The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) developed the Child Welfare Training Toolkit to educate child welfare workers about substance use and co-occurring disorders among families involved in the child welfare system. The training is intended to provide foundational knowledge to help child welfare workers:
Consists of 10 modules-7 core and 3 special topics training modules:
The goal of Training Module 1 is to provide child welfare professionals with information on a range of co-occurring needs that parents involved in the child welfare system may experience. This module discusses the needs of parents...
The goal of Training Module 2 is to educate child welfare workers about substance use, treatment, and recovery. The module informs child welfare workers about substances and their effects, the brain chemistry of addiction, and the...
The goal of Training Module 3 is to provide in-depth information and learning opportunities to support child welfare workers in working with diverse families affected by mental health disorders, co-occurring disorders, trauma, and...
The goal of Training Module 4 is to provide strategies that child welfare workers can use to engage individuals in the change process when there are concerns regarding a substance use disorder, mental health disorder, or trauma hi...
The goal of Training Module 5 is to provide child welfare workers with an understanding of the importance of responding to families affected by substance use disorders from a strengths-based perspective while providing ongoing saf...
The goal of Training Module 6 is to provide child welfare workers with an understanding of ways in which children can be affected by their parents’ substance use and/or co-occurring disorders—from prenatal exposure to the postnata...
The goal of Training Module 7 is to provide child welfare workers with an understanding of the importance of collaborating with other service providers. The module provides an overview of confidentiality laws and the requirement f...
The goal of this special topic training is to provide an overview of the effects of methamphetamine use on families. The training provides information on methamphetamine and signs of use. Participants will be able to assess how me...
The goal of this special topic training is to provide an overview of the effects of opioid use on families. This training offers information on the different opioids, their effects, and signs of use. An overview of overdose risk a...
The goal of this special topic training is to understand the unique needs of infants with prenatal substance exposure and their families. The training will cover the effects of prenatal substance use on an infant by providing an o...
The entire Training Toolkit can be delivered in a series, or each module can be delivered individually as a stand-alone training. Each module is approximately 2 hours in length and contains materials that can be adapted to meet the needs of child welfare trainers for in-person workshops or more formal training sessions. This flexibility allows the facilitator to determine the best format and timing for the training, according to the needs of the agency and staff. The special topics, in particular, lend themselves to brown-bag or lunchtime trainings.
Each module includes a Facilitator’s Guide with training goals and learning objectives, a PowerPoint presentation, resources, and references. The PowerPoint presentation contains talking points and key details in the notes section of the slides. These talking points are not intended to serve as a script to read aloud to attendees, but rather as key points to highlight while presenting. Facilitators are encouraged to infuse their own content knowledge, expertise, and real-world experience to bring the training to life. Discussion questions and experiential activities are integrated throughout the training sessions.
The Training Toolkit contains information considered foundational for child welfare practice. The content is general enough for all child welfare workers, but it should be tailored to the audience’s experience and role in child welfare practice (such as investigations, in-home services, or ongoing case management) to enrich the learning opportunity.
Facilitators should be knowledgeable about substance use disorders, mental health, and child welfare systems. They should be familiar with the laws and policies that affect child welfare agency decision-making to ensure that the information is presented in the proper context. If the facilitator does not have specific knowledge in substance use disorders or mental health, he or she should partner with local substance use and mental health treatment agencies for support.
Field-specific terms are used during the course of this training. To understand the purpose and intended meanings of these terms, please review the Glossary. This glossary is also a useful resource for training participants.
A list of resources related to the content is included in each module. To review the resources from all modules, please download the master Resources.
The content of the toolkit is intended to be supplemented to include local context, policy and practice information to enrich the learning experience. NCSACW suggests the use of the following acknowledgment:
This resource was adapted by INSERT NAME from a technical assistance tool developed by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW). NCSACW is a technical assistance resource center jointly funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Children’s Bureau (CB), Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Points of view or opinions expressed in this presentation are those of INSERT NAME and do not represent the official position or policies of SAMHSA or ACYF.
For examples of toolkit adaptation or technical assistance to plan and implement the training modules in your jurisdiction please contact the NCSACW.