California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Dominguez Hills
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The Inter-University Consortium Department of Children and Family Services (IUC/DCFS) Training Project is a collaborative endeavor between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the graduate programs of social work at California State University Long Beach , University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California , California State University Los Angeles , and California State University Northridge . The overall goal of this collaborative project is to increase the professional skills and knowledge of Los Angeles County public child welfare workers. Through specialized Training Centers located at each university, the Training Project provides in-service training to newly-hired social workers, case-carrying social workers, staff who support case management personnel, management staff, and specialized pre-service for MSW students. Organization and Planning Each University has a Training Center (i.e., CSULB Child Welfare Training Centre, CSULA Center on Child Welfare, CSUN, UCLA Center on Child Welfare, USC Center on Child Welfare Training Program) whose Director reports to the individual Dean/Director at each University's program in social work. Each Center Director provides leadership for the planning, implementation, and administration of the Training Center, and for curriculum development and training. The IUC/DCFS Training Project is coordinated by the IUC Director, serving as the liaison between DCFS and the Universities. The Director reports directly to the IUC Executive Committee, which is composed of the Dean/Director from each of the four participating university's program in social work, the Director of the Department of Children and Family Services and the Deputy Director for Executive Services. The Training Planning Committee, comprised of DCFS Deputy Directors, DCFS Training Section Director, IUC Center Directors, IUC Director, and representatives of the Children's Commission, serves as the oversight and planning body. Training Curriculum The Training Project provides a continuum of training to approximately 6,500 DCFS case-carrying social workers and those who supervise and manage them each year. Training is geared to DCFS staff classifications, such as Children's Social Workers, Supervising Children's Social Workers, Training Unit Supervisors, as well as specific categories of staff such as Adoptions workers, Hot Line workers, Command Post workers, and Management positions. Under development is the (Child Welfare Training Curriculum Guide) which contains titles and abstracts. Over 200 training presentations are made each year, accounting for over 100,000 hours of training Training topics are identified through DCFS training needs assessments, DCFS/IUC work groups, and Management staff directives. The curriculum is competency-based, drawing from competencies that are nationally recognized as state-of-the-art, and prioritized by DCFS/IUC work groups. Training curriculum is developed and delivered through a variety of means but always heavily reliant on University experts. After the topics have been identified, one or more of the four university Training Centers assume responsibility for the development of the curriculum and the delivery of training. Stipends The Training Project provides stipends and specialized training to up to 16 MSW students at each university who are placed at DCFS, receive specialized Child Welfare training as part of their MSW course work, and commit to a year's employment at the Department upon graduation. Each university has an innovative, specialized field education unit. To date, over 495 individuals have received IUC stipends. Training Support The Evaluation System incorporates several tools to appraise trainee learning and program performance. (A) Participant Reaction Level I Evaluations are completed by DCFS staff at the conclusion of all training classes. The online data management and report generation system offers feedback to trainers, managers and others. (B) In the CSW Core, Level II evaluations of knowledge and skill acquisition are administered in key domains. These include Child and Youth Development, Placement and Permanence, Case Planning, Child Maltreatment Identification (Physical and Sexual), Structured Decision-Making, Kinship Care, Legal Overview, and Court Report Writing. (C) The CSW Core Proficiency Exam (pre and post tests) evaluates the amount of learning mastered by trainees in the CSW Core Academy. (D) The results of all the training evaluations in the CSW Core are reported as an individualized transcript to the trainee and trainee's supervisor. (E) The IUC/UCLA Group for Evaluation of Training in Child Welfare analyzes CSW Core training evaluation data and prepares research and evaluation studies.
For More Information
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Northridge
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
IUC Central Office
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