Acknowledgments

Many individuals have contributed their expertise, vision, creative abilities, and support to the development of the revised CORE curriculum. All contributors have enriched the curriculum.

We thank the following people for their assistance in identifying curriculum content and methodologies:

CORE Revision Committee:

Andrea Poole, CYFD, Training Bureau Chief

Camille Hancock, CYFD Protective Custody

Don Stage CYFD Protective Custody

Denise Montoya CYFD Protective Custody

Monica Montoya, NMSU

Traci Tippett, NMSU

Shelly Bucher, NMSU

Delphine Trujillo, CYFD Protective Custody

Brenda Manus CYFD Protective Custody

Deb Gray CYFD Attorney

Nora Buchanan, CYFD

Pam Brown, CYFD Professional Development Bureau

Lynette Carlson, CYFD

Grace Nailor CYFD Protective Custody

Kerri Pattison CYFD Protective Custody

Vince Beatty CYFD Professional Development Bureau

Elizabeth Alarid CYFD Professional Development Bureau

Linda McNall, CYFD

Jared Rounsville CYFD Protective Custody

Ed Schissel, CYFD Attorney

Mary Garrison, Facilitator and Curriculum Development

Peter Dahlin, Curriculum Development

Traci Tippett, Curriculum Development

Charmaine Britton, Curriculum Development

This course includes material adapted from the following sources:

Butler Institute for Families at the

University of Denver

CaliforniaSocialWorkEducationCenter at the

University of California at Berkeley

Institute for Human Services at the

NorthAmericanResourceCenter for Child Welfare

Columbus, OH

Southwest Institute for Family and Child Advocacy

School of Social Work

New MexicoStateUniversity

Pennsylvania Child Welfare

Training Program at the

University of Pittsburgh

State of New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department

Professional Development Bureau

State of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Professional Development Division

TennesseeCenter for Child Welfare at

MiddleTennesseeStateUniversity

Peter Dahlin

Dahlin and Associates

Mary Garrison, Consultant

Garrision and Associates

Traci Tippett

New MexicoStateUniversity

Nora Gerber, Consultant

Rose Marie Wentz, Consultant

Central Themes in the CORE Curriculum

The COREcurriculum has been developed as a comprehensive pre-service curriculum for child welfare worker. This curriculum provides opportunities for participants to assess their knowledge, strengths and resources and apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to real case scenarios.

The participant exercises are designed to be relevant and applicable to child welfare workers, new to the field, and to those persons coming to child welfare from other professions.

This curriculum underscores the importance of different adult learning styles and provides information in a number of ways to help trainees integrate the information they are learning. The CORE curriculum, which includes participant activities is designed to integrate the knowledge and experiences of the participants and encourages them to share that knowledge and those experiences with others during the course of the training.

The following themes are recognized as central concepts and are present in each module:

  • Cultural Issues
  • Fairness, Equity, and Bias
  • Engagement
  • Documentation
  • CFSR Outcomes
  • Stress Management
  • Evidenced Based Practice
  • Collaboration

Learning Objectives

1)Demonstrate how various communication styles and use of authority may foster or inhibit communication with families, colleagues, and collaterals.

2)Explore potential sources of conflict, recognizing that some conflict can be productive.

3)Identify potential times in a child welfare case when conflict may arise and strategies for how to deal with conflict productively.

4)Review the cycle of escalation and list steps in de-escalating individuals, families, and situations.

5)Practice strategies for working with angry, demanding, or critical clients.

6)Identify benefits to team collaboration and partnership while developing strategies for working effectively with others in partnership such as communication techniques, selective agreements, and cultural competence.

7)Review flow chart and role description of CPS chain of command in order to see the benefits of using the chain of command and the liabilities when not including scenarios when it is necessary to go outside the chain of command.

8)Identify the benefits and strategies to being open to a broad cultural outlook in working with families.

9)Distinguish between similarities and differences as well as strengths of many cultural practices; examining attitudinal biases and their impact on our personal values and decision making styles; and integrating client’s frame of reference into all assessments and work with clients.

10)Practice communication techniques designed to strengthen work with clients from differing backgrounds and with differing levels of accommodation and resistance.

CFSR OUTCOMES

  1. Permanency Outcome 2

Item 18: Child and family involvement in case planning

Item 19: Worker visits with child

Item 20: Worker visits with parents

Agenda

Introduction and Logistics

Tools of the Trade

Conflict Management

Culture

Evaluation

Communication: Talking and Listening

A.Definition of Communication

A giving, or giving and receiving, of information through talk, gestures, writing, body language, etc.

In your everyday life, you use a variety of communication mechanisms to express yourself. It is those mechanisms that send your messages and allow others to receive your messages.

Another common element of effective communication is a shared language. When a group of people share a common language, they are able to communicate due to a shared understanding of the meaning of those sounds we call words. When a shared language is not present, communication becomes difficult.

B.Communication Model

For communication to occur you need a sender, a receiver, and a message. Other parts of the communication process are noise and feedback.

Messages are never received in the manner they were sent because messages pass through a barrier known as noise. Filters distort messages as they are received. Ingrained filters are developed as a result of the receiver’s past experiences, individual traits, cultural background, opinions, etc.

What are some other filters?

The lists could include:

  • Lack of motivation
  • Lack of concentration and attention
  • Experience and background
  • Values, attitudes, and beliefs
  • Negative attitude toward listening
  • Negative attitude toward speaker
  • Poor listening environment
  • Poor listening skills
  • Daydreaming and fantasizing
  • Sender’s delivery style
  • False assumptions
  • Non-verbal behaviors that contradict verbal messages
  • Cultural differences
  • Language or dialect barriers (use of slang terms)
  • World view
  • Emotions and internal pre-occupations

Distortion especially may be an issue when interacting with a person from a different culture because what you say may not be what the other person hears given the differences in culture and environment.

Because of the distortion messages go through, we use feedback to clarify and verify if messages have been received as sent. The feedback goes through the same filter process as the original message, which has the potential to add additional distortion. The importance of feedback is that it gives you the opportunity to clarify or correct the perception of the original message by the receiver.

When the sender and receiver share a common frame of reference, there is less potential for distortion.

C.Self-Awareness

As a caseworker, you will work with diverse individuals and groups. The filters you bring to the communication process can hinder your communication efforts, and the filters other individuals and groups bring to the process can hinder communication also. We all need to adjust the filters we bring to the communication process, and we need to be aware of the filters others bring to the process. Awareness of other peoples’ filters will help you make adjustments in your communication style. The way in which we adjust our filters in the communication process is to become self-aware.

Cultural Differences

Many cultures express themselves using similar body language. However, it can mean very different things across cultures. A firm handshake is a very “American” gesture but cultures within America interpret this differently. Eye contact can mean sincerity and openness or challenge and aggression depending on the culture. Physical space between individuals when talking varies widely across the world with more space comfortable in the Asian cultures and less space in the European cultures. Native American cultures prefer more distance than Hispanic cultures when talking with others. Silence in some cultures is seen as sullen and resistant while in others is a necessary time for reflection and consideration. It is crucial to understand what you are seeing in other cultures who may be trying to communicate with you. If you aren’t sure, ask someone who has a greater understanding of the cultural group. Educate yourself and build your cultural competence. You will be a more effective communicator if you do so.

Professionalism

The position of a CPS Specialist requires a high degree of professionalism that encompasses areas of knowledge, skill, competence, and objectivity. You communicate your professionalism through your appearance, presentation manner, organization, and physical surroundings. It is important that you be flexible when it comes to others’ values, beliefs, and feelings. A professional is able to assess the impact of values, beliefs, feelings, socio-economic status, personal expectations, personal preferences, and his/her interpersonal responses with clients. This assessment allows the professional to make needed adjustments in his/her beliefs, feelings, and values to help reduce noise in the communication process.Professionals are objective in dealing with clients, and do not allow their own feelings, beliefs, and values to influence their interactions and work.

Values in the Positive Family Work

Work together as a group to identify actions that would demonstrate each of the values.

Values / Actions that Reflect the Value
Human beings have inherent dignity and worth. / Example: Using a family’s surname and title conveys respect unless the family offers that you may call them by a first name.
Considering the family’s schedule and transportation in making an appointment so that the family doesn’t have to make up an excuse or beg transportation in order to meet the appointment needs.
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
Each person is unique.
People have the right to make choices.
People can change.
Family plays an essential role in child development.
A family’s culture influences how its members behave.
The family is part of a system.
Family members are colleagues, not “clients.”
Every family has strengths and resiliencies.
Relationships are important vehicles for change.
The family’s needs determine services.
Families have the knowledge, expertise and ability to be responsible for the safety, well being and permanence of their children.

QuestionstoIdentifyDesiredOutcomes

The following are some questions to use with families to help them move from problems to needs or from needs to outcomes.

What would it look like for you if this problem were solved or this need were fulfilled?

What does it mean for you to be successful?

What is your desired or imagined future?

What do you think is really going on with this child, youth, or parent when you see ______behavior?

What do you think ______really wants from you?

Where would you like to see yourself three months from now?

What needs to happen for you to get to where you want to be?

Where would you like to see your relationship with ______in the future?

What do you think ______most needs from you?

When you think about the situation in your life right now, how would you describe it to someone else? How would you describe what needs to happen for things to be different?

How will you know when you are where you want to be (or your relationship is where you hope it will be)?

What will ______be doing that will make the situation better for you and for your relationship?

How will you know when it is safe for you and all family members?

We all have people whom we want to be in our lives forever. What is it that you want ______to do so you can be confident he or she will be in your life forever?

Forms of Resistance

Continually asking for more information

Flooding with details

Offering obviously impractical ideas

Anger or hostility

Confusion

Silence

Refocusing or diverting attention

Pressing for solutions

Compliance

Excuses

Steps for Working Through Resistance

Step 1: Recognize the Cues

Observe the dynamics within the family. Be aware of the non-verbal messages and the messages heard in person’s voice. Trust your own feelings and accept them as a cue to the possibility that you are encountering resistance. Remember resistance is a normal response to the process of change.

Step 2: Manage your Feelings and Reactions

Take a few moments to examine your feelings and select ways you can manage them effectively. Do not take the expression of resistance personally. Select behaviors and verbal messages that will express empathy, genuineness and respect. Identify the positive intent or benefit to the family member for experiencing the resistance.

Step 3: Provide a Message to Family Member

State in a neutral way, what you are seeing and hearing. Make your statement succinct and genuine. Use “I messages” if you are willing.

Step 4: Use Silence and Active Listening

Now is the time to be quiet and help the person more clearly discuss his/her feelings of vulnerability or his/her concerns about control. Use your engagement skills, active listening, attending, reframing and clarification, which will enable the person to explore the issue. Explore with the family member the stages of change, especially Stage 2 (Endings) to help him/her and you understand some of the feelings of vulnerability and losses being experienced.

Case Vignette: Interacting with Anger

Gloria Jackson is a 25-year-old mother of three: Lawrence, Jr. (6 months), Olivia (4 years) and Wesley (8 years). All three children were placed in a kinship placement two months ago after Ms. Jackson left her children with her mother and was gone for two weeks. Leaving her children with family members is a pattern for Gloria when her boyfriend, Lawrence, is around. Lawrence is the father of her youngest child, Lawrence, Jr. The children’s grandmother has been unable to care for them, so they have been placed with Gloria’s sister, Shelley. Both Shelley and the grandmother requested the agency’s involvement because they are afraid of Lawrence, who has been abusive to Gloria.

The first month of placement, Gloria maintained daily phone contact with her children and visited with them two or three times per week. For the past two weeks, Gloria has called two times and missed all of her visits. The case manager is meeting with Gloria to discuss the children’s need for maintaining a consistent and nurturing relationship with her.

In the family meeting, Shelley and Gloria’s mother are both very angry with Gloria for neglecting her children and for making the men in her life more important than her children, especially Lawrence, who has been abusive to her. Both Shelley and her mother believe that Gloria has made poor choices when it comes to men, and they feel that she has always put her own needs before the needs of her children. They are also angry that she has had several children without being married and is not willing to care for them. Gloria is angry that her sister and mother called for CPS involvement and feels they are trying to “get her kids” permanently when she thought they were willing to help her. She is also angry that she had to come in for this meeting.

Guidelines for Interacting with Anger

When your primary concern is reducing another person's level of anger (as opposed to encouraging exploration and expression of anger), the following guidelines will be helpful. Not following these guidelines can cause the person's level of anger to escalate.

Get in touch with your own feelings

  • Are you apprehensive, angry, afraid, anxious or guilty?
  • If so, try to calm yourself using self-talk, deep breaths or a brief relaxation exercise.

Give the other person adequate space

  • Move your chair back away from the person or sit back in your chair.
  • Avoid touching an angry person.
  • Keep arm gestures close to your body.
  • Keep your voice at a moderate tone.

Listen and respond to what the other person communicates

  • Reflect ideas and feelings you hear expressed before expressing your position.

Stay goal-focused

  • Remember the task.
  • Avoid getting sidetracked.
  • Refocus on the task after listening and responding.

Slow down the process (If the person is talking rapidly, excitedly or with agitation)

  • Slow down your own rate of speech.
  • Politely interrupt (“Excuse me, I'm not sure I understand what happened”).
  • Ask questions that require the person to think.
  • Ask content-oriented rather than feeling-oriented questions.
  • Remain goal-focused (do not get sidetracked).

Re-label feelings (If someone is expressing emotion, verbally or throughactions)

  • Reflect the emotions expressed.
  • Use “soft” labels, such as “upset,” “bothered,” “frustrated,” “concerned,” etc.
  • Avoid using strong emotional labels such as “angry,” “furious,” “mad,” etc.

Offer an alternate point of view (If someone has misperceived the situation or has a narrow perspective)

  • Reflect the point of view the person is expressing by paraphrasing.
  • Explain that there is another way of looking at the situation or that they are missing some information.
  • Provide the alternative point of view, explanation or information.
  • Check out the person's reaction to the alternative view.

Set limits (If someone seems to be losing control and/or otherwise is not cooperating)