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The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) Monthly Newsletter
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May 2021

Welcome to The Acorn! Each month we share the latest trainings, data, and resources available to child welfare professionals throughout Minnesota. This May we are looking at the worker competencies involved with Policy, which involves understanding policies that affect delivery of child welfare services and the missions, priorities and resource allocations that guide the development and implementation of policy in public, tribal and private non-profit social services. Look for a new blog post on policy later this week!

For supervisors we will explore
Decision Making, which is defined as reaching sound conclusions and making decisive, timely decisions with the consideration of information, available data, flexibility, and short and long-term goals; giving clear directions and communicating them effectively in a timely manner. Take a look at the articles linked above and let us know what you think!


Every month we look at specific competencies within the
Framework for Competent Child Welfare Practice to explore what competency development really means to our work. If you have stories to share about your experiences in child welfare, or feedback about developing competencies in your work, let us know!

 
Upcoming Trainings
Registration
To register for any of the following courses, visit TrainLink and select Class Schedule. For full courses please add your name to the waiting list; this will help us determine if additional sections need to be scheduled. If registration has closed or if you have trouble with any other part of registration, contact Myrna Klegin at mklegin@umn.edu.



Case Planning (CSP2103B)
May 14 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online
June 18 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online

Participants will utilize strengths-based strategies in case planning with complex families in the child welfare system. Participants will complete goals and tasks for Child Protective Services and Out of Home Placement Plans.

Signs of Safety (CSP8301B)
June 16-18 | 9:00AM-1:00PM Each Day | Online

This three-day workshop will cover the basic principles, skill, and tools of Sign of Safety (SofS). This will include, but not be limited to: A Signs of Safety overview and brief history; Appreciative Inquiry; The Questioning Approach; Harm and Danger Statements and Safety Goals; Three Houses, Safety House; Mapping; Safety Planning and Safety Networks.


Sexually Exploited Youth Overview (CSP239A)
May 17-18 | 9:00AM-12:30PM Each Day| Online (WAITLIST)
June 22-23 | 9:00AM-12:30PM Each Day| Online

This course will provide an overview of human trafficking and sexually exploitation of children in Minnesota, including identifying risk factors, red flags and best practices for working with Sexually Exploited Youth. Participants will learn the Department of Human Services’ guidance on responding to Sexually Exploited Youth within Minnesota’s Child Welfare System in the context of legislative efforts including Public Law 114-22, Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Law and No Wrong Door Model.

Sexually Exploited Youth Human Trafficking Child Welfare Response (CSP239B)
May 20 | 9:00AM-12:30PM | Online
June 25 | 9:00AM-12:30PM | Online

Participants will learn the Department of Human Services’ guidance on responding to Sexually Exploited Youth within Minnesota’s Child Welfare System in the context of legislative efforts including Public Law 114-22, Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Law and No Wrong Door Model. Sexually Exploited Youth Overview (CSP239A) is the prerequisite for this course.

Domestic Violence Co-Occurrence: Partnering and Engaging Parents (CSP310C1)
May 14 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online
June 23 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online (WAITLIST)

This training will address crucial aspects of best practice in co-occurrence cases— both partnering with non-offending parents and engaging offenders in accountability and change.  Training will include both historical/theoretical and practical/applied information, focusing on strengths-based practice.  In particular, participants will utilize two key protocols and practice applying them in scenario-based exercises to help build skills to enhance field work.

Structured Decision Making (CSP204C)
May 12 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online
June 16 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online

This training will refresh the professional's knowledge and deepen the application of safety focused practice utilizing the SDM safety and risk assessments, and strengthen connection between the safety assessment and safety planning. Additional outcomes include understanding the "why" behind the SDM assessments, how to leverage the tool within consult teams, and connect engagement skills with assessments. Participants will be expected to bring applicable practice experiences.

Responsive Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth (CSP314)
June 8 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online
June 15 | 9:00AM-4:00PM | Online

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth and families live in all regions of the state and are often invisible to communities and institutions, including the child welfare system. Like all youth and families, LGBTQ youth and families have strengths and challenges, and are members of all racial and ethnic cultures, communities, and religious backgrounds. LGBTQ individuals have been subjected to historical discrimination and oppression, causing attendant challenges to their well-being. LGBTQ youth in out-of-home care are especially vulnerable to discrimination and stigma. This training is intended to increase the awareness, knowledge, skills and abilities of social workers and supervisors to work effectively with this unique population.

This training will model current language used to define sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. LGBTQ youth are over-represented in child welfare systems and are particularly vulnerable. Through self-reflection, data, resource sharing, and interactive activities, participants will learn best practices in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth.

Advanced Practical Training - Collaborative Safety (CSP301L)
May 25-27 | 9:00AM-12:00PM Each Day | Online (WAITLIST)

This training is designed for child protection staff. The Institute lays the groundwork for participants knowledge about systems safety. The content provides a framework of system safety and is designed to engage participants with a comprehensive and holistic introduction to human factors and system safety. The Institute is directed towards teaching participants on integrating safety science concepts into the daily work of child protection. Attention is given to current roles, administrative rules and legislative mandates so that concepts are able to be embedded into every day work that is compatible with these roles, rules, and mandates.

Legal Practice Skills (CSP8205A)
June 14-15 | 9:00AM-12:30PM Each Day | Online (WAITLIST)

This is a "must take" class for anyone who may find themselves involved in child protection legal proceedings. Federal and Minnesota law requires county agencies to engage in reasonable efforts to support families involved in the child welfare system. This class discusses how case workers can do so by learning about their roles and responsibilities, collaborating with other courtroom professionals, and focusing on families’ cultures and strengths. Additionally, this class will cover in-depth the role of the case worker in court proceedings, including proper documentation, preparing for various court hearings, and tips for testifying at trials.




Accommodation Requests

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in a training, contact us as soon as possible at info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.

Attendance
If you need to cancel, even if it seems last minute, please contact Myrna Klegin at mklegin@umn.edu. Our class sizes tend to be small and we often have a waiting list. Trainees who miss more than 30 minutes of any given training will not receive CEUs; for required training you will need to repeat the entire course.

Spread the word!
A printable/sharable PDF document of these trainings can be found here.

Need Help with Trainlink?
Step-by-step instructions on using Trainlink can be found here.

 
Training Data | April 2021
140 hours of training, 155 attendees, 32 counties represented,
12 hours of ICWA foundation trained by TTCP

Visit here to view the complete training report for April. Indian Child Welfare (ICWA) Foundation training is developed and provided by the Tribal Training and Certification Partnership (TTCP).

 
Staff Highlights
Jane Fields image

The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) would like to introduce Jane Fields, our new Evaluation and Credentialing Supervisor.

Jane has more than two decades of experience working with project leaders, staff members, participants, and communities in evaluating program designs, implementation, and impact as both an internal and external evaluator. She has worked with organizations to help them, for example, design logic models, surveys, and ongoing data collection systems in order for them to build their evaluation capacity
.
Learn more...

 
Updates

Coffee with Tracy and Liz
In order to better connect with workers and supervisors in all Minnesota counties, our co-directors will be hosting informal monthly gatherings simply to chat, ask questions, get feedback, etc. The conversation can be whatever is on your mind. The next chat is Wednesday, May 26 at 10:00 a.m. If you are interested, email info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.

Introduction to the Karen People Module Available
Introduction to the Karen People provides county caseworkers, service providers, and other professionals with an introduction to the Karen people who are moving to Minnesota as refugees from Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. You will learn about their history, culture, social norms, and how to best interact with this population. This lesson will take approximately 12-15 minutes to complete.

SSIS Coffee Talk
SSIS users are invited to join us Tuesday, May 25 at 9:00 a.m. as we discuss what’s ahead in SSIS Statewide Release v21.2. Registration is required and will remain open until the morning of the event. Please feel free to contact Heide Moris if you have questions.

 
Curriculum Development Update
We are excited to share curriculum development updates that include new course offerings and existing updates to curriculum course work that is in development. Please look for our monthly updates and reach out to the Curriculum Development Team if you have questions. Over the last few months Academy staff have developed and revised the following courses for virtual delivery.

The Legal Practice Skills (CSP8205A) course is designed to help child protection workers understand the role of the case worker in relation to other courtroom stakeholders. This includes understanding a case worker’s responsibilities, professional boundaries, and opportunities to collaborate. Ultimately, understanding roles, boundaries, and collaboration will allow caseworkers to provide holistic support to children and families.

In addition, Sexually Exploited Youth Overview (CSP239A), Responsive Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQI Youth (CSP239B), and Sexually Exploited Youth Human Trafficking Child Welfare Response (CSP239B) were updated and revised for virtual delivery. For descriptions of these courses, please see above and consider registering.

 
Child Welfare Workforce Wellbeing

The best way to thrive during these trying times is to find ways to take care of yourself. Following are several options that may be helpful:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA), 1711 County Road B West, Suite 200N, Roseville, MN 55113, United States

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The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) is a collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Safety and Permanency Division and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.


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