Training Plan for Wisconsin 2015-2019 Child and Family Services Plan

Training Plan for Wisconsin 2015-2019 Child and Family Services Plan

Wisconsin Child and Family Services Training Plan 2015-2019 Background and experience from the last five years that built Wisconsin s training plan can be found in the Training Systemic Review section beginning on page 49. Initial In-Service Training Program for New or Re-assigned Employees The pre-service curriculum includes: Introduction to Child Welfare Engaging Families Safety Development and Dynamics of Human Access Court Initial Assessment Ongoing Case Management Permanency Foundation Courses Required Engaging to Build Trusting Relationships (3 days) Interviewing in Child Welfare (3 days) Safety Foundation Training (2 days) Case Practice with American Indian Tribes (2 days) Foundation Courses Electives Professionalism in Child Welfare (1 day) Access (1 day) Initial Assessment (3 days) Effects of Maltreatment on Child Development (2 days) Separation, Placement and Permanency (3 days) Legal Aspects of Child Protective Services (online equivalent of 2 days) Team Based Practice (3 days) The pre-service training offered by the Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System is a web based curriculum consisting of 9 modules. Those modules include an overview of services, engagement, safety, permanency, child development, access, court process, initial assessment and ongoing services. Per the administrative rule related to training requirements each new worker is required to complete these modules as part of their initial training in the field. As indicated above, the data pertaining to pre-service numbers is gathered by individual partnerships via county reporting which may not account for all workers completing the modules. In addition, there are a number of individual workers hired who have completed this portion of their training as a requirement of their BSW or MSW program that would not have been captured utilizing the above method of data collection. As the data below illustrates WCWPDS is able to definitively ascertain pre-service completion by 483 workers however the likelihood is that number is significantly greater. Pre-service Training Attendees Dec. 2012 thru April 2014 Southern Child Welfare Training Partnership 94 Milwaukee Child Welfare Training Partnership 302 North East Wisconsin Child Welfare Training Partnership 51 Western Wisconsin Child Welfare Training Partnership 36 1

The administrative rule in Wisconsin requires workers to complete a set number of 2 foundational training within their initial 2 years of employment. The rule specifies that the training must equal at least 15 days (90 hours) and must include 10 days of training related to child safety assessment, principles of engagement, ICWA and interviewing. The additional 5 days can be chosen from the remaining 7 foundational training courses which are designed to meet job specific areas such as access, initial assessment, teaming, legal affairs, effects of maltreatment, professionalism and separation and permanence. The data illustrated in the chart below gives an indication of the number of individuals who have attended each foundational training for the time period identified above. It should be noted that the foundation training Interviewing has been placed on hold by the WCWPDS Executive Committee. This curriculum is being reviewed and revised as part of the regular overall evaluation of foundation trainings to insure the training objectives are being met. In addition to the foundational trainings offered by the professional development system there are a number of special skills and topics trainings that are offered based on worker needs. As reflected in the initial training numbers chart there are 441 individual training titles currently active within our learning management system. Of that number, 11 trainings are considered foundational leaving 430 training events related to special skills and topic areas. These trainings include subject matter targeted to both foster parents and case workers. As a part of the administrative rule for training, case workers are required, after their initial 2 years, to complete 30 hours of training during each subsequent 2 year period related to their professional duties. This condition is identical to the requirement set by the Division of Safety and Professional Services to maintain social work certification in the State of Wisconsin. The chart below illustrates 12 of the most attended trainings that fall within this category. Special Skills & Topics Training Attendees Dec. 2012 thru April 2014 Motivational Interviewing 144 Ethics & Boundaries 480 Trauma Informed Care 530 Child Development 395 Culturally Competent Practice in Child Welfare 200 Identifying Abuse & Neglect 207 WICWA 291 Information Collection and Safety Intervention 229 Safety Booster 561 Safety Overview for Non-CPS 394 Confirming Safe Environments 1154 Protective Planning 337 The design of the child welfare training system in the state of Wisconsin has a centralized coordination unit with the majority of training provision occurring within regional partnerships. There are 4 identified areas broken out geographically that include the following regions: Western, Northeastern, Southern and Milwaukee. The Inter-Tribal Child Welfare Training Partnership is an additional partner designated to provided ICWA and related trainings throughout the state that is co-located in the Western region. Underneath Wisconsin s state ran/county administered format, each region is responsible for working with the county agencies within their geographic boundaries to provide necessary foundational as well as special skills and topic trainings. The chart below indicates the number of trainings and training hours that each individual county in the state attended. DCF 43 is the administrative rule that outlines the requirements for initial and ongoing training for child protective services staff. This rule mandates online pre-service training combined with local agency on the job training activities prior to a child protective service worker being designated as a primary 2

worker in the state s ewisacwis system. Further, the rule mandates a minimum of 15 days of Foundation training for child protective services caseworkers within their first two years of employment and 30 hours of ongoing continuing education every two years. DCF provides funding for the state child welfare training system to help develop and implement training requirements and to ensure efficient and effective delivery alternatives. The Wisconsin training curriculum for child welfare staff is a competency-based approach designed to reinforce the basic principles of good case practice and to develop specialized knowledge and skills. The training is divided into three levels of learning. Pre-service training for new child welfare workers covers essential knowledge and orientation needed to assume primary case responsibility. Foundation training is the application of core child welfare skills. Special skills and topics are job-specific, higher level practice skills in child welfare. Potential measures and benchmarks for showing progress should surround compliance with the training rule which is mandated by DCF 43. At the current time efforts have been made to allow the professional development system to track workers attendance at the foundation course level and enhancements are being made to include pre-service completion within that process. The planned enhancements will also include the ability to identify worker roles to promote more accurate reporting of initial, foundational and ongoing training requirements. Training Plan Specifics An excerpt from Wisconsin s full training plan spreadsheet for 2010-2012 following this section reflects the planning rubric for how Wisconsin will ensure all federal requirements are met over the next five years and will be used to specifically plan trainings that will be reported in future annual reports. The spreadsheet indicates the setting/venue of training, the duration of the training, days and hours, audience, cost and cost allocation methodology. The WCPDS has outlined specific plans for how to meet the training needs for Wisconsin s five year goals and objectives that have been articulated in the Plan for Improvement. These activities include the following supports. 1. Implement the family finding strategy statewide, which includes finding fathers and paternal relatives (Addresses performance issues 7, 12, 14 and 20) Training and implementation supports: Beginning in 2015, the Wisconsin Child Welfare Professional Development System will implement a training series surrounding best-practices in family finding designed to assist jurisdictions in their efforts to implement the Family Finding model and provide interactive and supportive case specific consultations intended to address obstacles and challenges unique to each case, community and agency. It will include one full day session with two trainers to work with a local collaborative leadership group at each site, ideally consisting of bench officers and court personnel, attorneys representing parents and children, Juvenile Probation, Child Welfare and any significant community partners likely to participate in this work. The primary goals of the session are to obtain shared agreement as to the value and big picture design of the work, and to determine indicators of success along with a process to measure the targets and indicators. This will also require three to four preparation and follow-up phone calls to plan, troubleshoot and advance the momentum established by the leadership group meeting. The six training sessions are spaced monthly to cover the key value, knowledge and skill areas needed to fully install the practice. We recommend at least 10 and not more than 40 participants 3

at each training site for an ideal training experience. With the exception of the first and last sessions, one trainer will lead the work at four of the sites, and both trainers will co-train at the Outagamie site in the event that the size of the group exceeds 30 people this will also allow both trainers to be in the same place to check in with statewide leadership and maintain proper communication if desired. 2. Implement the in-home safety services (IHSS) pilot in selected counties and then replicate effective practices in other parts of the state to enable counties to serve more children safely in their homes (Addresses performance issues 3 and 4) In conjunction with DCF, the WCWPDS has developed and will continue to deliver training in support of the In-Home Safety Services grant. These trainings are designed to meet the unique needs of each pilot consortium group and focus on the following learning objectives Develop a common understanding of information needed to assess safety. Understand the difference between control services and treatment services. Explore and understand the technical definition and practical application of each impending danger threat. Understand level of effort needed to develop and implement sufficient in-home safety plans. Supports will also include quality technical assistance consultation by DCF staff with counties. Implementation supports will include possible upgrades to the data reporting system needed to accommodate new reports. Evaluation of the fidelity to this approach will also be measured. 3. Implement the IV-E waiver program (PS) to provide 12 months of support to children and families after reunification. (Addresses: Performance items 22 and 23, and the Service Array Systemic Factor) Training and implementation supports for this effort include formal training related to case planning provided by the state s Child Welfare Professional Development System and will include regularly regional consultation and shared learning collaborative events. These sessions will be focused on topical areas to promote cross-system engagement, peer learning, etc. 4. Evaluate the Alternative Response approach, to determine if/when future expansion should take place (Addresses performance item 3) Training will be needed to assure fidelity with the model and high quality service delivery. In conjunction with DCF, the WCWPDS will begin to build internal capacity to train and support the alternative response model in the state of Wisconsin. In conjunction with regional stakeholders, WCWPDS will develop a core foundation and advanced AR curriculum, which will be delivered throughout the state over the next several years. This training will support the following objectives: Develop specific action steps to transform a unit from current practice to Alternative Response through coaching and leadership development. Demonstrate how to use the solution-focused skills of scaling, miracle and exception questions in supervision with social workers. Practice a partnership-based model for coaching workers that uses guided self-discovery, family-centered language, and supportive coaching techniques. Identify 8 effective teaching strategies supervisors can use to promote transfer of learning in the workplace. 4

5. Implement a supervisory safety decision-making model state-wide to improve supervisor s understanding of the conceptual foundations of safety and to better support supervisors to provide key tools and supports to their staff to promote and support child and family safety. (Addresses performance item 4) Training supports will include finalizing the Supervising Safety curriculum based on the former Supervising Safety Decision Making (SSDM) in 2015. Adjustments will be made based on participant and trainer feedback. DCF is also working on building internal capacity to offer this training by working with staff in the DCF Bureau of Regional Operations, Bureau of Safety and Well-Being and CQI to take this training and become prepared to train others. DCF will also develop an infrastructure to support trainers that includes peer support and coaching. Module one of this curriculum was completed in late 2013 and was presented to pilot groups starting in early 2014. Training will support the following learning objectives: Describe the critical qualities for sufficient, effective Protective Plans Identify and correct worker errors and insufficiency in written Protective Plans Demonstrate supervisory strategies to support workers in the field developing Protective Plans Identify gaps in their own work and agency practice related to Present Danger Threat assessment and Protective Planning and articulate a plan for addressing them Understand the meaning of Present Danger and associated threats Demonstrate ability to apply Present Danger concepts to case applications Utilize supervisory tools for evaluating and improving staff assessment and planning Develop plans for improvement of agency practice in Present Danger and Protective Planning Understand the meaning of Present Danger and associated threats Apply the concept in process of occurring to Present Danger Utilize the 3 steps of supervision Describe the conceptual understanding of their staff and the significance of a strong conceptual foundation Demonstrate ability to apply conceptual knowledge to Access and initial contact with families and complete accurate assessments of Present Danger Discuss the application of the Present Danger Threat definition to 2 specific threats Unexplained Injury and Child is Profoundly Fearful and how they direct case decision making Identify and correct worker errors at Access and initial contact Evaluate the quality of agency practice at Access and initial contact using supervisory tools 6. To serve priority populations in home visiting programs through ongoing family engagement training, technical assistance, quality improvement projects, and program evaluation with the State s grantee agencies. Training supports for this will include: ongoing training of new home visiting staff; home visiting Communities of Practice and Mentor-Protégé program pairings, that may choose family engagement as a topic for additional work/focus; continuous quality improvement projects that may focus on initial family engagement, as well as family retention; and 5

analysis of program refusal survey results, which may help to better understand who declines service and why they decline services. 7. Promote the adoption of trauma-informed principles in all areas in the child welfare system and in other systems serving children and families through participation in the Fostering Futures project, the NGA Three Branch Institute on Social and Emotional Well-Being, coordination with the new Office of Children s Mental Health and expanding the DCF Trauma project that provides training and technical assistance to counties. (Addresses performance items 23, and systemic factors of Agency Responsiveness and Service Array). Training Wisconsin continues to integrate Trauma Informed Care principles into its training system utilizing the model developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). It is the goal of the training system that infusing these principles into training, workers will understand the importance of integrating trauma concepts into their daily practice leading to improvements in regards to child and family outcomes. Concepts have been and continue to be imbedded within the pre-placement and preservice curricula and are being taken into account as the foundation courses are being restructured to align with the new core practice competencies. 8. Develop and seek passage of legislation to extend out-of-home care to age 21 for youth with an individualized education program and plan for implementation. (Addresses performance Item 21, educational needs. Training and supports will include training on how to apply new policies, services required and how to assist youth and counties delivering services in accessing services. 9. Strengthen overall child welfare practice throughout the state by identifying and developing support for workers and supervisors through leadership training/development, TA/consulting, evaluation, resource identification for worker support and integration of ewisacwis training with corresponding practice training.(addresses systemic issues of training, information systems and quality assurance). Training supports will include working through the Executive Committee of the WCWPDS in their current strategic planning process to strengthen and improve the child welfare staff infrastructure which will include: Integrating ewisacwis into foundational training. Investing in high quality safety programs that meet the needs of workers and supervisors. In 2013, the training system made the decision to centralize safety trainers statewide in an effort to increase efficiency and responsiveness to changing statutes and standards. This will allow for greater collaboration as well as a more consistent approach to training the cadre of trainings that currently make up the safety series. The trainings included within this series include Safety in CPS, Safety Booster, Supervising Safety and Protective Planning. This function will be housed within the PDS Central Training Unit organizational structure. l Development, delivery, and support of a curriculum that focuses specifically on child welfare supervision and leadership challenges. Development, delivery, and support of a core foundation and advanced alternative response curriculum, as detailed above. Development, delivery, and support of an in-home safety services curriculum, as referenced above. Exploration and development of a statewide foundation training calendar. 6

Exploration and implementation of full-time trainer pools. Enhancing coaching and mentoring options throughout the state. Development and implementation of a statewide worker survey. Future Strategic Direction In addition to continually improving the core curriculum, and supporting the specific training needs of the five year plan objectives. Wisconsin approved training priorities at the Executive Committee of the Professional Development System meeting in June, 2014 that are consistent with and will strengthen the Child Welfare Practice Model. WCWPDS developed Core and Practice Competencies that will serve as the basis for developing a fully integrated system of training from pre-service to new worker foundation, advanced foundation and finally specialized and related content. Decisions will be made about the best format for those trainings, whether on-line or face to face and behavioral indicators will be developed to measure competencies. The process for making these decisions will be collaborative within the University partners engaged in the WCWPDS. Wisconsin will continue report on future training activities using the following criteria: allowable title IV-E administrative functions the training activity addresses; setting/venue for the training activity; duration of the training activity; specifies the approximate number of days/hours of the training activity; target audience, cost, and cost allocation process. An excerpt of the current training reporting system that will be utilized can be found on the following page. 7

Excerpt from Wisconsin Training Events Provided January 1, 2010-December 31, 2012 Course Level Course Title Course Description Title IV E Administrative FFP Rate Hrs Venue Trainer Duration Target Audience Allocation Methodology Caseworker & Foster Parent In service Caseworker & Foster Parent In service Caseworker & Supervisor Inservice Foster Parent Foundation Training of Content Understanding the Trauma of Children in Foster Care Confirming Safe Environments The three day training is intended for social workers and foster parents who will train the Foster Parent Foundation Training. The purpose of the Foster Parent Foundation TOC session is to introduce the content within Recruitment and licensing of foster the nine modules of the homes and institutions curriculum, provide instruction on how to train the curriculum, and provide advice on how to prepare for each module. Each participant will be provided both the group and individual curriculums. Workshop Objectives: Participants will:, Understand the root cause of severe behaviors, Understand the impact of stress and trauma on the developing brain, Understand what fear has in common with stress and severe behaviors, Learn effective, love based techniques to help create a healthy environment without a lifetime of therapy This training focuses on the process and practice of assuring child safety in unlicensed homes, foster homes, group homes and residential care centers. It examines the process for assuring safety from the point the need for placement is determined through the duration of the placement. The assessment for confirming and reconfirming the safety of the placement setting for a child is explored including: components of the assessment, information gathering to support thorough assessments and implications of the assessment for child welfare decision making. Placement Danger Threats are a particular focus. Participating in this training prepares a supervisor or worker to better integrate these responsibilities into agency casework and promotes a consistent, thorough approach to assessing safety in out of Effects of separation, grief and loss, child development 50% 18 (Foster Parent Time at Training not reimbursable) 75% 6 Classroom IV E Policies and Procedures 75% 6 Classroom Classroom Al Rolph Short term Kimberly Erickson Nichols Amy Smith, Connie Usiak, Jan Briedel, Trisha Mosher Short Term Short Term Child Welfare Staff, Foster Parents Child Welfare Staff Child Welfare Staff & Supervisors Total Projected Cost Costs for this course are reduced by the title IV E ratio to determine the IV E eligible portion. The IV E eligible portion is claimed at 50% FFP and $ 13,523, Fed allocated to the statewide child welfare Reimb., $ 3,313 professional development system that includes regional training partnerships. Costs for this course are reduced by the title IV E ratio to determine the IV E eligible portion. The IV E eligible $ 8,172, Fed portion is claimed at 75% FFP and Reimb., $ 3,003 allocated to the statewide child welfare professional development system that includes regional training partnerships Costs for this course are reduced by the title IV E ratio to determine the IV E eligible portion. The IV E eligible $ 8,172, Fed portion is claimed at 75% FFP and Reimb., $ 3,003 allocated to the statewide child welfare professional development system that includes regional training partnerships 8