Quarterly Training Catalog
Transcription
Quarterly Training Catalog
Child Welfare Academy Quarterly Training Catalog Winter 2015 http://www.windrushonline.com/bigfalls.jpg Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 1 Table of Contents A partnership of the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) The University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMB SSW) Training Program is authorized to sponsor social work continuing professional education credits by the Maryland State Board of Social Work Examiners. CWA Training opportunities are open to Maryland State Department of Human Resources Child Welfare Staff and Resource Parents. Child Welfare Academy 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 410.706.3637 www.family.umaryland.edu/cwa 2 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 3 Newsworthy Notes 4 On the Horizon 5 Pre-Service CompetencyBased Training 6 Pre-Service Training Schedule 7 CPE Training Opportunities 8 Continuing Education Workshops 9 Workshop Series 10 New! Continuing Education Offerings 11 Webinars 14 Continuing Education Workshop Schedule (January, February, March) 20 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Newsworthy Notes Inclement Weather Policy In the event of inclement weather the training schedule will follow the Maryland State Government delay and closings. If the MD state government has liberal leave, the training is cancelled. If the MD state government has a delayed opening, training will follow the delay time frame. This new policy affects all trainings (Pre-Service and In-Service) held in Baltimore at the School of Social Work as well as regionally in the local departments. Please check the CWA’s Delay/ Cancellation Line at 410-706-3637. Option 5 will provide a daily announcement related to either Pre-Service or In-Service training by 6:30 am. *Please note that a separate attendance policy applies to Pre-Service Training. Participants will receive notification of the policy with their registration confirmation notice. http://wanderinglili.blogspot.com/2012/02/here-comes-snow-maybe-baltimore-md.html Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 3 On The Horizon The Child Welfare Academy is excited to announce that a new and improved course registration system is in development. CWA participants will soon be able to establish a personal account, thereby increasing efficiency, accessibility and control over the registration process. Under the new system, participants will have the ability to view a full calendar of all upcoming courses, register for multiple classes at one time and maintain a history of their past and upcoming classes. Be on the lookout for future announcements regarding setting up and accessing your personal account. 4 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Pre-Service Competency-Based Training Process for Pre-Service Registration Pre-Service Training is required by Maryland Law for new employees providing child welfare services. New staff should be registered for Pre-Service Training as soon as possible after beginning employment and are expected to attend the Pre-Service cycle for which they have been registered. The training consists of topical areas referred to as modules. Module Foundations of Practice I Module Indications and Dynamics II of Abuse and Neglect Module Engaging Children and III Families Module Conducting Family IV Centered Assessments Module Planning with the Family V Module Working Effectively with VI the Court So that pre-service needs are addressed in a timely fashion, new child welfare employees are registered for Pre-Service Training by local DSS Personnel Liaisons as soon as possible after beginning employment. In some cases, employees have been able to begin pre-service training within days of beginning their employment, resulting in trained staff being available more quickly to provide services to the families and children served by DHR. The Training Program will confirm enrollment and provide directions for registered trainees. Pre-Service Training and Testing Accommodations The Child Welfare Academy is committed to providing training to a diverse group of child welfare professionals. Included in this group are qualified staff that have impairments, functional limitations, and/or disabilities. DHR and the Academy wish to facilitate the training of such staff and make reasonable accommodations in order to promote learning and performance. All staff who attend the Academy’s Pre-Service Competency Training may submit requests for possible accommodations to the Examination Services Unit within the DHR to determine whether accommodations are appropriate and to what extent they will be provided. DHR will review accommodation requests and notify the Academy when supportive services are needed. The Department of Human Resources and the Child Welfare Academy are committed to providing a training environment that enables all participants to be successful. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and to ensure accessibility to all staff, please contact your LDSS Personnel Liaison or DHR’s Examination Services Unit if you have questions or are in need of any accommodations. The contact number for the Examinations Services Unit is 410-767-7414. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 5 Pre-Service Training Schedule LDSS Personnel Liasons, to register CLICK HERE or go to http://cf.umaryland.edu/ssw_online/calendar.cfm?audience=CWAPS Cycle 5-15 01/06 Cycle 6-15 02/24 01/07 01/08 CHESSIE 02/25 02/26 CHESSIE Module II 01/12 ONLINE 01/14 01/15 01/16 03/02 ONLINE 03/04 03/05 03/06 Module III 01/20 ONLINE 01/21 01/22 01/23 CHESSIE 03/09 ONLINE 03/10 03/11 03/12 CHESSIE Module IV 01/26 ONLINE 01/27 CHESSIE 01/28 CHESSIE 01/29 CANS 03/16 ONLINE 03/17 CHESSIE 03/18 CHESSIE 03/23 CANS Module V 02/02 ONLINE 02/03 02/04 02/05 RP 02/06 CHESSIE 03/24 ONLINE 03/25 03/26 03/27 RP 03/30 CHESSIE Module VI 02/09 02/10 02/11 03/31 04/01 04/02 Comprehensive 02/12 Test 04/06 Module I Newly hired staff should be registered to attend one entire cyle of training. NOTE: Starting August 2013, CANS will be held on Day 4 of Module IV. 6 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 CPE Training Opportunities Additional training opportunities with the School of Social Work’s Continuing Professional Education Program The school of Social Work’s Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Program offers training on a number of topics relevant to social workers. Some of the workshops offered have been identified by the Child Welfare Academy (CWA) as appropriate to meet the unique continuing education needs of veteran child welfare workers, supervisors, and administrators. The approved workshops were selected based on content related to knowledge, skills, and competencies identified by the Child Welfare Academy and the Maryland Department of Human Resources as important and relevant for child welfare professionals who have completed preservice training and core foundation courses offered by CWA. Specialized, competency-based child welfare education and professional development are central to developing and maintaining a skilled and committed child welfare workforce. The combination of CWA in-service courses and approved CPE courses provides child welfare staff with a full array of training options to meet their ongoing professional development needs. Each local Department of Social Services has been allocated a specific number of slots for CPE approved workshops, and has an assigned agency coordinator who must approve and register participants. Individuals who are interested in attending an approved CPE course should contact the assigned agency coordinator or administrator in their local department for approval. A full listing of approved course can be found at: http://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/cpe/ Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 7 Continuing Education Workshops Registration Process for Continuing Education Workshops All registration for Continuing Education Workshops must be completed online. Electronic confirmations will be forwarded immediately upon receipt of registration. A to Z Listing of Courses http://cf.umaryland.edu/ssw_online/index.cfm Beyond the Basics Workshops Child Welfare workers who have completed Pre-Service Training should note the following workshops that are being offered this quarter: • A Journey to Remember: Supporting Clients Who are on the Road To Recovery • Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Interviewing Skills Workshop • Advanced FIM Facilitation: Strategies for Managing Challenging Behavior • Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE)Supervisor’s Training • Advanced FIM Facilitation: Techniques for Reframing Strengths and Concerns • • Alternative Response Skills and Practice Supporting Permanency: Debunking Myths, Engaging Youth and Beginning Family Finding • • Assessment, Diagnosis and • Intervention for Mentally and Physically Impaired Caregivers and their Children as Victims of Exploitation • Beyond Meditation: Mindfulness in the Workplace The Dynamics of Maltreatment and the Impact on Interviewing Calendar View of Courses http://cf.umaryland.edu/ssw_online/calendar. cfm?audience=Inservice Process for Online Continuing Education Registration Correct email addresses for both the registrant and supervisor are required. After registration, the individual and his/her supervisor will be sent an email confirmation. The individual and supervisor will be sent a SECOND CONFIRMATION 1 week prior to the class. Cancellation Process for Continuing Education Workshops Child Welfare employees who register for training but who do not attend, for whatever reasons, may prevent those on a waiting list from advancing on the list and ultimately obtaining a seat in the training session. Please recognize the importance and value of cancelling in advance. If employees are registered to attend more than one workshop and must cancel, cancellation of each workshop is required. Cancellation notices should come to the Child Welfare Academy by way of email to: cwatraining@ssw.umaryland.edu 8 • The Dynamics of Sexual Abuse and the Impact on Safety and Service Planning Trans-Racial Placements: Preparing and Supporting Families, ½-day • Coaching Training • Trauma Informed Casework • Conducting Screening Assessments: Seeing Reporters as Resources • Trauma Survivors as Parents • Understanding the Association Between Foster Care and Human Sex Trafficking, ½-day • Using Critical Thinking to Enhance Child Welfare Assessments • Enhancing Your Credibility in Court • FIM Facilitation, 3-day • From Good to Great: Maximizing Skills to Enhance • AR Practice • How Grief and Loss Impact Everyone in the Foster Care World • Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics, Assessment and Intervention Strategies • Safety Awareness for Child Welfare Professionals • Secondary Traumatic Stress • Signs of Safety (SoS) Assessing and Planning Using the SoS Framework: Experienced Worker and Supervisor Training • Signs of Safety (SoS) - The Supervisor’s Role in Implementation Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 WEBINAR - Cues and Miscues: How Attachment Impacts the Way Kids in Care Communicate • WEBINAR - Is this Normal? Understanding Sexual Development and Behavior in Children • WEBINAR - Prescription Drug Misuse/Abuse and Child Welfare Practice • Whose Child is it Anyway? The Challenges of Reunification • Writing Skills for Excellent Case Documentation Courses in blue denote New! offerings. Workshop Series The Child Welfare Academy has workshops that are offered in a series to enable a deeper and broader understanding of topics of interest to our participants. While some series can be taken in any order, some trainings are designed to be in a special order so that we can build upon concepts introduced in prior offerings. Participants must register for each workshop separately. Below are the workshops that are part of a series being held during the Winter of 2015. Child Protection Trauma The Dynamics of Maltreatment and the Impact on Interviewing January 27, 2015, Talbot County DSS The Dynamics of Sexual Abuse and the Impact on Safety and Service Planning March 18, 2015, Anne Arundel County DSS Working with Offenders April 8, 2015, UMB SSW Advanced CPS Interviewing June 10, 2015, UMB SSW Trauma Informed Casework (must be taken first) January 29, 2015, Howard County DSS February 3, 2015, Somerset County DSS February 12, 2015, UMB SSW March 18, 2015, UMB SSW Trauma Survivors as Parents March 17, 2015, Frederick County DSS Secondary Traumatic Stress January 9, 2015, UMB SSW March 13, 2015, Harford County Child Protection encompasses many elements to ensure all persons involved with the case including the caseworker, victim, offender, non-offending caregiver, and other children in the family have a clear understanding of the situation and are able to work together to create a safe environment and ultimately strengthen the family unit. This series will address elements related to enhancing a caseworker’s interviewing skills, safety and service planning, and working with offenders. Participants are encouraged to take each class in this series in the order listed. Please be advised that the following courses must be taken prior to the Advanced Interviewing class: Dynamics of Maltreatment and the Impact on Interviewing; Dynamics of Child Sexual Abuse and the Impact on Safety and Service Planning; and Working with Offenders. The Trauma Training Series is designed to support the goals of safety, permanency and well-being by providing child welfare professionals with a solid understanding of the impact of trauma on children, families and child welfare professionals, and the importance of creating a trauma-informed system of care. Through a series of four complementary courses, professionals will learn about the relationship between attachment, trauma, and brain development, the impact of trauma across domains of development and on daily functioning, and how to reframe behaviors, develop case plans, and design strategies for working with children and families using a trauma-sensitive lens. In order to derive the greatest benefit, participants are encouraged to take the courses in the order listed. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 9 New! Continuing Education Offerings Whose Child is it Anyway? The Challenges of Reunification January 29, 2015, Frederick County DSS • 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs When a child is removed from his/her family due to abuse or neglect, the preferred permanency option is safe and timely family reunification. Because the majority of children who leave foster care are in fact reunited with their families, it is important to consider the factors and practices that support successful reunification, as well as those that might impede success. Child welfare workers, who are charged with maintaining the safety, permanency and well-being of children in care, must manage the inherently conflictual relationships among all parties. Resource parents have often formed deep emotional bonds with the children in their care and are reluctant to return a child to the very same family that occasioned the trauma. Likewise, both the family of origin and the child will likely grapple with mixed emotions and experience multiple challenges as a child transitions home. DSS workers must address their personal feelings around a given case that may run counter to the Department’s plan. This workshop will explore roles and responsibilities of the adults involved in the foster care system in supporting permanency outcomes and family reunification. Trans-Racial Placements: Preparing and Supporting Families, ½-day February 19, 2015, Howard County DSS • 9:00 am - 12:15 pm • 3 CEUs Families who adopt a child of a different race or from another culture are confronted with a unique set of issues and concerns that require careful thought, preparation and ongoing education. This seminar is designed for professionals working with families who intend to adopt trans-racially or transculturally. It will provide information and strategies when working with parents to help them evaluate their readiness to embrace a multi-racial/multi-cultural family identity. It will also help professionals to prepare families for the realities and ongoing challenges of adopting trans-racially/trans-culturally to increase the likelihood of a smooth transition and successful placement. How Grief and Loss Impact Everyone in the Foster Care World February 24 2015, Prince George’s County DSS • 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This workshop will explore how the inevitable grief that arises when foster care becomes necessary affects all stakeholders within the foster care world. Common grief behaviors in infants, children, adolescents, birth and resource parents as well as the myriad professionals who work with them, wil be examined. Program content will explore the following topics: specific types of grief related to foster care issues; common myths about grief; consequences of multiple loss experiences; developmental understanding and coping; specific stakeholder responses; adult side effects; and resources for help. 10 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Webinars Prescription Drug Misuse/Abuse and Child Welfare Practice January 13, 2015, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Webinar, Online Prescription drug use is becoming increasingly more common among families and can bring clear benefits when used as intended. Unfortunately, prescribed medications can also result in significant harm when used in ways that are not approved, resulting in addiction, impaired functioning across multiple domains, and possibly even death. The abuse of prescription medication can negatively impact the ability of parents in the child welfare system to provide loving and appropriate care to their children. Child welfare workers must have information and tools to educate families, assess possible misuse/abuse, and intervene when appropriate to ensure the safety and well-being of the children they serve. Participants in this webinar will learn ways to assess possible prescription drug abuse from a family-centered, strengths-based perspective, as well as ways to intervene and support the family when needed. The impact of substances on parenting skills and abilities will be explored, and ways to keep children and teens safe will be reviewed. In addition, participants will learn strategies for educating families about prescription misuse/abuse to better ensure that they reduce risk and harm within the family system. Presented by Ken Dickinson, MS, RHP Gaudenzia Ken Dickinson has been with Gaudenzia since 2007 and is responsible for all aspects of client recruitment. Mr. Dickinson is a registered pharmacist. He enjoys a national reputation as a lecturer and advocate in the areas of addiction and behavioral health. He is a Trainer for the Institute for Research, Education, and Training in Addictions (IRETA) as well as the North Eastern Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NEATTC). Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 11 Webinars Cues and Miscues: How Attachment Impacts the Way Kids in Care Communicate February 2, 2015, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Webinar, Online Secure attachments develop when caregivers are available, responsive, and sensitive to the needs of their children. Children with secure attachments who are raised in loving homes typically learn early on how to express their feelings and needs directly, and to pair their feelings with an event. Cues (or signals) are used to communicate specific wants or needs, and an attuned caregiver responds by meeting that need in a timely and sensitive manner. In contrast, children with a history of maltreatment often have attachment challenges, behavioral issues, and difficulty expressing their needs and feelings in healthy and appropriate ways. These children sometimes miscue, sending contradictory or misleading messages to their caregivers. Their caregivers may respond in harmful ways; reinforcing rejecting, neglectful and possibly abusive patterns of interaction. These interactions may leave both the caregiver and child feeling confused, angry, hurt, misunderstood and frustrated. This webinar will examine how communication is adversely http://mommylife.net/archives/2010/ 01/22/child% 20thinking.jpg affected by attachment challenges, resulting in a cycle of unhealthy caregiver-child interactions. Participants will learn how to recognize miscues in children, as well as the various defensive coping strategies that children with a history of trauma use in order to protect themselves from further hurt and harm. Practical strategies for intervening and helping children learn to communicate their true feelings and needs constructively. Participants will also learn ways to help caregivers apply attachment-based parenting strategies to better create a healing environment for the children in their care. Presented by Louise Fleischman, LCSW-C Anchor Counseling and Training, LLC 12 Louise Fleischman is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience helping individuals, families, and children. She specializes in helping families provide a nurturing environment for children with histories of early trauma and attachment challenges. Ms. Fleischman is a nationally known trainer on attachment disorders, adoption, older child placement issues, and behavior management strategies. She has designed numerous workshops on clinical and practice issues and is a guest speaker for parent support groups in the public and private sectors. Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Webinars Is This Normal? Understanding Sexual Development and Behavior in Children March 10, 2015, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Webinar, Online While discussing sexuality can be uncomfortable, understanding age appropriate sexual development and behavior in children can play a significant role in preventing sexual abuse and victimization. Sometimes it is difficult to discern when sexual behavior is natural and healthy, and when it may be indicative of a problem or disturbance. In order to maintain the safety and well-being of children, child welfare professionals must be able to recognize what behaviors are developmentally appropriate at different ages and stages, and what might signal that a child has been sexually abused or is victimizing others. In this webinar, participants will learn about “normal” sexual behaviors and developmental patterns in children, as well as signs and symptoms that may be cause for concern. They will be provided with strategies for educating both children and caregivers about typical sexual development so that they can better support healthy attitudes and behaviors. Presented by Carolyn C. Finney, LCSW-C Director, Programs and Services The Family Tree, Inc. Carolyn Finney, is the Director of Programs and Services at The Family Tree, Inc. Her responsibilities include oversight of program development, implementation and quality assurance for all The Family Tree programs. Prior to joining The Family Tree, Ms. Finney worked as Director of Community and Family Services for the Woodbourne Center. In this position she had oversight of outpatient and in-home mental and behavioral health services. She has also held positions at the Maryland Office of Child Care Administration, and the Maryland State Department of Juvenile Justice. Ms. Finney has designed and presented numerous trainings, workshops and other presentations on local, state and national level. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 13 Continuing Education Workshops January 2015 14 6 Conducting Screening Assessments: Seeing Reporters as Resources Frederick County DSS 100 East All Saints Street Frederick, MD 21705 8 Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics, Assessment and Intervention UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 9 Secondary Traumatic Stress UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 13 Enhancing Your Credibility in Court UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 13 WEBINAR - Prescription Drug Misuse/Abuse and Child Welfare Practice New! 13 Understanding the Association Between Foster Care and Human Sex Trafficking, ½-day Montgomery County DHHS 1301 Piccard Drive Rockville, MD 20874 14 Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Interviewing Skills Workshop UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 15 Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Supervisor's Training UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 15 A Journey to Remember: Supporting Clients Who Are on the Road To Recovery UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 21 Advanced FIM Facilitation: Strategies for Managing Challenging Behaviors Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Online Prince George’s County DSS 925 Brightseat Road Landover, MD 20785 Continuing Education Workshops January 2015 23 Alternative Response Skills and Practice 27 The Dynamics of Maltreatment and the Impact on Interviewing 27-28 UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Coaching Training Talbot County DSS 301 Bay Street Easton, MD 21601 UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 29 Trauma Informed Casework Howard County DSS 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia, MD 21046 29 Whose Child is it Anyway? The Challenges of Reunification New! Frederick County DSS 100 East All Saints Street Frederick, MD 21705 Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 15 Continuing Education Workshops February 2015 16 2 WEBINAR - Cues and Miscues: How Attachment Impacts the Way Kids in Care Communicate New! 3 Trauma Informed Casework Somerset County DSS 30397 Mt. Vernon Rd Princess Anne, MD 21853 4 A Journey to Remember: Supporting Clients Who Are On The Road To Recovery Washington County DSS 122 N. Potomac Street Hagerstown, MD 21741 5 Using Critical Thinking to Enhance Child Welfare Assessments Charles County DSS 200 Kent Avenue LaPlata, MD 20646 6 Signs of Safety (SoS) - Assessing and Planning for Experienced Worker and Supervisor Training Howard County DSS 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia, MD 21046 12 Trauma Informed Casework UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 18 Writing Skills for Exceptional Case Documentation UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 19 From Good to Great: Maximizing Skills to Enhance AR Practice New! Harford County DSS 2 S. Bond Street Bel Air, MD 21014 19 Trans-Racial Placements: Preparing and Supporting Families, ½-day New! 20 Understanding the Association Between Foster Care and Human Sex Trafficking, ½-day Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Online Howard County DSS 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia, MD 21046 UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Continuing Education Workshops February 2015 24 How Grief and Loss Impact Everyone in the Foster Care World New! Prince George’s County DSS 925 Brightseat Road Landover, MD 20785 24 Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics, Assessment, and Intervention Anne Arundel County DSS 7500 Ritchie Highway Glen Burnie, MD 21061 25 Safety Awareness for Child Welfare Professionals Talbot County DSS 301 Bay Street Easton, MD 21601 25 Supporting Permanency: Debunking Myths, Engaging Youth, and Beginning Family Finding Calvert County DSS 200 Duke Street Prince Frederick, MD 20678 Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 17 Continuing Education Workshops March 2015 3 3-5 18 Using Critical Thinking to Enhance Child Welfare Assessments Montgomery County DHHS 1301 Piccard Drive Rockville, MD 20874 FIM Facilitation, 3-day UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 5 Signs of Safety (SoS) - The Supervisor’s Role in Implementation 10 WEBINAR - Is this Normal? Understanding Sexual Development and Behavior in Children New! 12 Enhancing Your Credibility in Court 13 Secondary Traumatic Stress 17 Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics, Assessment, and Intervention UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 17 Trauma Survivors as Parents Frederick County DSS 100 East All Saints Street Frederick, MD 21705 18 Safety Awareness for Child Welfare Professionals Cecil County DSS 170 E. Main Street Elkton, MD 21921 18 The Dynamics of Sexual Abuse and the Impact on Safety and Service Planning Anne Arundel County DSS 7500 Ritchie Highway Glen Burnie, MD 21061 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Howard County DSS 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive Columbia, MD 21046 Online UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Harford County DSS 2 S. Bond Street Bel Air, MD 21014 Continuing Education Workshops March 2015 18 Trauma Informed Casework UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 19 Advanced FIM Facilitation - Techniques for Reframing Strengths and Concerns Frederick County DSS 100 East All Saints Street Frederick, MD 21705 25 From Good to Great: Maximizing Skills to Enhance AR Practice New! Washington County DSS 122 N. Potomac Street Hagerstown, MD 21741 26 A Journey to Remember: Supporting Clients Who are on the Road to Recovery UMB SSW 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201 27 Assessment, Diagnosis and Intervention for Mentally and Physically Impaired Caregivers and their Children as Victims of Exploitation Prince George’s County DSS 925 Brightseat Road Landover, MD 20785 31 Beyond Meditation: Mindfulness in the Workplace One Stop Job Center 31901 Tri-County Way, Suite 117 Salisbury, MD 21804 Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 19 A to Z Workshop Descriptions A Journey to Remember: Supporting Clients Who are on the Road to Recovery January 15, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 4, 2015, Washington County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 26, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Explore the Caseworker’s role in supporting clients who are struggling to achieve health and recovery from substance abuse and/or mental health disorders. This training will help workers understand the individual and family dynamics, theories, treatment modalities and helpful engagement approaches for clients struggling with substance abuse and/or mental health disorders. Workers will have a better understanding of how these two dynamics can be intertwined, and how co-morbidity may complicate the process of recovery. Through discussion and activities, workers will be equipped to weave together their roles as motivator/supporter with their protective authority to foster better relationships and outcomes for clients. 20 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Advanced FIM Facilitation: Strategies for Managing Challenging Behaviors January 21, 2015, Prince George’s County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This training session will address a wide range of challenging behaviors that facilitators encounter during Family Involvement Meetings (FIMS) including hostility, monopolizing, nonparticipation, ramblers, unpreparedness and mental health dynamics. Attendees will be introduced to several skills and strategies for managing these behaviors and through practice, examine which strategies are most effective for addressing specific situations. Advanced FIM Facilitation: Techniques for Reframing Strengths and Concerns March 19, 2015, Frederick County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Drawing on core concepts from the Signs of Safety Model, attendees will explore strategies for reframing concerns in a concise and meaningful way that directly relates to safety and welfare. Attendees will also examine solution focused strategies that can be used to help FIM participants articulate strengths that are more focused on resources and supports. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions Alternative Response Skills and Practice January 23, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This specialized training is open for registration to CPS, Screening, Family Preservation, InHome workers and supervisors. The training will build from the information shared in the general overview training and skills developed in the prerequisite Assessing and Planning for Risk and Safety training. The course reinforces the philosophy of Family Centered Practice with focus on the skills needed and new procedures required for successful delivery of an Alternative Response with families. Knowledge and skill development areas will include: Engagement and Communication, Assessment, Cultural Competence, Partnering, Advocacy, Community Collaboration and Resource utilization. Participants also receive instruction on new processes and procedures for MD CHESSIE and Alternative Response documentation. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online Assessment, Diagnosis and Intervention for Mentally and Physically Impaired Caregivers and their Children as Victims of Exploitation March 27, 2015, Prince George’s County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This workshop provides strategies for assisting, assessing, and intervening with families when the caregivers have mental, medical, or intellectual disabilities that impair their ability to provide adequate care. Strategies for working with children and caregivers will be covered. Also covered are strategies for dealing with exploitive partners and building family and community supports. The training will include lecture, PowerPoint slides, video, and case examples that will promote building targeted assessment and intervention skills. Key concepts include, but are not limited to: conditions, disorders, disability, impairment, unrealistic expectations, support resources, intellectual development disorder, promoting compliance, and borderline intellectual functioning. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 21 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Beyond Meditation: Mindfulness in the Workplace March 31, 2015, One Stop Job Center, Salisbury 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs For many, the workplace is a highly stressful environment, leaving little time for self-reflection or emotional rest. According to mindfulness pioneer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is a practice that involves paying focused attention, on purpose, without judgment, to the present moment. The benefits of mindfulness to overall health, happiness and well-being are many. Practicing mindfulness has been shown to help with depression, anxiety, sleep and eating disorders, phobias, relationship challenges, and overall stress management. Mindfulness helps to dampen the part of the brain that causes us to act out of fear, anxiety and anger, while strengthening those parts of the brain related to attention, focus, emotional regulation, cognition and memory. When we are out of touch with our feelings and the thinking patterns that trigger anxiety and stress, we operate from a flight or flight place, and react instead of responding thoughtfully in the moment. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and martial arts can all help to cultivate mindfulness, but integrating it into the workplace requires deliberate effort and focus. Participants will understand how integrating mindfulness practices into the workplace can help them become more focused, productive, and calm under pressure. Through experiential activities, scenarios, discussion and group exercises, participants will leave with specific techniques for practicing mindfulness at work, and living a more mindful, stress-free life. 22 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Coaching Training January 27-28, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs RESTRICTED TO SUPERVISORS: This 2 day training is designed for individuals who would like to coach supervisors that have recently attended the Supervision Matters Supervisory Courses and/or plan to use coaching with their own staff. SSA, in collaboration with the Child Welfare Academy and a nationally certified coaching consultant, is offering training in a coaching model that will reinforce practice expectations and skills related to effective and quality supervision. The coaching program will provide a model of peer support and constructive feedback exchange to enhance supervisory skills through a partnership for learning and change. Designed as a very interactive training, participants will learn about the coaching process and elements of the coaching relationship; gain an understanding of the structure and guidelines used in coaching; and the coach/coachee roles and responsibilities. Conducting Screening Assessments: Seeing Reporters as Resources January 6, 2015, Frederick County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs When a call comes in to the hotline, it is Child Welfare’s first opportunity to begin the assessment process and assist families to meet their unique and at times complex needs. This training is intended for all workers who are employed full time in a screening unit or who have regular or occasional responsibility for screening reports. The training will focus on building strengths-based, family centered interview skills to gather information to make the informed and balanced initial assessment required for accurate screening decisions. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions Enhancing Your Credibility in Court FIM Facilitation, 3-day January 13, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 3-5, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 18 CEUs March 12, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs The 3-day Family Involvement Meeting (FIM) Facilitation training will provide participants with the general values, principles and skills needed for introductory level facilitation of Family Involvement Meetings. Participants will gain an understanding of the MD Family Centered Practice model (FCP) principles, outcomes and goals and how a FIM reflects them. They will learn about the procedural aspects of why, when and how FIMs are scheduled and how to prepare for a FIM. Many child welfare workers feel that they do not receive the respect they deserve when they appear in court. Others feel intimidated by the process of testifying. This one day training is designed to assist the new worker to enhance his or her professional image and performance in court. Topics include: 1. preparing for a successful outcome in court, 2. presenting a professional image, 3. testifying as an expert witness, and 4. maintaining composure and responding to the adversarial attorney through effective testimony under cross-examination. Through lecture, small group discussions and practice, participants will be able to pace a FIM, focus participants on strengths/concerns/ ideas and systematically move a group through the problem-solving model assuring that each stage is fully developed to reach consensus. Content will cover ways to ensure effective and clear discussion related to safety and risk issues at all FIMs so that decisions are grounded in safety and protection for the child. Participants will also develop intervention strategies and skills to maintain comfort guidelines/ground rules, manage group dynamics and deal with participants who exhibit difficult group behaviors. Facilitator self-awareness is explored and participants will learn how their own personal biases and values may impact the facilitation of a FIM. NOTE: FIM Facilitation is mandatory for staff that will be facilitating FIMs full or part-time. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 23 A to Z Workshop Descriptions From Good to Great: Maximizing Skills to Enhance AR Practice How Grief and Loss Impact Everyone in the Foster Care World New! New! February 19, 2015, Harford County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 24, 2015, Prince George’s County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 25, 2015, Washington County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This workshop will explore how the inevitable grief that arises when foster care becomes necessary affects all stakeholders within the foster care world. Common grief behaviors in infants, children, adolescents, birth and resource parents as well as the myriad professionals who work with them, wil be examined. Program content will explore the following topics: specific types of grief related to foster care issues; common myths about grief; consequences of multiple loss experiences; developmental understanding and coping; specific stakeholder responses; adult side effects; and resources for help. Now that Maryland’s Dual Track CPS System is fully operational, it is time to turn our attention to strengthening and sustaining AR skills and practice. Many localities have expressed a need for more in depth, practical training that will build on previous training and take their AR skills to the next level. You asked and we delivered! In partnership with DHR, CWA is pleased to announce a new Alternative Response course that will help local departments move from “good enough” to GREAT AR implementation. Participants will explore best practices and what is working, as well as opportunities for improving the integration and delivery of AR whether working with a relatively easy going or challenging family situation. Through hands-on learning and practice, participants will enhance their ability to utilize tools and strategies to engage and plan with family from start to finish (first the family visit, developing the service plan and finally preparing a strengths based closing summary), ultimately leading to desired outcomes for the children and families being served. Prerequisite: All attendees must have completed the Assessing and Planning for Risk and Safety Using Signs of Safety 1-day or 2-day Pre-Service workshop. 24 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions Intimate Partner Violence: Dynamics, Assessment and Intervention Safety Awareness for Child Welfare Professionals January 8, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 25, 2015, Talbot County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 24, 2015, Anne Arundel County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 18, 2015, Cecil County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 17, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This safety awareness training for child welfare staff is designed to equip participants with the tools, discipline, and self-confidence to handle themselves in situations which may arise during the course of work. The training will cover several different areas including risk assessment, safety planning, pre-assault indicators, verbal escalation and report taking essentials. The workshop will enhance a participant’s ability to determine a client’s potential for violence, plan appropriately to ensure safe client care and when transporting clients, recognize indicators that an assault may be imminent, learn techniques to diffuse a potentially explosive situation with clinical interventions and discuss, items to keep in mind when reporting an assault to law enforcement personnel. The purpose of this training is to provide participants with a framework for addressing the issue of domestic violence within the context of a child welfare case. Specifically, participants will learn: 1. what constitutes domestic violence, and how children are affected by it; 2. how to identify the three different types of batterers, and the appropriate interventions for each type; 3. how to understand and work with the nonoffending parent to enhance child safety; 4. what legal remedies are available; and 5. when it is appropriate to remove a child from a home due to the presence of domestic violence. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 25 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Secondary Traumatic Stress January 9, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Signs of Safety (SoS) - Assessing and Planning Using the SoS Framework: Experienced Worker and Supervisor Training March 13, 2015, Harford County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 6, 2015, Howard County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Both new and experienced workers can be affected by Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), potentially causing a significant impact on their personal and professional lives. This full day training will help child welfare workers to understand STS and its effects so that they can concentrate on building coping mechanisms and supports in order to be effective in all areas of their lives. This training is designed for experienced case workers and supervisors from all service areas. It provides an introduction to the Signs of Safety (SoS) framework, a strengths based, family centered approach to assessing and planning for risk and safety with children and families. It is a supportive framework to our current methods and an extension of the Maryland Family Centered Practice Model. SoS is a way of thinking about risk and safety which acknowledges that all families have at some point acted to protect their children and are capable of using these protective factors to keep their children safe in the future. Attendees will learn questioning techniques to gather information for a thorough assessment and will learn and practice assessment strategies to differentiate safety threats from complicating factors. Participants will be introduced to several tools and will have opportunities to apply them in safety mapping with practice cases. 26 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions Signs of Safety (SoS) - The Supervisor’s Role in Implementation Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Interviewing Skills Workshop March 5, 2015, Howard County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs January 14, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This specially designed one day course for supervisors and administrators will focus on the Signs of Safety framework as a means for helping the child welfare workforce look at levels of risk and child safety so that workers will assess conditions similarly and make decisions while taking into account their experience, education, and bias. The Home Study Interview is an integral part of the home study process. Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) and the Social Work Interview Training provides tools to help Home Study Practitioners use SAFE to better prepare, plan and perform the home study interview. The training provides not only practical advice but new and innovative interviewing skills, techniques and approaches to interviewing Applicants. All Attendees MUST have completed the SAFE 2-day training. Participants will be given the opportunity to use strategies to distinguish Safety and Risk factors. The training will be interactive with practice exercises and will include references to current relevant policies and procedures.Participants must have previously participated in a full day or two day session of Assessing and Planning for Risk and Safety using the Signs of Safety. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 27 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Supervisor’s Training January 15, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This one-day supervisor’s training is designed to aid supervisors in proper supervision of Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE). THE TWO-DAY SAFE TRAINING IS A PRE-REQUISITE FOR THE SUPERVISOR TRAINING. Although Consortium for Children mandates that all individuals using SAFE attend the SAFE 2-day training, we understand that a worker can’t sit around waiting for the next SAFE training and that supervisors must be able to help them begin to do the work as soon as possible. This training teaches supervisors how to introduce SAFE to new workers so they can get started. Please note that new workers should attend the two-day SAFE training within four months of the start of using the tool. The Supervisor Handbook provides the SAFE supervisor with handouts and a step-by-step methodology on how to introduce SAFE to a new worker. 28 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Supporting Permanency: Debunking Myths, Engaging Youth and Beginning Family Finding February 25, 2015, Calvert County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs This training will provide a foundation for Family Finding by first reinforcing the importance of permanency, exploring common myths and misconceptions, and confronting personal biases, attitudes and beliefs that may create barriers to creating permanency for youth. This will be followed by an examination of engaging youth in the permanency and family finding process, and preparing them for permanency by addressing their attitudes, feelings and potential resistance. Best practices for engaging youth in the permanency planning process will be reviewed, and participants will be provided with effective tools and techniques to assess and prepare a youth for permanency. Building on the work of Kevin Campbell, the second portion of the training will provide an introduction to Family Finding and Engagement with the goal of creating and sustaining lifelong connections for youth in foster care. Techniques for relative search and engagement will be introduced, and the basics of case mining and record review will be examined and discussed. Participants will leave with an understanding of the important role that they play in creating and sustaining permanency for youth who might otherwise have no lifelong connections. The training will incorporate discussion, small group work, case studies, role plays, and other experiential activities to introduce and reinforce important concepts. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions The Dynamics of Maltreatment and the Impact on Interviewing The Dynamics of Sexual Abuse and the Impact on Safety and Service Planning January 27, 2015, Talbot County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs March 18, 2015, Anne Arundel County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs There are many factors involved in conducting a successful forensic interview with children who have experienced maltreatment. Winging it is not one of the recommendations. This class will discuss the unique dynamics of child maltreatment and how they impact the worker’s ability to engage with the family, and gather accurate, detailed information. Participants will examine effective interviewing styles and strategies, ideal interview environments, and common interviewing challenges .The application and utilization of learned tools, techniques and strategies to direct practice will also be explored. This class will explore how the unique dynamics of sexual abuse impact the ability of the caseworker to engage and partner with the family in planning for safety and appropriate services. Participants will examine the role and influence of non-offending care-givers, compliant victims, and situations involving incest on achieving positive outcomes for safety, wellbeing and permanency. Actionable strategies for helping families and their supportive caregivers to navigate the court process will also be provided. **Course formerly known as Investigative Interviewing** Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online **Course formerly known as Sexual Abuse Investigations** Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 29 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Trans-Racial Placements: Preparing and Supporting Families, ½-day Trauma Informed Casework New! January 29, 2015, Howard County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 19, 2015, Howard County DSS 9:00 am - 12:15 pm • 3 CEUs February 3, 2015, Somerset County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Families who adopt a child of a different race or from another culture are confronted with a unique set of issues and concerns that require careful thought, preparation and ongoing education. This seminar is designed for professionals working with families who intend to adopt trans-racially or trans-culturally. It will provide information and strategies when working with parents to help them evaluate their readiness to embrace a multi-racial/multi-cultural family identity. It will also help professionals to prepare families for the realities and ongoing challenges of adopting trans-racially/trans-culturally to increase the likelihood of a smooth transition and successful placement. February 12, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs 30 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 March 18, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs A trauma informed child welfare workforce is knowledgeable about how trauma affects an individual at any stage of development, and is strategic about incorporating specific elements into service delivery to improve communication, increase awareness, and ultimately reduce trauma for children. This workshop will explore the origins of trauma, the impact of trauma on the neurological system, and subsequent cognitive distortions and behavioral manifestations. Participants will also gain knowledge regarding appropriate trauma informed screening, assessment and intervention strategies for families and foster care providers. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions Trauma Survivors as Parents March 17, 2015, Frederick County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs Much emphasis has been placed on understanding and supporting children who have experienced trauma, without consideration for how a parent’s unresolved trauma history can profoundly impact their ability to parent in a healthy and appropriate way. When parents are struggling with their own unresolved trauma, the caseworker’s ability to partner with the family to eliminate complicating factors, strengthen the family unit, and ultimately achieve lasting positive outcomes is significantly diminished. This workshop will explore how unresolved trauma can impact parenting, as well as outline strategies to work with and engage parents so that families move towards their goals of safety, permanency and well-being for all. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online Understanding the Association Between Foster Care and Human Sex Trafficking, ½-day January 13, 2015, Montgomery County DHHS 9:00 am - 12:15 pm • 3 CEUs February 20, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 12:15 pm • 3 CEUs This half-day training is designed to educate child welfare workers to ensure that highrisk and trafficked males and females placed in foster care are identified, assisted, and protected. Training participants will gain a better understanding of what human trafficking is, the basics of domestic minor sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking, how to better identify potential trafficking victims, the laws and referral mechanisms, myths and misconceptions about sex trafficking, and much more. CWA trainers have been certified by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force to conduct this training. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 31 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Using Critical Thinking to Enhance Child Welfare Assessments February 5, 2015, Charles County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs WEBINAR - Cues and Miscues: How Attachment Impacts the Way Kids in Care Communicate New! March 3, 2015, Montgomery County DHHS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs February 2, 2015, Online 10:30 am - 12:00 pm • 1.5 CEUs Conducting assessments is a critical component of the delivery of child welfare services. In order to conduct meaningful, quality assessments, critical thinking skills must be developed, honed and applied. Child welfare outcomes are directly correlated to the accurate assessment of child and family strengths and needs. Thorough and well-conducted strengths-based assessments require the child welfare worker to apply critical thinking skills so they know when, how and what questions to ask for continual re-evaluation of client needs; thus enabling the worker to skillfully team with the family to develop and provide appropriate services. This full day interactive workshop will examine the attributes of critical thinking, challenges to conducting quality assessments, tools to help gather and organize assessment information, and the application of critical thinking skills to the assessment process. Time will also be spent exploring the ways in which personal thinking and decision-making styles affect the assessment process. Secure attachments develop when caregivers are available, responsive, and sensitive to the needs of their children. Cues (or signals) are used to communicate specific wants or needs, and an attuned caregiver responds by meeting that need in a timely and sensitive manner. Children with a history of maltreatment often have attachment challenges, behavioral issues, and difficulty expressing their needs and feelings in healthy and appropriate ways. These children sometimes miscue, sending contradictory or misleading messages to their caregivers. Their caregivers may then respond in harmful ways; reinforcing rejecting, neglectful and possibly abusive patterns of interaction. Rather than strengthen and affirm the caregiverchild relationship, these interactions leave both the caregiver and child feeling confused, angry, hurt, misunderstood and frustrated. This webinar will go beyond the basics of attachment to examine how communication is adversely affected by attachment challenges, resulting in a cycle of unhealthy caregiver-child interactions. Participants will learn how to recognize miscues in children, as well as the various defensive coping strategies that children with a history of trauma use in order to protect themselves from further hurt and harm. Practical strategies for intervening and helping children in care learn to communicate their true feelings and needs constructively will be explored. Participants will also learn ways to help caregivers apply attachment-based parenting strategies so that they can better create a healing environment for the children in their care. 32 Quarterly Training Catalog | Winter 2015 Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online A to Z Workshop Descriptions WEBINAR - Is this Normal? Understanding Sexual Development and Behavior in Children New! March 10, 2015, Online 10:30 am - 12:00 pm • 1.5 CEUs While discussing sexuality can be uncomfortable, understanding age appropriate sexual development and behavior in children can play a significant role in preventing sexual abuse and victimization. Sometimes it is difficult to discern when sexual behavior is natural and healthy, and when it may be indicative of a problem or disturbance. In order to maintain the safety and well-being of children, child welfare professionals must be able to recognize what behaviors are developmentally appropriate at different ages and stages, and what might signal that a child has been sexually abused or is victimizing others. In this webinar, participants will learn about “normal” sexual behaviors and developmental patterns in children, as well as signs and symptoms that may be cause for concern. They will be provided with strategies for educating both children and caregivers about typical sexual development so that they can better support healthy attitudes and behaviors. Click here to go to A-Z Listing Online WEBINAR - Prescription Drug Misuse/ Abuse and Child Welfare Practice New! January 13, 2015, Online 10:30 am - 12:00 pm • 1.5 CEUs Prescription drug use is becoming increasingly more common among families and can bring clear benefits when used as intended. Unfortunately, prescribed medications can also result in significant harm when used in ways that are not approved, resulting in addiction, impaired functioning across multiple domains, and possibly even death. The abuse of prescription medication can negatively impact the ability of parents in the child welfare system to provide loving and appropriate care to their children. Child welfare workers must have information and tools to educate families, assess possible misuse/abuse, and intervene when appropriate to ensure the safety and well-being of the children they serve. Participants in this ONLINE offering will learn ways to assess possible prescription drug abuse from a family-centered, strengths-based perspective, as well as ways to intervene and support the family when needed. The impact of substances on parenting skills and abilities will be explored, and ways to keep children and teens safe will be reviewed. In addition, participants will learn strategies for educating families about prescription misuse/abuse to better ensure that they reduce risk and harm within the family system. Winter 2015 | Quarterly Training Catalog 33 A to Z Workshop Descriptions Whose Child is it Anyway? The Challenges of Reunification Writing Skills for Exceptional Case Documentation New! February 18, 2015, UMB SSW 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs January 29, 2015, Frederick County DSS 9:00 am - 4:30 pm • 6 CEUs When a child is removed from his/her family due to abuse or neglect, the preferred permanency option is safe and timely family reunification. Because the majority of children who leave foster care are in fact reunited with their families, it is important to consider the factors and practices that support successful reunification, as well as those that might impede success. Child welfare workers, who are charged with maintaining the safety, permanency and well-being of children in care, must manage the inherently conflictual relationships among all parties. Resource parents often have formed deep emotional bonds with the children in their care and are reluctant to return a child to the very same family that occasioned the trauma. Likewise, both the family of origin and the child will likely grapple with mixed emotions and experience multiple challenges as a child transitions home. And DSS workers must address their personal feelings around a given case that even may run counter to the Department’s plan. This workshop will explore roles and responsibilities of the adults involved in the foster care system in supporting permanency outcomes and family reunification. 34 here Quarterly Training Click to go to A-Z Listing Catalog Online | Winter 2015 This workshop is designed to help child welfare workers develop a clearer, more factual and pertinent writing style specifically for child welfare documentation. Through writing experiences, training participants will work on identifying pertinent data for inclusion in contact notes, differentiating between case fact and opinion, and recording summarized case assessments, case plans and other supporting data in case records. Training participants will gain an overall understanding on how to organize information in a clear, concise manner.