Training Observation Form

This form is completed by site coordinators and training assistants to give feedback on individual training deliveries.

Screening Guidelines for Evidence-Based Research and Practice

This tool can be used to guide you in ensuring that your curricula has the most reliable, evidence-based practice standards built into it.

Curriculum Review EBP Guidelines

This checklist will assist trainers, stakeholders and staff in determining whether or not training materials meet evidence-based practice standards.

Words Matter: Academy’s Inclusive Language Principles

Learn how you can practice using inclusive language at your workplace by using, Words Matter: Academy’s Inclusive Language Principles, a tool created to empower folks to enter into conversations they might not be entirely comfortable with. It is one of many ways the Academy staff integrates anti-racist, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented practices into our daily work, services, and interactions.

Capacity Screening in Adult Protective Services: Guidance and Resources

This brief summarizes the screening for decision-making capacity including terminology and important terms to understand; an explanation of what capacity is and civil capacities; explores the relationship between capacity and abuse; and why APS professionals need to understand capacity; provides information on capacity screening including cognitive domains and screening tools; identifies research on capacity screening; research to practice highlights; and available training and resources.

Training Toolkit: Professional APS Training – September 2020

This brief outlines a menu of available Adult Protective Services (APS) trainings that APS Administrators can access for free or at a reduced cost. These training resources can be used to develop a state’s full training program with a minimum of development costs and high confidence that the trainings will meet program needs.

Virtual Training Checklist – 9 Ways to Enhance Learning

Use this 9-Step Checklist to design virtual experiences that enhance learning, including considerations for timing and spacing, working with online audiences, and tips for trainers.

Source: Research Summary: Best Practices for Virtual Training (July 2020)

Virtual Training Checklist – 9 Steps to Success

Use this 9-Step Checklist to implement a successful virtual training session, including considerations for participant engagement, session duration, breaks, and more.

Source: Research Summary: Best Practices for Virtual Training (July 2020)

Art of Facilitation: the Super 8

These eight steps are necessary for any meeting to be effective.

Bringing Them Back – Tribal STAR

How do you ease your children back to a home and a culture that is vastly different than what they have been experiencing for 10 years? This tip sheet offers suggestions.

Quality Improvement Project for Psychotropic Medication Use (QIP) Foster Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights

This tip sheet lists the primary rights of foster youth receiving mental health services. This is a collaboration with our partners at the Department of Health Care Services to try and address the use of psychotropic medication in the foster youth community.

Quality Improvement Project for Psychotropic Medication Use (QIP) Questions to Ask About Medications

This tip sheet offers a list caregivers and youth can use to ask important questions about medication. This is a collaboration with our partners at the Department of Health Care Services to try and address the use of psychotropic medication in the foster youth community.

Child Development Milestones Handout

This handout provides a comprehensive list of child development milestones including normal physical development, activities that promote healthy growth and developmental concerns.

Child Development Milestones Resource

This online resource provides a comprehensive list of child development milestones including normal physical development, activities that promote healthy growth and developmental concerns.

Tips for Following Protocol When Working with Tribal Communities

This tip sheet offers suggestion on how to follow protocol when working with Tribal Communities.

Recommendations for Developing and Maintaining Tribal Relationships

Suggestions on this concise list include the use of creativity, patience, preparation and planning, and respect when developing and maintaining Tribal relationships.

Tribal STAR Judges Checklist

This checklist has been developed to help judges determine the best circumstances surrounding placement of a child in a non-Indian home. The intention of this list is to provide guidelines that can strengthen the potential for a successful outcome.

Positive Outcomes from a Tribal Perspective

This document describes what is meant by “positive outcomes” from a Tribal perspective.

Practical Suggestions for Non-Indian (Child Welfare) Workers & Newcomers to Tribal Communities

This document offers practical suggestions for child welfare workers who are newcomers to Tribal communities.

Supervisor’s Role in the Transfer of Learning to the Workplace

This is a brief online training that provides an overview of the supervisor’s role in transfer of learning.

Organizational Health As A Tool For Creating Transformative Workforce Development Opportunities

This article describes how agencies can use organizational health as a tool for creating experiences that are transformative to staff and stakeholders.

Written by Charmaine Utz and Jennifer Tucker-Tatlow (2021). Published in the Mar/Apr 2021 edition of the Training Industry Magazine.

Organizational change for services integration in public human service organizations: Experiences in seven counties

Packard, T., Patti, R., Daly, D., & Tucker-Tatlow, J. (2012). Organizational change for services integration in public human service organizations: Experiences in seven counties. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 34(4), 471.

Continuum of readiness for collaboration, ICWA compliance, and reducing disproportionality

Lidot, T., Orrantia, R.M., & Choca, M. (2012). Continuum of readiness for collaboration, ICWA compliance, and reducing disproportionality. Child Welfare, Special Issue: Services for Native American Children and Families in North America, 91(3), 65-87.

Participant outcomes of a leadership development initiative in eight human service organizations

Coloma, J., Gibson, C., & Packard, T. (2012). Participant outcomes of a leadership development initiative in eight human service organizations. Administration in Social Work, 36(1), 4-22.

Implementing services integration and interagency collaboration: experiences in seven counties

Packard, T., Patti, R., Daly, D., & Tucker-Tatlow, J. (2013). Implementing services integration and interagency collaboration: experiences in seven counties. Administration in Social Work, 37(4), 356-371.

Using strengths-based leadership to improve the child welfare system

Giardina, K. M. (2013). Using strengths-based leadership to improve the child welfare system. Journal of Family Strengths, 13(1), 7.

A leadership development initiative for eight county human service agencies: results after nine years

Coloma, J., Gibson, C., Jones, L., Packard, T., Rahiser, P., Tucker-Tatlow, J. (2014). A leadership development initiative for eight county human service agencies: results after nine years. Training and Development in Human Services. 8(1), 78-87.

A tool for evaluating leadership development initiative: From satisfaction to outcomes

Packard, T., & Jones, L. (2014) A tool for evaluating leadership development initiative: From satisfaction to outcomes. Training and Development in Human Services, 8(1):67-78.

An outcomes evaluation of a leadership development initiative

Packard, T., & Jones, L. (2015). An outcomes evaluation of a leadership development initiative. Journal of Management Development, 34(2).

Recruitment and Retention in Health and Human Services – SACHS – 2015

This report is designed to review the current recruitment and retention problems in public health and human services, with a focus on child welfare services, where a majority of the research in this field is. The research will discuss realistic job previews, and creative recruitment, hiring, and orientation strategies in human services.

Child Maltreatment Fatalities-Risk Factors and Lessons Learned – SACHS – 2010

This review summarizes existing research literature to identify common factors/variables related to the type of maltreatment, the child, the parents/caretakers and other circumstances of the case that may contribute to a higher probability of fatal child maltreatment.

Father Engagement in Child Welfare – PCWTA – 2011

This literature review came about as a result of the Fatherhood Initiative, a Federal and statewide effort to address issues of fathers in the child welfare context. Since approximately the time of the Vietnam War, the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in fatherlessness among American children. In addition, fathers have historically been overlooked in child welfare and negative outcomes for children are correlated to this absence.

Open Juvenile Dependency Courts – SACHS – 2011

This review provides a summary of the existing research regarding public access to dependency proceedings and records in states across the country.

Review of Child Welfare Risk Assessments – SACHS – 2012

This literature review is a discussion of risk assessment tools used in child welfare agencies across the United States. It also provides results from research on risk assessment tools.

Differential Response: Effective Prevention and Intervention Models Implementation and Financing – SACHS – 2009

At the request of the Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS) Directors, this review of the research highlights effective prevention and intervention strategies for differential response from California’s eleven pilot counties.

Child Welfare Social Worker Recruitment and Retention: Influential Factors and Promising Practices – SACHS – 2009

This literature review summarizes numerous studies and literature from across the nation on the various factors that impact the readiness and retention levels of new child welfare social workers.

Teleworking in Human Services – SACHS – 2013

This review summarizes the existing research related to teleworking, with a focus on government organizations. Specifically, it provides information related to policies, procedures,best practices, challenges, and recommendations.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) – SACHS – 2014

Models and strategies for providing services to victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) has been building for over a decade. However, there is a lack of a current evidence base related to prevention, identification and interventions. This literature review delves into the discussion of CSEC programs and practices and the need for additional work in this area.

23-Hour Assessment Centers – SACHS – 2014

In this literature review, the topic of 23-Hour Assessment Centers, which provide a temporary placement for children to be taken to after being removed from their homes, is discussed.

Public Child Welfare Training Academy Trainer Development Policy

Developed to provide support to new and experienced Public Child Welfare Training Academy (PCWTA) trainers in fulfilling the mission of the Academy for Professional Excellence. The policy includes Trainer Induction, Trainer Development, Trainer Recognition, Individual Trainer Development Plan, and Trainer Development Evaluation – Policy & Procedures

Research Summary: Use of AI Tools in Social Work and Child Welfare Services

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving and changing the world as we know it. This research summary draws on recent journal articles, news stories, and web resources to examine some of the current thinking on AI in social work and child welfare services (CWS).

Research Summary: Promising Practices for Integrating People with Lived Experience in the CWS Workforce

When leveraging the expertise, perspectives, and insights of People with Lived Experience (PWLE) in meaningful ways within health and human service systems, there are clear benefits for the agency, clients, and the person with lived experience. This research summary includes strategies for effectively integrating PWLE into the Child Welfare Services (CWS) workforce, potential barriers and considerations, examples of promising state and county programs, and additional resources.

CWDS Research Summary: Caseload Standards and Weighting

This research summary provides background information on the effects of caseloads on workers, considerations for developing caseload standards/measurements, workload assessment methodologies and tools, and child welfare workload studies conducted in North America so that child welfare directors can make informed decisions about caseload standards, and workload study design and implementation within their own jurisdictions.

Research Summary: Virtual vs Classroom Delivery & Transfer of Learning (TOL) in Virtual Trainings

This research summary reviews evaluations comparing virtual to classroom training/learning, recommendations for making virtual better than classroom training, and strategies/tools for effectively measuring participant TOL in virtual training sessions.

Research Summary: Best Practices for Virtual Training

This research product lists recommendations and best practices for successful Virtual Training, including the length of/timing/breaks of virtual courses, spacing recommendations from Cognitive Neuroscience, and more.

Review of the Research: Call Centers and Web-based Eligibility Systems – SACHS

This report is a review of the research performed on call centers and web-based eligibility systems

CalWORKs and Food Stamps Programs: A Comparison of SACHS Counties Applications and Cases (2007-2010) – SACHS

This report addresses research questions from the SACHS directors regarding changes in applicants and recipients in the CalWORKs and Food Stamps programs which may be effects of the current recession. Data were collected for the months of January 2007 and January 2010.

In-Home Supportive Services: Descriptive Data Report 2011- SACHS

The Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS) has performed an analysis of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program data. This analysis was performed at the request of the SACHS Directors to examine annual changes to the IHSS Program.

In-Home Supportive Services: Descriptive Data Report 2012 – SACHS

The Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS) has performed an analysis of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program data. This analysis was performed at the request of the SACHS Directors to examine annual changes to the IHSS Program.

In-Home Supportive Services: Descriptive Data Report 2013 – SACHS

The Southern Area Consortium of Human Services (SACHS) has performed an analysis of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program data. This analysis was performed at the request of the SACHS Directors to examine annual changes to the IHSS Program.