We will explore ways to use online technology to enhance child welfare workforce development efforts and data-driven decision making in university/agency partnerships.
This study describes one State/University partnership’s implementation and evaluation of a digital “Data Leaders in Child Welfare” program for child protection worker staff and student interns. This program is being developed with support from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute with a focus on staff retention and using child welfare data to improve children’s safety, permanency, and well-being. University faculty and child welfare data managers work together to develop online curriculum for child welfare staff. Using this curriculum, coupled with in-person lab sessions, child welfare staff complete data analysis projects. The program includes Continuous Quality Improvement training, content related to use of data in child welfare, and applied data analysis projects with child welfare data. This analysis presents preliminary data collected from student interns and child welfare staff program participants, as well as qualitative data collected from participants and state child welfare stakeholders. Results of the program evaluation are presented with an emphasis on how this type of program could be implemented through other state/university child welfare partnerships. Conclusions offer concrete examples of opportunities to maximize these partnerships to enhance child welfare staff retention and to improve outcomes for children and families.
Learner Outcomes:
- Participants should be able to describe ways to use online technologies to train child welfare staff in data-driven decision making in child welfare.
- Learners will be able to define ways in which online technology can enhance State/University Partnerships, workforce retention efforts, and evidence-based interventions with children, youth, and families.