foundation series
• Understand the importance of trust in helping relationships
• Identify two topics they are willing to discuss in skill practice sessions

Engaging Families of Diverse Cultures

• Identify the diverse cultural groups present in the community where they work
• Identify important considerations when attempting to engage families of cultures different from their own
• Understand their own culture and its impact on their ability to engage families
• Understand the difference between values and codes of conduct

Engaging Skills

• Identify the core conditions of trusting relationships: genuineness, respect, empathy, competence
• Identify and explain the multiple skills contained in two engagement skill categories: exploring and focusing
• Demonstrate the use of Exploring Skills to initiate relationships; emphasizing exploration of family culture
• Demonstrate the use of Focusing Skills to summarize and clarify family information & feelings
• Identify worker behaviors that are important to families when forming trusting relationships
• Identify three techniques for learning and expressing family perspective

Defining Strengths and Needs

• Explain the dual focus of child welfare work: addressing needs and identifying strengths
• Identify personal strengths
• Include strength identification in assessments
• Convert identified strengths to functional strengths
• Explain the importance of looking beneath individual’s behaviors to find underlying needs
• Include the identification of underlying needs in assessments
• Explain the difference between a need and a service

A Solution Focus

• Explain the basic assumptions of the solution focused approach
• Identify the two rules of brief therapy and explain application to their work
• Identify the six types of solution focused questions
• Demonstrate the use of solution focused questions as tolls for engaging families

The Change Process

• Describe the Prochaska and DiClemente stages of change model
• Identify the stage of change a person is experiencing when reviewing cases
• Explain the likely differences in a person’s motivation to change in imposed & voluntary changes
• Identify their personal tendencies and factors in casework experiences that may trigger over reliance on authority or over reliance on helping
• Explain the use of Engaging Skills to work through family resistance to agency intervention
• Describe three conditions that support change for families
• Explain the importance of continuously engaging families throughout the case Process

Comprehensive Skill Practice

• Demonstrate Exploring, Focusing, and Solution Focused interviewing skills.
• Integrate a Functional Strengths and Underlying Needs analysis into an interview
• Demonstrate the correct matching of Engaging Skills to a Stage of Change in interviews
• Demonstrate behaviorally specific feedback after observing an interview       

 

Interviewing for Child Welfare (Tier 1, Class #4):

·        Develop a trusting relationship with the family and provide a forum through assessment for the family’s voice and story to be heard.

·        Develop a framework for reducing risk and increasing the prospect for permanency.

·        Develop the skills to increase competence in the completion of Initial Assessments.

·        Develop a family team that is:

Ø      Identified and formed from the beginning of the case

Ø      The forum for assessment

Ø      The forum for consensus, decisions, plans and actions

·        Develop a skilled approach to assessment through the use of specific assessment tools, selecting from a variety of the strengths-based tools appropriate for each family team.  These include:

Ø      Respect, Empathy, Genuineness, Competence

Ø      Use of the Functional Assessment Guide

Ø      Strengths and Needs Assessment

Ø      Genogram, Ecomap, Ethnographic Interviewing

Ø      Solution-Focused Interviewing

Ø      Specialized Assessments for Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence

Ø      Assessment of Impact of Separation and Loss

Ø      To create a long-term view that connects risk issues and underlying needs to both short and long term goals for the family

·        Integrate risk and safety assessments in the ongoing process of meeting the family’s immediate and long-term needs

·        Use the five steps of assessment to critically think while:

Ø      Gathering relevant information

Ø      Analyzing the information

Ø      Drawing conclusions

Ø      Making decisions

Ø      Creating and implementing strategies or plans

 

 Safety Foundation (Tier 1, Class #5):

• Worker will gain substantial knowledge of concepts, definitions, criteria and threshold for child safety intervention.
• Worker will demonstrate application of impending danger threats when completing by assessing and analyzing information to develop a plan.
• Worker will have knowledge of how to develop an in-home safety plan.
• Worker will know of how to manage safety plans.

 

Safety Intervention in Ongoing Services (formerly PCFA) (Tier 1, Class #6):

• To have a working knowledge of how safety concepts and criteria apply to the case planning and case evaluation process.
• To understand the purpose(s) for the Protective Capacity Family Assessment in relationship to a concept for caregiver change.
• To have a working knowledge of the protective capacity family assessment structure and process
• To articulate a rationale for change intervention during the protective capacity family assessment and the case progress evaluation
• To have the ability to complete a protective capacity family assessment including the development of a case plan
• To have a working knowledge of the case progress evaluation and the ability to complete a case progress evaluation.

 

Separation, Placement and Reunification (Tier 2):

• Worker will know the process and dynamics of normal, reciprocal attachments of children with their families and understand the potential traumatic outcomes of the separation and placement experience.
• Worker understands how to assess a child's attachment within the family's cultural norms which shape the child's senses of identity, belonging and concept of home.
• Worker knows and recognizes the physical, emotional, and behavioral indicators of placement-induced stress for children and their parents.
• Worker knows and can practice strategies for structuring a placement to minimize trauma and crisis for children and families.
• Worker understands the importance of regular and frequent family contact to maintain relationships and to enhance attachment.
• Worker understands when and how to initiate a concurrent plan.

Effects Of Maltreatment In Child Welfare (Tier 2):

• Competency 1 - The worker understands typical child development and how it is essential to understand for the outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being.

Ø      Explains how child development is linked to the outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being.

Ø      Describes typical child development milestones in each developmental stage.

Ø      Explains the influence of heredity, environment, and culture on child development.

·        Competency 2 - The worker understands the effects of child maltreatment on brain development.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of child maltreatment on the brain.

Ø      Describes the brain’s response to trauma and stress.

Ø      Explains the brain functionality when exposed to trauma and stress.

·        Competency 3 - The worker understands how child maltreatment affects child development.

Ø      Distinguishes child development issues in pictures of children with injuries/conditions that may have resulted from child abuse and neglect.

Ø      Explains the effects of child maltreatment on the domains of physical, cognitive/language, and psycho-social development during infancy.

Ø      Explains the effects of child maltreatment on the domains of physical, cognitive/language, and psycho-social development during the toddler years.

Ø      Explains the effects of child maltreatment on the domains of physical, cognitive/language, and psycho-social development during the preschool years.

Ø      Explains the effects of child maltreatment on the domains of physical, cognitive/language, and psycho-social development during the school-age years.

Ø      Explains the effects of child maltreatment on the domains of physical, cognitive/language, and psycho-social development during adolescence.

·        Competency 4 - The worker has an awareness of the effects out-of-home placements may have on children’s behavior and affect.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of out-of-home placement on infants.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of out-of-home placement on toddlers.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of out-of-home placement on preschoolers.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of out-of-home placement on school-age children.

Ø      Describes the potential impact of out-of-home placement on adolescents.

·        Competency 5 - The worker understands how culture impacts child development and vice versa.

Ø      Describes the stages of ethnic identity development.

Ø      Explains how cultural issues may influence the assessment and service provision for infants.

Ø      Explains how cultural issues may influence the assessment and service provision for toddlers.

Ø      Explains how cultural issues may influence the assessment and service provision for preschoolers.

Ø      Explains how cultural issues may influence the assessment and service provision for school-age children.

Ø      Explains how cultural issues may influence the assessment and service provision for adolescents.

·        Competency 6 - The worker understands attachment issues.

Ø      Describes the types of attachment.

Ø      Describes controversial aspects of practice related to attachment.

Ø      Explains recommendations regarding attachment that should be attended to when providing services to children with attachment issues.

Ø      Describes how attachment issues may impact children at various developmental levels.

·        Competency 7 - The worker has an awareness of the developmental disabilities and child development.

Ø      Defines terms related to developmental disabilities.

Ø      Describes behaviors of children that may indicate further assessment for autism.

Ø      Describes resources available in the local area to address developmental disabilities.

·        Competency 8 - The worker knows the philosophical approach for intervention.

Ø      Explains the principles that guide all case planning and service intervention.

Ø      Describes the generalist social work model.

·        Competency 9 - The worker is able to include developmental issues in the case planning process.

·        Competency 10 - The worker is able to identify and recommend strategies for intervention and knows how to make appropriate referrals for developmental assessment and services.

Ø      Explains Wisconsin policy related to developmental screening and intervention.

Ø      Describes issues related to child development and corresponding services to address those issues.

·        Competency 11 - The worker knows how children’s behavior may be indicators of underlying developmental needs and can communicate this information effectively with parents and caregivers.

·        Competency 12 - The worker is aware of her/his role to share information with parents, foster parents, and caregivers on developmentally appropriate expectations for children and culturally relevant parenting practices and resources.

·        Competency 13 - The worker can demonstrate the appropriate use of child specific developmental and behavioral information when documenting child functioning throughout the case process.

Ø      Identifies protective, safety/risk, and developmental issues in a referral within a case scenario.

Ø      Identifies protective, safety/risk, and developmental issues in an investigation within a case scenario.

Ø      Able to interview to elicit more information about protective, risk/safety, and developmental issues in a case scenario.

Ø      Able to develop a case plan to address safety/risk and developmental issues from a case scenario.

Ø      Able to interview parents to assess progress on safety/risk and developmental issues from a case scenario.

Ø      Employs casework strategies that illustrate the principles of being family-centered, strengths-based, and culturally-responsive in a case scenario.

 

Case Practice with American Indian Tribes (Tier 2)

Competencies:

• The worker has the ability to understand the justification and legislative intent of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

 

Learning Objectives:

 

1. Workers will have a substantial knowledge of U.S. Federal policies aimed at the assimilation and extermination of American Indian people.
2. Workers will have a substantial knowledge of what tribal sovereignty means in relation to American Indian people.
3. Workers will have a substantial knowledge of the effects of oppression, racism, and discrimination on American Indian people.
4. Workers will have a basic knowledge on the influences of historical trauma and intergenerational grief and loss on contemporary American Indian people.

 

Competencies:

• The worker has the ability to facilitate the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act in cases involving American Indian children.

 

Learning Objectives:

1. Workers will have a basic knowledge of the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
2. Workers will have a basic knowledge of the interaction between the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

 

Competencies:

 

• The worker has the ability to work with American Indian families in a culturally competent manner.

 

Learning Objectives

1. Workers will have a basic knowledge of the general belief systems of American Indian people.
2. Workers will have a basic knowledge of values essential to culturally competent social work with American Indian people.
3. Workers will have a basic knowledge of how to work effectively with American Indian families.

 

Competencies:

 

• The worker has the ability to engage tribal partners in order to build trusting relationships.
• The worker has the ability to work collaboratively with tribal partners to offer culturally-specific services to American Indian families.

 

Learning Objectives:

1. Workers will have a basic knowledge of the characteristics of collaboration.
2. Workers will have a basic knowledge of techniques to use in engaging tribes in a collaborative relationship.