Child Welfare Workforce Development and Workplace Enhancement Institute: Knowledge Development and Application: Meeting Report

		Email Follow these Steps to email a friend or colleague a link to this information. Child Welfare Workforce Development and Workplace Enhancement Institute : Knowledge Development and Application : Meeting Report Year Published: 2006 https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/wf-institute/ On October 24-26, 2005, the Children's Bureau (CB) sponsored a Workforce Institute at the Hilton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA, with approximately 250 invited participants. The Institute had several purposes: 1) to highlight productive/action-planning strategies for recruiting and retaining a stable and skilled workforce; 2) to share best practices; 3) to develop innovative solutions to common challenges, and 4) to build a shared knowledge base. Much of the impetus for the Institute came from a cluster of CB's discretionary grants on child welfare staff recruitment and retention as well as the findings of recent workforce-related studies conducted by national child-serving organizations and associations. Both indicating a need to highlight successes and challenges is hiring and retaining a qualified workforce. Institute participants included public and private non-profit child welfare agency representatives; state and local agency directors and administrators; university faculty members, researchers and educators; representatives of national organizations, human resources professionals; CB grantees, and CB training and technical assistance (T&TA) network representatives. The synthesis groups provided an opportunity for attendees to think critically about workforce-related issues, to discuss possible solutions to workforce challenges and to make recommendations to the field. The synthesis groups' recommendations were used to produce this report. (Author abstract, modified) Step 1: Recipient email address(es) (First one is Required) To Email Address 1: To Email Address 2: To Email Address 3: To Email Address 4: To Email Address 5:   Step 2: From Email Address (Required) From Email Address:   Step 3: Verify You are Human (Required) Are you Human? True False   Step 3: Send the link Print (PDF 126KB)  Share
Author(s)	United States. Children's Bureau.
Year Published	2006

Children's Bureau T&TA Network's Next Steps

The National Resource Centers (NRCs), which are a part of the T&TA network, are funded by the Children's Bureau. Each NRC provides onsite training and technical assistance to States, tribes, and public child welfare agencies, which includes preparation for and implementation of the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) process. As the T&TA network continues their work with child welfare agencies, they should include workforce development in their discussions. When working with jurisdictions to improve practice, implement new models of practice, improve systems and infrastructure, or make organizational or cultural changes, workforce issues should also be addressed. These could include:

• What is the current skill level of the workforce? Are new skills needed?
• How will the organization develop and offer training opportunities?
• How will the organization support the development of the new skills to meet service demands?
• What is the capacity of the workforce? How will the organization balance the new demands with the capacity of staff?
• How is the organization addressing the cultural competence of staff, and how will this affect the proposed changes?
• What is the turnover rate, and how will this affect the proposed changes?
• Does the organization need to assess its hiring practices in light of the new skills needed by the workforce?

The T&TA Network can also address the importance of the front line supervisors and their role in changing practice and culture. This can include:

• Ensuring that frontline staff, particularly supervisors, are included in the decision-making process;
• Engaging supervisors when the agency leadership wants to introduce change, working to ensure that they understand why the change is necessary, securing their buy-in, and training them in the change before their workers are trained;
• Working with the organization to strengthen supervision, particularly to improve clinical supervision;
• Ensuring that supervisors have enough time to provide quality supervision and support to their workers.

Lastly, the infrastructure and staffing needed at all levels of the organization should be included in discussions with the organization. This may include looking at the organization's capacity and demand issues in such areas as policy development, practice and personnel expertise, training, continuous quality improvement, and data.

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