Alliance Course Catalog

This course is designed to teach social workers how to identify the service needs of families when trying to prevent out-of-home placement or to support reunification. Working through scenarios social workers actively engage in the decision-making process for appropriate services. Workers will learn the fundamentals of the referral process, engagement with providers and families as well as documentation.

Getting a new placement is a big transition, and there are many ways you can prepare for and navigate the process to make it as successful as possible for yourself, your family and the youth or child. This webinar addresses both the emotional elements to new placements and the practical details of requirements, paperwork, forms and expectations.

You will focus on four areas: Getting Ready; The First Day, Week and Month; Settling In; and Working With the System. You will share ideas with other participants around how to prepare for a new placement, including ways to make them feel comfortable and safety precautions to take. A big part of this training is understanding which forms you will receive and what they mean; what meetings, appointments or hearings you need to be aware of; and who the key players are during this time.

You will leave the training with an understanding of what is expected during the first 30 days of a new placement. You also will know how to access resources when you have questions – you will probably have many, but there is a great community of support available to you and the new child in your care.

LEARN is a suicide awareness training that helps participants identify and act on signs of suicide.  The training was developed in the School of Social Work by noted Suicidologist, Dr. Jennifer Stuber, and is based on best practices outlined by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). LEARN is designed to empower individuals to help others move in the direction of hope, recovery, and survival.

The “Supervising for Safety” series comprises three webinars and an eLearning that aim to support supervisors in the understanding and application of assessment tools and integration of these tools into their supervision. 

In this training you will consider how to support your staff in preventing and responding to safety threats in out of home care, and how integrating safety framework tools may help with this process.  We will review a variety of situations, from initial assessment of a prospective caregiver, to issues needing immediate response in a current placement, to low-level concerns that over time impact the quality of care. You will also learn how biases impact our ability to spot serious abuse by out of home or adoptive caregivers. Lastly, you will make plans to integrate strategies into your supervision practice that help ensure that everyone attached to a caregiving setting is gathering sufficient information to identify and respond to concerns early – increasing the chance that we prevent unsafe placements and that we intervene as early as possible when a safety threat does occur.

The “Supervising for Safety” series is mandatory for Area Administrators. This individual webinar is mandatory for CFWS and LD staff.

The “Supervising for Safety” series comprises three webinars and an eLearning that aim to support supervisors in the understanding and application of assessment tools and integration of these tools into their supervision. 

In this training you will consider how the safety framework helps us make decisions about whether a child needs to be removed from their parent(s).  We will also identify the legal and policy requirements that guide removal decisions. You will practice guiding a caseworker in applying the safety framework tools in their case and making a decision about whether a child needs to be removed from their home.  We will focus in particular on gathering questions, and on how to support caseworkers in obtaining sufficient, relevant information before we make an assessment of whether a child is safe. Lastly, you’ll consider how you can better integrate the child safety framework into your supervisory practice when approving or discussing removal decisions.

The “Supervising for Safety” series is mandatory for Area Administrators. This individual webinar is mandatory for CPS/FAR and LD staff.

Supervisor Core Training (SCT) provides the foundation for effective supervisory practice in the child welfare system. This program will prepare you to become comfortable in assuming your new role through learnings about what it means to be a supervisor in the child welfare system and understanding the new responsibilities of this position.

In this comprehensive and competency-based training program, you will have the opportunity to learn across multiple modalities including webinar, coaching, simulations, eLearnings and field-based activities. This lays the foundation for continuous on-the-job learning and professional development critical to your development as a competent, confident, and effective child welfare supervisor.

Throughout the classes, you will learn skills that you can take right back into your work, such as how to most efficiently use your time, and you will also tackle critical-thinking-focused topics such as how to build a strong team and how to work with your staff to ensure their continued growth.

At the close of Part 2.0 of SCT, you will be inspired and prepared to take on the challenges of this role and in a position to reap its rewards.

Coaching is an important piece of ongoing professional growth, presenting opportunities for personalized skill development and self-assessment. As a supervisor, this takes on added significance as the learnings are applicable to both you and your staff. “Supervisor Reflective Workshops” give you the chance to discuss with your peers coaching successes and barriers, helping you grow and improve.

The workshops are intended to be attended after the completion of the “Learner Centered Coaching Skills for Supervisors and Area Administrators” course and support the integration of the model into supervisory practice. The sessions provide an opportunity for peer discussion around implementation of coaching with your teams. You may work through practice barriers together, or hear how coaching is applied and supports clinical supervision.

Enhanced skill-development opportunities such as how to assess for identified practice barriers, the use of reflective questions, motivational Interviewing strategies/techniques, providing feedback and the use of tools in coaching will be facilitated based on feedback and requests made from each independent group. These workshops will also provide an opportunity for you to think about coaching support you may want to identify and work on with your assigned Alliance coach.

Treehouse Education Advocates work with schools, caregivers, social workers and youth in foster care statewide to resolve difficult issues and remove barriers to school success.

In this training, learn how to access education-related support services; including special education services; and how to advocate for youth who may experience discipline or behavioral issues at school. Treehouse facilitators will also discuss the importance of stabilizing school placements and the educational rights of students experiencing foster care. Finally, caregivers will have the opportunity to learn about the basics of establishing and maintaining positive school relationships in order to create educational success for children and youth in foster care.

Join us for another TBRI book club! “The Connected Parent” by Karyn Purvis and Lisa Qualls. Discussion will review TBRI principles and dive into practical parenting applications and real life strategies for understanding attachment, teaching respect, understanding sensory needs, adapting strategies for teens, and taking care of yourself.

Join us for Book Club! The CaRES team leads you through a reading and discussion of “Dancing with a Porcupine” by Jennie Owens.

“Dancing with a Porcupine” shares the compelling story of the author’s struggle to save her own life while caring for three children she and her husband adopted from foster care.

In three sessions across six weeks, you will discuss themes including: self-care; trauma-informed care; expectations and hurt feelings; compassion fatigue; and balancing real life with the outside pressure to look like you are doing it all well.

As a caregiver for a child in the foster care system, you are part of a parenting team. The courts, the social worker, CASA, GAL, medical team, therapists and the child’s biological family all have a role to play. Knowing what your role is and how to partner with the other members of the child’s team improves the child’s care, your experience as a foster parent, and the long-term outcomes of the placement. 

During this supportive facilitated discussion, we will talk about who the members of the child’s foster care team are and their roles, and identify ways to promote positive relationships with them. This will include a look at how to support family time and partnership with the biological/first family, and understanding the role of DCYF staff and how to positively partner with them for placement success. 

You will also identify the opportunities and limitations of the caregiver role in decision-making and planning.

Over the course of four sessions, you will develop strategies as a foster care teammate and help your fellow caregivers do the same.    

As a parent of an infant or toddler, the earliest development years are among the most critical to a child’s long-term development. Children under 2 who are in foster care often require supports and approaches that are not so typical for their peers. You will talk through their needs, develop strategies to address those needs, and identify the resources available to help you support the littlest lives in care. You will also be able to build community with other caregivers of kids under 2 to share resources, experiences and problem-solving strategies.

You have thought long and hard about what it means for you to be a foster parent. You may even have ideas of how many and what types of children you would like to welcome into your home. While you wait for your license or first placement to arrive, this facilitated discussion will help you consider some of the needs in the fostering community and how you are suited to meet them. You’ll work toward developing a set of parameters for accepting your first placements to promote a good fit for both you and the child(ren) placed in your care.