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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Center on Children, Families, and the Law

Enhancing the well-being of children, youth, and families.

Training

Group at training table.

Beginning in the late 1980s, CCFL faculty and staff began to provide training to newly hired child protection workers in the Nebraska Department of Social Services (now the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services). Over the intervening years, training-related services have expanded and evolved to include: job analysis, curriculum development, delivery of pre-service training (both in the classroom and in the field), in-service training, training needs assessment, training evaluation, and assessment of worker competence.

Pre-service training for all Protection and Safety Workers in Nebraska is now provided via a six-month Protection and Safety New Worker Employment Practicum. The Practicum is administered as a joint project of CCFL and the Staff Development unit of the Human Resources and Development Division, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services System.

The goal of the Practicum is to prepare the workers to competently fulfill their job responsibilities. Key features of the Practicum include:

  • delivery of training throughout the state, both on-site by CCFL/HHS staff and by means of distance learning technology;
  • development of curriculum material that addresses identified knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for the position;
  • expanded quantity and quality of field learning activities;
  • adherence to adult learning principles and an emphasis on active learning;
  • monitoring and facilitation of on-the-job training opportunities - as the trainees engage in limited case management activities with a small number of actual Department families;
  • timely provision of accurate feedback to the assigned supervisor regarding the behavior, attitude, and performance of each trainee;
  • emphasis upon the application of the principles of family centered practice;
  • reinforcement of the key outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being;
  • close coordination of all learning activities with the workers' assigned supervisors (including regular planning meetings between the worker, the supervisor, and a Field Training Specialist from CCFL);
  • maintenance of a university-sponsored website that holds the entire curriculum (and related training information such as training schedules) and that supports functionalities such as submission of assignments and intra-group communication.