Alliance Course Catalog

This 90-minute in-service level course will help caregivers identify and support youth who are at risk for or are being commercially sexually exploited.  The training will provide a framework for understanding this issue that greatly impacts adolescents in the child welfare system, as well as for understanding the basic practices that support helping these youth reach positive outcomes. 

Learning Objectives:

• Know the legal definition of commercial sexual exploitation of children
• Understand how commercial sexual exploitation might happen to a youth
• Understand how experiencing commercial sexual exploitation may impact a youth
• Be able to spot signs that youth are at risk for becoming (or are) commercially sexually exploited
• Have strategies for caring for youth who are at risk for becoming (or have been) commercially sexually exploited

Participants will be engaged to consider their own thoughts, beliefs, and biases about mental illness; understand basic definitions associated with parental mental illness and child safety; and identify family assessment strategies that can focus on the intersection between parental mental illness and child safety. Additionally, ideas and tools for drafting effective case plans and objectives to achieve child safety with parental mental illness is a factor will also be discussed. Finally, participants will receive resources for services and interventions that promote the reduction of risk associated with parental mental illness and enhance protective factors for family well-being.

Support sessions are utilized to address a caregiver’s specific needs and build specific skills. Identified goals are created and progress toward those goals is measured by both the learner and the coach after the session. Prior to scheduling a support session, caregivers need to complete the class “Parenting a Native American Child: Partnering in the Interest of Culture for Caregivers (eLearning).”

This session provides in-depth support around specific topics identified by the caregiver as needed. The topics for this session may include:

1. Understanding ICWA, regulations, and expectations state staff must follow;
2. What is most important for caregivers to know (jurisdiction, Tribes’ voice in cases, connection for the child, etc.);
3. Placement preference;
4. Active Efforts;
5. QEW (Qualified Expert Witness);
6. LICWAC (Local Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committee); and
7. Permanency.

This Session for Caregivers builds upon information contained in Caregivers Core Training (CCT) and additional training around the importance of Family Time. Caregivers will learn their role in Family Time, including how they can support the child, and will more deeply understand the pivotal role that Family Time plays in supporting children’s relationships with birth families. Participants will gain skills to successfully team with others involved in the child’s Family Time, and will explore how to be a resource to birth families. This session includes activities that allow the caregiver to assess the effects of Family Time on the child(ren) in their care and create a plan to address any concerns which may arise in the futurere.

The Individual Skill Development for Discipline-Related Compliance Agreements session supports caregivers who are under DCYF Licensing Division Compliance Agreements for child/youth discipline issues. DCYF Licensing Division staff will typically refer caregivers to receive this session when Compliance Agreements are established for discipline concerns.

Caregivers will learn to identify and describe specific deficiencies as cited in the Compliance Agreement, demonstrate an understanding of the concerns to be addressed, and identify and build appropriate discipline strategies to mitigate areas of concern.

Caregiver will be able to develop a plan of action using appropriate discipline strategies to address the areas of concern and successfully complete the Compliance Agreement, demonstrate application and use of the action plan by describing changes made in their discipline approach, and assess the effects of the plan of action -- what works, needs changing, and opportunities for other adjustments as needed.

If it’s been a while since you cared for an infant or if you’ve never cared for one before, this is the class for you. This 2.5 hour webinar provides the basic information you’ll need to care for babies ages birth to 12 months and keep them safe. You will practice identifying the infant behaviors that are the clue to understanding your baby’s needs. You will then apply this knowledge with some of the fundamental tasks of infant care (holding, feeding, diapering, sleep and medical care) while considering how trauma may impact how you provide care in these areas. Finally, you will learn about elements of infant safety, including safe sleep and the Period of Purple Crying.

The Period of PURPLE Crying will provide social workers with an understanding of the importance of assessing for both prolonged crying in infancy and the caregiver’s ability to manage long periods of crying. Emphasis will be placed on safety in terms of the connection between prolonged crying and child abuse/neglect, as well as completion of the Period of PURPLE Crying Training Certification through dontshake.org (if not previously completed). The focus of this course is to provide instruction around assessment, and opportunities for demonstration, practice, and feedback pertaining to meeting the practice and policy requirements for this component of the Infant Safety Education and Intervention Policy.

Using objective evidence, recognizing patterns of behavior, considering families’ perspectives, and utilizing collaterals can improve decision-making in child welfare.  Skills to ensure incorporation of new information and to identify biases, including confirmation bias, will be examined in this course to improve decision making.

This is Session 1.2 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

Participants will learn critical information about how to make screening decisions using the standardized tools in FamLink – the sufficiency screen and the SDM for Intake. Participants will learn about the state definitions of child abuse and neglect, and the SDM Intake tool, which helps ensure accurate and consistent screening decisions for screened in CPS Intakes. During much of the training, participants will be applying what they have learned to a series of intake scenarios, and will receive feedback on their work.

This is Session 1.4 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This training will identify the problem of racial disproportionality in our state’s child welfare system, focusing on disproportionality at intake. The importance of Cultural competence for intake workers is presented, and practical tips related to Intake’s role in child welfare are provided. Participants will learn how they can work to best serve persons with Limited English Proficiency. Additionally, the training will provide guidance about Intake’s role in complying with the Indian Child Welfare Act and in supporting early identification of children who are Native American.

This is Session 1.6 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This brief e-leaning will orient you to some basic considerations related to screening intakes which involve licensed or other state regulated facilities.

This is Session 2.2 of the Intake In-Service course, which will support new staff working at Intake to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be effective in gathering and documenting information and in screening intakes. The course is divided into three modules which occur at different times during the employee’s first six months at Intake.

This e-learning will help you ask the screening questions most likely to provide you with information about domestic violence if its occurring, identify domestic violence based upon the information you have gathered, consider the impact of identified domestic violence on the child’s safety, and adequately document the information you obtain.

In this eLearning participants will review the stages of an adult FVS/CFWS interview and the information they need to gather in each stage; read a case summary; and view an interview with the parents related to the case.

This 3-hour in-service training for caregivers provides an introduction to the adoption process including the homestudy, adoption support, the legal process and steps to adoption. This training is open to all participants: those who have not taken Caregiver Core Training, those who have, and those who are using the training as a field placement. This training helps caregivers consider their decisions around public and private agencies and whether to foster to adopt or pursue adoption only.  The focus of the training is understanding the process including the emotional impacts of commitment, changing your family, grieving and attachment. 

The training will also give information about:

• open adoptions
• the placement process
• resources
• and more.

Introduction to Positive Discipline is a 2-hour in-service level training for foster, kinship and suitable adult caregivers. This introductory training will help caregivers learn the basic parenting approach of the Positive Discipline model by providing several group activities and discussions based in real life scenarios. Positive Discipline focuses on teaching valuable social and life skills to children instead of using any form of punishment, rewards, praise, permissiveness or logical consequences. Positive Discipline focuses on helping participants learn how to use effective discipline that is kind and firm, creates connection before correction, is empowering and encouraging to children to believe in their own capability, and keeps the joy in caregiving.

In addition to this introductory course, the Alliance invites caregivers to attend the full 12-hour Parenting the Positive Discipline Way training series.