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February 2012Vol. 13, No. 1NRCOI Compiles Training for State Supervisors

The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI) has published the results of its Supervisor Training Project, based on a poll of State child welfare training directors who reported the methods they use to train and support child welfare supervisors. Thirty-four States participated in the 1-hour interviews, and NRCOI compiled the data to make them available on its site (http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/helpkids/supervisionproject.htm), with sections on training by State and topic, additional resources, and the full project report. Using a discussion guide, staff asked the State officials about preservice and ongoing training, professional development opportunities, and supervisory support. The findings indicated that States use the following training activities:

  • Preservice training programs in 23 States
  • Ongoing training in 28 States
  • Opportunities for professional development to supervisors in 27 States
  • Tuition reimbursement in 15 States
  • Ongoing training needs assessments in 16 States

Summaries of other topics include supervisor requirements, mentoring and coaching, and meetings and conferences. The website provides links, when available, to each State's training materials and curricula and summaries of the project interviews that include contact information for each training director. The project homepage also links to a page that describes the types of training and technical assistance that are available from members of the Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network.

The interviews, reviews and revisions of data, and creation of the website took roughly 5 months. "We've completed a number of special requests using this information," said Laura Dyer, NRCOI research analyst. "For instance, we received inquiries on alternative training approaches, critical thinking training, coaching/mentoring, training supervisors on how to use data, etc. We were able to pull together relevant materials and examples from this project to create summaries based on those inquiries. These materials have also proved helpful to a State as they developed a curriculum for caseworkers that aspire to become supervisors."

NRCOI plans to update the project data annually and add more States. The NRC has received positive feedback from a number of States and T&TA Network members who have found useful management and leadership curricula.

NRCOI is now working on a similar initiative, collecting information on State child welfare Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) systems. The interviews will cover staff, budget, structure, activities, policies, future plans, and more.

For more information about the project, contact Laura Dyer (ldyer@usm.maine.edu) or visit: 

http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/helpkids/supervisionproject.htm

NRCOI's website:

http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/helpkids/index.htm

Related Item

CBX last wrote about NRCOI in "Basics for Practice Model Implementation Success" (November 2011).

http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewArticles&issueid=130&articleID=3309&keywords=NCROI

For more training resources, visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway website:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/training/