Welcome to The Acorn! Each month we share the latest trainings and resources available to child welfare professionals throughout Minnesota.
May is National Foster Care Month, and the Training Academy offers Minnesota families, counties, and tribes free access to curriculum and resources developed by the nationally recognized Foster Parent College (FPC). Learn more about the options here.
This past April we were excited to announce the selection of the Southeast Regional Learning Center in Owatonna, in partnership with Riverland Community College
and the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance (MNPrairie) located in Steele County. With this addition, the Training Academy now has four regional learning centers positioned throughout Minnesota.
We are also gearing up to pilot the new version of Mandated Reporter Training this month, which will include an overview of Mandated Reporting, Types of Maltreatment, and Making a Report. The online course will be made up of videos and short quizzes that will be viewed and completed online. A certificate will be available upon completion.
The courses below are now available for registration through the Minnesota Child
Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA) Training Portal. Go to our website, www.mnchildwelfaretraining.com, and then log-in to the Training Portal using the top-right navigation. From there, select the Training Catalog, where you will find course descriptions and links to register.
Current Workers and Supervisors
Signs of Safety Three Month Review (CWTA X207) May 16 | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Online
Family Group Decision Making: Overview and Facilitation (CWTA X202) June 6-7 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Each Day | Online
Human Trafficking and Sexually Exploited Youth: Basic Training for Child Welfare (CWTA X205) August 11 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Online Note: Several additional SEY dates have been posted, and registration will open in the months leading up to each training.
New Worker Training
Child Welfare Foundations Training (CWTA X100) Foundations training is only for new county and tribal workers, and is assigned by a supervisor or tribal leader through the Training Portal. Participants must be able to attend all dates/times.
Classroom 4: September 13-15 (9:00
a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Each Day)
*SSIS Labs will be held online.
Accommodation Requests If you need a reasonable accommodation to
participate in a training, contact us as soon as possible at info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.
Attendance 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.
Need to Cancel Your Registration? Our class sizes tend to be small and we often have a waiting
list. Follow the instructions here if you need to drop a course.
Help us welcome Sandra Vega Carrero, the new Curriculum Developer for the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy. Sandra is a Fulbright alumna devoted to e-learning and adult education. She is passionate about helping people learn
and grow, at all levels. She has worked in the educational field for over 10 years. Originally from Colombia, Sandra earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the Universidad Autonoma de Bucaramanga, and her master’s degree in educational technology from the University of Kansas. Learn more...
Other Training and Webinars
SSIS Mentor Coffee Talk The next SSIS Coffee Talk webinar -
Statewide Release v22.2 - is for both worker and fiscal mentors, and will take place on Tuesday, May 24 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. It will include an overview of changes impacting Northstar Adoption Assistance and Northstar Kinship Assistance. Registration is required and will close one hour prior to the event. Webinars will be recorded and posted for future reference. A full schedule can be found here.
Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) PACC is a cohort-based training that enhances permanency and adoption competence for professionals working across child welfare and mental health settings. The program offers over 70 Social Work Continuing Education Hours, including the 2 hours of Ethics required in Minnesota. Coursework is a hybrid of independent online learning, interactive classroom sessions, and case consultation. Training schedule, pace, and assignments are designed for participants with full-time employment. Learn more and apply now!
Phoenix Learning Xchange (PLX) PLX is a dynamic, interactive, multidisciplinary, non-credit, certificate program that aims to broaden the knowledge of the development, challenges, positive engagement, and wellbeing of youth and adolescents involved in the child welfare and other systems. The PLX certificate program incorporates face-to-face classroom instruction and discussion with online supplemental coursework and practice consultation
to guide the learning experience. Learn more and apply now!
Supporting Parents in their Recovery Journey Child welfare work includes supporting parents and caregivers in their recovery from the effects of mental illness and substance abuse. This hands-on workshop will walk you through how to use five very practical “meeting guides” for commonly experienced situations. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 25 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., and is hosted by the
Center for Practice Transformation and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, both at the University of Minnesota. Learn more and register here.
Social & Medical History Training The DHS Permanency Quality Assurance team will hold a WebEx-based training on children’s social and medical histories on June 8 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. If you have any questions, contact northstar.benefits@state.mn.us.
SSIS Child Protection Basics These courses are designed for new staff or support staff that enter data into SSIS and are offered outside of Child Welfare Foundations. This training is also available
for new SSIS Mentors and for those seeking a refresher. These classes can be taken as a series or individuals can pick and choose which course to take based on the work they do for their agency. The next series begins May 24-26. Register for one class or attend all three. Registration is through TrainLink and closes two days before the class start date. New workers who have not attended a class through TrainLink must first request a new Unique Key.
To find the SSIS Child Protection Worker course from TrainLink select Children’s Services from the list of Leaning Centers, click the Class
Schedule, and search under the category All SSIS Classes. Select the class date and class you wish to register for and click Enroll in this class or Join the Waitlist if the class is full. Trainees will receive additional information one week prior to training.
Employment Opportunities
The Training Academy is seeking applicants for the following positions:
Child Welfare Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist
Southeast Regional Staff Trainer
Visit our employment page to learn more about these opportunities.
