Alliance Course Catalog

You made the choice to step in and provide care for a child when they needed it. This choice changed the day-to-day rhythms of your life, and the life of the child or children you are caring for. The changes that come with assuming full time care of a child bring with them a host of feelings and often added stressors. In this course, we will explore how this experience is impacting you and how to cope and care for yourself through the inevitable ups and downs. Then, we will shift our focus to understanding the feelings and behaviors the children are experiencing. It is common for them to have conflicting feelings about their parents, the situation and even you. We will consider how to accept their feelings, respond to their statements and questions, and support them as they navigate this. Lastly, we will review resources and sources of support, particularly support for children of all ages who are challenged by this transition and need support to not just survive but to thrive.

Regional Core Training (RCT) is Washington State’s foundational training designed to prepare newly hired social service specialists with the basic knowledge, skills, and understanding to begin their careers in public child welfare for the State of Washington, Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). RCT is a comprehensive training and coaching program containing multiple sessions which lay the foundation for continuous on-the-job learning and professional development critical to developing competent, confident, and effective child welfare professionals. RCT begins on a new employee’s date of hire, either the 1^st or the 16^th of each month.

RCT includes pre-service activities to be completed prior to the first classroom session, then eight weeks of instruction integrating both classroom and field-based learning. The third week of instruction takes place in Seattle, WA. All RCT cohorts statewide will come together for Child Interview, Adult Interview, and Court Testimony Simulation Training during week 3. Once registered, RCT participants and their supervisors will receive a detailed RCT Cohort Calendar from their assigned Alliance Coach. RCT Cohort Calendars will indicate classroom session dates, times, and locations; as well as mandatory field-based learning.

RCT consists of a cohesive developmental curriculum in which knowledge and skills are broadened and deepened, without any stand-alone sessions. New employees must complete all classroom sessions and field-based learning in order to complete the RCT course and be eligible to carry a full caseload.

RCT provides participants with blended learning opportunities, including classroom instruction, transfer of learning activities in the field, and 1:1 or small-group coaching. Woven throughout RCT are several critical concepts, integral to best practice in child welfare, and designed to maximize learning within context and with relevancy to the work:

• Child Safety, Permanency, and Wellbeing
• Critical Thinking
• Trauma-Informed Practice
• Disproportionality and Racial Equity in Child Welfare
• Cultural Competency/Cultural Humility
• Reflection and Recognizing Bias
• Documentation Skills in FamLink
• Program Specific Job Skills

This eLearning will teach the participant the steps to initiate and monitor efforts completed by the Relative Search unit.  When a child is in need of out of home care, the Department should be actively seeking placement of children with relatives. The centralized Relative Search unit assists staff to locate and identify relatives and this training will help staff learn about the process, required forms and how to gather detailed information from FamLink.