David Foster MSW, Director

Bay Area Academy

Fresno State

2012-2013

Annual report

David Foster MSW, Director

Judith Lefler, PHN, CLNC, Assistant Director

Serving the Bay Area counties:

Bay Area AcademyAnnual/4thQuarterly Report FY 12-131

Alameda

Contra Costa

Marin

Monterey

Napa

San Benito

San Francisco

San Mateo

Santa Clara

Santa Cruz

Solano

Sonoma

Bay Area AcademyAnnual/4thQuarterly Report FY 12-131

Bay Area Academy Training Center | 2201 Broadway, Suite 705 | Oakland, California 94612

Phone: 510-271-0951 | bayareaacademy.org

Contents:

Project Summarypage 3-4

Project Componentspage 5 - 8

CORE and Regional Trainingpage 5

Training Highlightspage 5

Capacity Buildingpage 9 - 11

Training Assessment, Planning and Supportpage 9

Professional Development for Transfer of Learningpage 9

Field Based Training and Coachingpage 10

Curriculum and Trainer Development and Evaluationspage 11

Collaborative Work with Statewide Partnerspage 11

Status of Deliverablespage 13 – 17

Concurrent Planning Brochurepage 18 - 19

Project Summary

The Bay Area Academy dedicated time, energy and resources to focus on developing a field-based coachingapproach, provide coaching to counties and sustain coaching during this fiscal year. The BAA, in collaboration with CCTA, provided monthly webinars and an all-day training for coaches in both regions. The webinars and training were facilitated by CRC and focused on coaching of SOP to deepen practice.Facilitation and field-based coaching focused on SOP, CAPP, Adoptions, Fostering Connections and Family Team Meetings in this region this year. BAA increased our field based coaching pool from a small handful at the beginning of the fiscal year to an active 11 coaches.

Supporting CAPP in Santa Clara County was a primary focus this year. BAA provided 3 day CAPP/SOP trainings to 5 cohorts, a total of 13 units in Santa Clara. In addition to the CAPP/SOP Overview trainings, BAA also facilitated Implementation Visioning, Cultural Humility and Teaming trainings to support the implementation of CAPP. The BAA supported Santa Clara in training, coaching, Cross-site meetings, leadership meetings and participation on the implementation team. BAA has two coaches working in Santa Clara, whose work consisted of co-training the 3-day CAPP/SOP model which emphasizes the 23 behaviors, coaching supervisors and workers on the 23 CAPP behaviors and coaching and modeling for the internal coaches.

Field Based Coaching/training is currently taking place in Marin, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Napa, Solano and Sonoma. Coaching in each of these counties is done uniquely and with flexibility, in order to address individual county needs.

Safety Organized Practice continues to grow in the Bay Area. Marin, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Solanoare being trained and coached in using the SOP tools. Marin, Solano and San Francisco are in the process of training their 2nd cohorts. Contra Costa County is newly implementing SOP in this quarter. BAA is supporting 7 counties actively implementing SOP in the Bay Area region.

The BAA actively supported two counties in the region who are taking over their own adoptions. Coaching continues in Napa and will continue as long as there is a need. Sonoma is on target for taking over adoptions on July 1 of 2013. Curriculum was developed and an extensive training series was designed and delivered this quarter focusing on the needs specific to Sonoma County. Ongoing coaching and training will continue next fiscal year.

BAA launched a Concurrent Planning Training Series. The training is delivered over a three month period of time, utilizing e-learning and classroom training methodologies. The course provides child welfare social workers and staff with the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to assess and provide support to children in out of home care and their families in actively facilitating a permanent home for a child. It helps prepare staff to Assess and prepare parents, children, youth and caregivers to facilitate timely decision-making, planning, and placement with a permanent family. The course provides a framework for understanding the issues unique to children who enter foster care. Participants are provided with successful intervention strategies geared toward accessing and maintaining permanent homes and connections for children and youth. Please see attached brochure for more information.

A highlight of this quarter was our annual Staff Development Off-site: Tapestry of Learning in Child Welfare. The purpose of this event was to provide county staff development an opportunity to learn the strategies available to create a learning organization. The keynote weaved in the understanding of how changes in child welfare practice impact training delivery. Additionally participants learned about BAA's coaching approach. Opportunities were provided to observe sample coaching sessions and practice. Collaboration, Teaming, Trauma Informed Practice, Cultural Humility and Engagement were the themes woven throughout the day and a half event.

Additional highlights for this year include BAA and CCTA collaborating to revise and update Foundations of Supervision curriculum and phase 2 New Social Worker CORE. The purpose of this project was to share resources and create a common expectation for training content and delivery.

The BAA participated on many statewide committees this fiscal year including STEC, CAPP, Macro Evaluation, CDOG, Congregate Care Reform, Adoption of NDM, Katie A and Fostering Connections.Additionally, a BAA representative participates on the Steering Committee for the Fairness and Equity Symposium and on the Planning Committee for the West Coast Trainers Conference.

The BAA achieved the provision of 33% beyond the projected deliverables for this fiscal year.BAA over-delivered in the area of advancedtrainings to counties, New Social Worker CORE and Foundations of Supervision. This reflects the increased level of training and field based coachingsupport accessed by counties and provided by BAA to support the implementation of Safety Organized Practice, CAPP and Adoptions. Additionally, BAA provided more CORE training cycles than initially projected for this fiscal year.

Project Components

CORE and Advanced Training
Deliver a comprehensive series of child welfare practice trainings that focus on common CORE, specialized/advanced topics, and CWS/CMS training totaling up to 325 days. Training will be provided for Safety Organized Practice, Adoptions, Fostering Connection After 18 (AB12) and other specialized training as requested by Bay Area Counties.
projected / Total year to date and
%Completed year-to-date / Quarter 1
July 1 – September 30, 2012 / Quarter 2
October 1 – December 31, 2012 / Quarter 3
January 1 – March 31, 2013 / Quarter 4
April 1 – June 30, 2013
Advanced / 110 / 222/202% / 2531* / 61 / 64 / 66
Best Practices / 21 / 19/90% / 5 / 5 / 4 / 5
New Social Worker Training (California Common Core) / 100 / 116/116% / 12 / 38 / 40 / 26
CWS/CMS Training / 70 / 59/84% / 12 / 21 / 18 / 8
Foundations of Child Welfare Supervision (California Supervisor Common Core Training) / 16 / 17/106% / 7 / 2 / 2 / 6
Total days: / 325 / 433/133% / 6167* / 127 / 129 / 111

*Please note: highlighted trainings in Status of Deliverables Completed Training Year to Date were not captured in Quarter 1 report. Numbers have been adjusted in Q2 report to account for missed trainings in Q1 reporting.

4th Quarter Training Highlights:

SAFETY ORGANIZED PRACTICE:

BAA continues to utilize the updated 12 Safety Organized Practice training modules developed by NCCD: Children’s Research Center and incorporating coaching and transfer of learning to the following participating counties: Marin,Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Solano.

Contra Costa County is a newly implementing county this quarter. The BAA has 6 actively implementing counties at this time.

The BAA in collaboration with CCTA, hosted webinars and a training focused on deepening the practice of coaches for Safety Organized Practice. The goal of this collaboration was to share resources, increase Academies’ coaching pool and capacity, and increase networking, knowledge and skills of coaching staff in the bay and central regions.

SOP: Deepening Your Practice training seminar

In order to enhance child welfare coaching skills, participants will come together for a day of coaching demonstration and practice exercises. An SOP family team meeting will be facilitated live and debrief the facilitation and practice skills used. Participant coaches will pair up and practice coaching techniques while being videotaped. This hands-on day is designed to build advanced coaching skills, including practice reflection.

FOSTERING CONNECTIONS AFTER 18 (AB 12):

Fostering Connections After 18 Learning Collaborative was created to support the work of field social workers and supervisors. This Collaborative meets monthly via webinars and quarterly in person. This provides an ongoing opportunity for participants to network, problem solve, share information and resources, and learn effective strategies in the field.

ADOPTIONS:

The BAA supported the implementation and training for Sonoma Counties Adoption Program by providing technical assistance and training. Trainings delivered:

Adoption in Context: CA Legal, Policy and Practice Challenges and Ethical Dilemmas

Know the ins and outs of California and Federal legal, policy and practices of Adoption in Child Welfare and be ready to share challenges and ethical dilemmas. Sonoma County Counsel will be present to take part in the discussion.

Attachment and Trauma

To identify and consider the impact of attachment with a trauma informed practice lens is a skilled process. This training provided participants with the knowledge and practice to focus on attachment theory with any family as it relates to adoption.

Drug and Alcohol Exposed: Long and Short Term Effects as it Relates To Adoption

Trainees learned how the exposure to drugs and alcohol can affect infants and children of all ages. Participants explored the signs and symptoms of inutero exposure and the importance of early and effective intervention as it relates to the adoption process.

Grief and Loss, Adjustments and Transitions

There is great adjustment, grief and loss throughout the entire adoption process. This training provided skills for assessment and preparation to support children, youth, families and the entire adoption constellation as transition takes place.

Navigating the Adoptions Assistance Program (AAP)

Learn about the complexities of the Adoption Assistance Program-- from forms and eligibility to everything in between!

Nuts and Bolts of Adoptions

This training provided the basics of Adoption in Child Welfare, including its history and structure.Trainees learned the basics and received a general overview of Adoption in Sonoma County.

Special Considerations for Assessing and preparing Families

Trainees discovered the complexities of preparing families for adoption as it relates to transracial and cultural adoptions, special considerations and ensuring that each family is assessed for readiness.

ADVANCED/BEST PRACTICE TRAININGS:

BAA provided responsive, diverse and quality training and coaching to all of our 12 counties this fiscal year. BAA over delivered in this training category by delivering 241 training days; 84% over the projected amount. Below highlights the trainings delivered in the 4th quarter:

C.A.R.E.S All Day Training

The objectives for gathering together were to learn the Director’s vision for C.A.R.E.S., increase knowledge and understanding of ODAS and CWS by cross-training and team building together; learning the Community Resiliency Model to increase skills to cope with secondary trauma, and practice self-care.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth: Males and Transgender Youth

Generally, the term Commercially Sexual Exploited Children (CSEC) usually refers to females, who account for the majority of cases. This training covered the overlooked male and transgender population of CSEC. It began with a review about what we are taught about CSEC. It then moved into discussing boys that are sexually exploited minors and defined transgender. The training concluded with discussing barriers males and transgender youth face in getting off of the streets and how to create inclusive programs and services.

Concluding Allegations

Thiscourse provided Child Welfare Workers with the tools to conduct investigations of abuse and neglect and then conclude allegations accurately and consistently in accordance with the California Penal Codes. The multi-faceted curriculum assisted Child Welfare Workers with learning the definitions and how to apply that knowledge to interview strategies. Workers also practiced concluding allegations on complicated referral scenarios. Upon completion, Child Welfare Workers had a strong understanding of interview strategies necessary to extract pertinent information and to accurately conclude allegations.

Courageous Conversations District Debriefings

During the six months of Courageous Conversations sessions, over 125 anonymous surveys were completed to reflect staff views on Cultural Humility within Contra Costa’s Child Welfare Division. Trainer Cynthia Billups and staff from

three District Offices discussed the survey results and collaborated on next steps for increasing Cultural Humility and Courageous Conversation within CFS. All staff in each district office were invited and encouraged to participate and collaborate together.

Cultural Humility with Latino cultures

While Cultural Competence focuses on learning about other cultures, Cultural Humility focuses on understanding how a persons cultural lens influences responses when encountering other cultures. Cultural Humility emphasizes the on-going process of learning about a participant’s own cultural biases as they engage with others within a cultural context. To be an effective service provider, it is as important to understand the constructs of our own beliefs, attitudes, and traditional values. Cultural Humility brings a full circle on how to be more effective with families that are served.

Effective Testimony: How to Survive on the Stand in Dependency Court

Child Welfare Workers who handle cases that come before the Juvenile Court are also expected to appear as a party to their assigned case. In addition to providing written reports that document nearly every facet of their work, at times child welfare workers are also expected to testify before the court. This training was designed to prepare workers for this experience by covering the following topic areas:

Pre-testimony preparation
Understanding why cases go to trial
Knowledge of how attorneys are taught to present testimonial evidence
Skill building through mock direct, cross, and testimony

Forensic Interviewing of Children

This course trained interviewers to use the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development’s (NICHD) Structured Investigative Interview Protocol. This is an evidence-based method for interviewing children who are suspected victims of physical or sexual abuse which was developed by NICHD researchers and has been extensively field-tested with forensic interviewers and a variety of populations. Proper use of this protocol virtually eliminates the argument that the interviewer was biased or that the interview was leading and suggestive.

Growing Leaders: How Supervisors Build Social Workers’ Leadership Skills

As a result of this training, participants understood and valued their ongoing role to support leadership development within the organization through the actions and values of their direct reports. Ideally, this course began as an ongoing series of supportive strategies offered to the supervisor participants so that they can continue to effectively support their staff.

Interviewing Children Regarding Sexual Abuse Allegations: TOL day

Organizational Strategies to Support Transfer of Learning

Organizations frequently rely upon “the training unit” to implement practice improvements and other changes. This course reviews the factors of change and the typical cycles of organizational change and then focuses on the roles within the overall organization to support the application of skills or knowledge. As a result of this training, participants understood and valued their role to support organizational change initiatives (practice models, processes, procedures) frequently introduced to a department through training interventions, and will had an opportunity to develop tailored/creative strategies to assist the organization in getting a successful return on its investment in training. This course was highly interactive and included several processes to integrate whole-brain learning, skills practice opportunities, and acquisition of new knowledge which builds upon participants’ prior experiences.

Tapestry of Learning in Child Welfare

The purpose of this event is to provide county staff development an opportunity tolearn the strategies available to create a learning organization. The keynote developed an understanding of how changes in child welfare practice impact training delivery. Additionally participants learned about BAA's coaching approach. Opportunitieswere provided to observe sample coaching sessions and practice. Collaboration, Teaming, Trauma Informed Practice, Cultural Humility and Engagement were themes woven throughout the day and a half event.

Trust Building for Teams

Teams that build trust communicate, cooperate and create. This training was specific to the new Sonoma Adoption unit and gave participants tools to build trust.

BAA conducted 2 cycles of Foundations of Supervision this fiscal year. The last 2 days of the second cycle are being delivered in July 2013. BAA over delivered by 6% in this training category.

BAA delivered 5 complete cycles of New Social Worker CORE training and began 2 more to be completed in the next fiscal year. BAA exceeded our projection of CORE trainings by 16%.

CWS/CMS: BAA delivered county specificBusiness Objects and county specific consultation in addition to aNew User training. More new user trainings will be scheduled in coordination with new cycles of CORE in the next fiscal year.