Where We're Headed...

The OCWTP's current initiatives include:

	Evaluation
	Core Revision
	Cultural Competence
	Distance Learning
	Foster & Adoption Training
	Evidence-Based Practice
	LMS, E-Track
	Orientation & Readiness
	Trainer Development
	University Partnership Program

Evaluation

According to the American Society for Training and Development and the Learning Resources Network, while most organizations (77%) measure the value of training using satisfaction surveys at the end of workshops, very few organizations (36%) try to measure the learning that occurs as a result of training; and even fewer (15%) attempt to measure if training resulted in a change of behavior. While the OCWTP has collected workshop satisfaction data since 1987, it is now one of the few statewide child welfare training programs to field test a process to measure the learning that occurs as a result of attending OCWTP workshops and then assess the transfer of learning from workshops to the agency workplace.

The OCWTP is currently:

• Conducting pre- and post testing in Caseworker and Supervisor/Manager Core workshops to measure learning, and collecting demographic data to help analyze pre- and post test results
• Developing indicators to help assess the transfer of learning from Core workshops to the agency workplace
• Evaluating several online courses to help determine if the OCWTP should continue to offer online training;
• Working with university-based researchers, child welfare professionals, and training experts to further revise the evaluation methodology to ensure it strikes the right balance between what is required in field-based evaluation research and what is feasible and practical in a statewide training system servicing 88 county agencies

Return to Top of Page

Core Revision

The OCWTP began revising its Caseworker and Supervisor/Manager Core Curricula in 2004. As a result of the feedback gathered from Ohio's child welfare professionals and extensive literature reviews, the revised Caseworker and Supervisor/Manager Core now incorporates:

• Current research and best practice
• More content on current child welfare issues, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and diversity in the work force
• Skill-building activities, including pre- and post training assignments, post training reminders to practice new skills, and learning labs
• Increased use of current training technologies, including PowerPoint and the Classroom Performance System (CPS) -- a technology that makes training an interactive and dynamic process for all learners while providing trainers with immediate feedback to meet learning needs
• Enhanced evaluation components that measure learning and application on new skills

Return to Top of Page

Cultural Competence

The OCWTP has been working to address cultural issues that impact the OCWTP and the child welfare system.  ”Diversity Among Us” was the theme for the 2007 OCWTP Trainer Event, which included trainings on MEPA, ethics and cultural awareness, avoiding cultural faux pas, and training with immigrant and refugees in mind. The OCWTP also recently partnered with a cartographer to create demographic maps for Ohio’s eight Regional Training Centers to assist in developing trainings that address the diverse needs of their regions.  An online diversity survey was  developed and distributed early in 2007 to OCWTP trainers to capture census data on our trainer pool and to identify awareness, knowledge, and skills  needed by our trainers to enhance their ability to provide culturally competent trainings.

Return to Top of Page

Distance Learning

The OCWTP is currently offering several distance learning courses, with more in the process of being developed and piloted.  Ohio’s foster and adoptive parents can now take online courses via the Foster Parent College, which offers a collection of self-directed courses on a range of topics important to caregivers.  Professionals responsible for providing services to Indian children and their families have access to an online course outlining the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Return to Top of Page

Foster and Adoption Training

The OCWTP has recently completed five of nine curricula planned for the Foster Care Fundamentals training series. The five completed courses address crisis de-escalation, discipline, working with primary families, attachment, and the effects of fostering on the caregiving family.  Under development are two curricula designed to address child development and caring for children who have been sexually abused. The remaining two being planned will address cultural issues in placement and the foster caregiver’s role on the child welfare team.

A major initiative of the OCWTP’s Foster and Adoption Unit has been the development of skill-building resources. A new learning lab is now available to help assessors practice using the Casey Family Program's family assessment online tools. In addition, post-training skill-building assignments were developed for the Assessor Training Series. The assignments are designed to not only help staff apply what they learn in training when they return to work, but to provide the supervisor with easy-to-use tools for coaching some of the essential skills adoption assessors need to use.  Another resource currently being developed is a pocket tool called the Family Interview Guide. The guide includes suggested interview questions, along with signposts of a family’s functioning within each assessment category, to help new assessors as they learn how to assess a family’s readiness to foster or adopt.

Return to Top of Page

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

Return to Top of Page

LMS, E-Track

The OCWTP is gearing up for a projected 2008 rollout of its first ever online learning management system (LMS), E-Track. E-Track will allow OCWTP trainees instant access to their individual training records; the ability to search and register for training; the ability to launch OCWTP-specific online learning modules; the ability to complete online individual training needs assessments, in congress with their supervisor, and be presented with an instant list of available learning interventions and resources to meet their needs; and the ability to complete online evaluations and receive instant digital certificates after completion of training.

E-Track will allow OCWTP trainers instant access to their calendar of currently contracted trainings; the ability to view their own individual trainer development plans; and the ability to search and register for online and classroom trainer development workshops.

E-Track will allow RTCs the ability to gather instant aggregate training needs data to track trends and plan future training; the ability to create, edit, populate, and track learning interventions online; and the ability to instantly access trainers available and approved to train a specific workshop.

Finally, E-Track will allow the state training coordinator (IHS) the ability to develop and launch online learning modules and blended learning; to specifically monitor the ongoing development of its vast trainer pool; to track overall training trends within counties, regions, or across the state; to collect much more specific evaluative feedback on its training's effectiveness; and to streamline the release and delivery of pre- and post training resources.

Return to Top of Page

Orientation and Readiness

The OCWTP has developed competencies and content outlines for new employee orientation and new caseworker and supervisor/manager readiness training. The orientation course is designed to orient new staff to the overall field of child welfare and to their specific agency. The readiness courses are designed to help orient new caseworkers and supervisors to their new jobs. The next step the OCWTP will undertake is to develop content for all three courses as asynchronous on-line courses. This will allow counties to access the courses exactly when they need them.

Return to Top of Page

Trainer Development

The OCWTP is gathering crucial information from its trainer pool via a three-part online survey.  The data gathered will be used to compile demographic information about Ohio’s child welfare trainers; assess trainers' development needs; and to get a "snapshot" of the cultural make up of the trainer pool, as well as their expertise in training about various cultural groups. 

Return to Top of Page

University Partnership Program

The University Partnership Program (UPP) is a unique partnership among the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio’s public universities' schools of social work, the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, Ohio’s 88 PCSAs, and the Ohio Child Welfare Training program.  A major goal for the UPP is to address Ohio’s child welfare staffing shortages by increasing the number of BSW and MSW graduates entering the child welfare workforce. BSW seniors and MSW candidates admitted to the UPP are required to take two specialized child welfare courses and complete one year internships at an Ohio PCSA.  In order for graduates to be eligible to receive $5,000 per year of UPP participation, they must secure full time employment in direct services at an Ohio PCSA within 180 days of graduation.

Return to Top of Page