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New Worker Foundations: Learners Are Earning Their Miles!

As the Training Academy closes out our "Year of Flight" with the launch of both New Worker Orientation (January 2024) and New Worker Foundations (September 2024), we are so thankful for everyone who has been part of the process. This includes members of our Advisory Network, listening session participants over the past five years, Subject Matter Experts (representing professional and lived experiences), community partners, policy experts, agency and tribal supervisors and workers... the list goes on and on. 

Cohort 205 of Foundations, which started earlier this month, is the end of our external pilot offerings. Since our first training (Cohort 200), our Evaluation Team has been collecting and analyzing feedback from learners and observers. Later in 2025, we will use that feedback to make necessary adjustments and improvements to Foundations. We will share more information about that when it happens. 

Cohort 206 in Roseville is currently open for registration, and more cohorts will open soon. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, contact us anytime. 

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

Open seats are available in our trainings. Visit our Training Catalog to see them all. Upcoming trainings include:

New Worker Training

All new child protection workers should plan to take the following courses. Supervisors should assign these courses AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to ensure workers complete prerequisites and can enroll in their preferred cohort. Use this New Worker Checklist to help assign and monitor employee progress. 

New Worker Orientation: Self-Paced Modules (CWTA X110)

Ask new workers to finish this course in the first few days on the job, and remind them that they cannot register for the instructor-led course until this is complete. Please note that the final completion grade for this course will take 6-8 business days to post (this includes time for the DEI team to grade all IDI requirements at the end of the course). Workers will not be able to enroll in the Instructor-Led Enhancement course until the final completion grade shows up on their training record. Please have your workers plan accordingly.

New Worker Orientation: Instructor-Led Enhancement
(CWTA X111)

This four-hour virtual training is designed to enhance what was learned in the Orientation modules, rather than repeat the information. The goal is to provide experiential learning that shows how the content covered in Orientation intersects with worker practice through a case study. Trainers will guide learners through a series of activities, reflections, and discussions. This course is required to complete before you can register for New Worker Foundations (CWTA X113).

• January 7 | 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Virtual

• January 16 | 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Virtual

• January 21 | 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Virtual

• January 30 | 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Virtual

• February 4 | 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Virtual

• February 6 | 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Virtual

ICWA/MIFPA Foundations for New Workers (CWTA X219)

This training is brought to you by the University of Minnesota Duluth Tribal Training and Certification Partnership (TTCP). This is an introductory course to the basics of the history of ICWA and application of ICWA and MIFPA. This course is required to complete before you can register for New Worker Foundations (CWTA X113). 

• January 6-7 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Each Day | Roseville

The following options will open soon:

• January 16-17 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Each Day | Virtual

• February 6-7 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Each Day | Marshall

• February 10-11 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Each Day | Virtual

New Worker Foundations (CWTA X113)

This revised training is made up of self-paced, instructor-led (both in-person and virtual), and simulation.

• Cohort 206 | January 28 - May 8 | Roseville

The following cohorts will open soon:

• Cohort 207 | February 12 - May 15 | Duluth

• Cohort 208 | February 26 - May 14 | Marshall

• Cohort 209 | March 4 - June 18 | Roseville

• Cohort 210 | April 3 - June 18 | Detroit Lakes

• Cohort 211 | April 8 - July 2 | Owatonna

Specialty Training

Human Trafficking and Sexually Exploited Youth: Basic Training for Child Welfare (CWTA X205)

December 16 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Virtual

Assessing Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents (CWTA X220)

January 27-28 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Each Day | Roseville

February 5-6 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Each Day | Roseville

Permanency Regional Training (CWTA X402)

February 6 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Sherburne County Government Center

Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training

All MI Courses and Pathways are Now Available
All Motivational Interviewing (MI) courses and Pathways are now available for Minnesota county and tribal child protection workers and their supervisors. If you have questions about MI Training, contact our Training Implementation Specialist at mitraining@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.

Several upcoming Instructor-Led Workshops and Coaching Circles have availability! Explore the options in the Training Portal.

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

Questions about Attendance, Cancelation, or Registration?

Visit our Training Policies page. 

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.

Foster Parent Training Available

Licensors with resource parents that need training should learn more about Foster Parent College and the instructor-led Pre-Service Training offered by the Training Academy. The next cohort training begins on Thursday, December 19.

2025 CASCW Child Welfare Awards

Nominations now open!

Each year, the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) honors child welfare professionals, child welfare advocates, policy makers, and frontline professionals who make outstanding contributions to child welfare practice. The annual Child Welfare Awards is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the dedicated professionals who consistently demonstrate a commitment to working with families, who engage in strengths-based work, who focus on reducing disparities in the child welfare system, and who utilize research-supported practice.

Does this sound like anyone you know? Please consider nominating them for one or both of the 2025 Child Welfare Awards!

2025 Child Welfare Exemplary Service Award

2025 Outstanding Service Partner in Child Welfare Award

Read about past award winners on the CASCW website.

DCYF Survey Request

During the 2024 legislative session, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill requiring the commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to, in consultation with stakeholders, develop recommendations about the possibility of implementing a statewide child maltreatment reporting system in Minnesota.

DCYF is working with The Improve Group, a research and evaluation company, to help them gather input about the potential impacts of shifting to a centralized system in Minnesota. Your feedback is needed!

Individuals may choose one or both of the following options:

1. Complete a brief (<5 minutes), anonymous survey about experiences with reporting child abuse and neglect and thoughts about the effects of using a different type of system: https://theimprovegroup.questionpro.com/DCYFreportingsystem
2. Attend a 90-minute virtual listening session that includes individual reflection and small group discussion about potential impacts of implementing a statewide child maltreatment reporting and screening system in Minnesota. Registration is required and space is limited: https://theimprovegroup.questionpro.com/DCYFLSreg

Questions can be directed to Karissa Propson of The Improve Group, at karissap@theimprovegroup.com or 651-424-0703.

Employment Opportunities

Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA)

• Evaluation and Certification Specialist
  

• Community Trainers: Qualified Individual (QI)

• Community Trainers: Family Group Decision Making (FGDM)

• Community Trainers: Child Welfare and the Law

Visit our website to learn more about the opportunities.

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

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.