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Innovations in child protective services inservice training: commitment to excellence
Child Welfare
|July 1, 1991
Summary
Reforming child protective services (CPS) requires better training for caseworkers. Innovative programs enhance skills to improve child welfare services, addressing challenges like abuse reports and funding gaps.
Area of Science:
- Child Welfare
- Social Work
- Public Administration
Background:
- Child protective services (CPS) face significant challenges, including increased abuse reports, funding shortages, and a lack of qualified personnel.
- National reform efforts are underway to improve the responsiveness of child welfare agencies to children and families.
- Recruiting, training, and retaining competent CPS workers is a critical aspect of this reform.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight innovative training programs designed to enhance the skills of child protective services workers.
- To identify lessons learned from diverse training initiatives for effective CPS workforce development.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of four distinct training programs for child protective services staff.
- Examination of program development within varied political, social, and organizational contexts.
Main Results:
- The analyzed programs demonstrate innovative approaches to enhancing caseworker knowledge and skills.
- Despite differing contexts, common effective strategies for training CPS workers were identified.
Conclusions:
- Effective training is essential for improving child protective services delivery.
- Lessons from these innovative programs can inform national, state, and local efforts to develop new CPS training initiatives.