The Children Services Training and Development Section within the Office of Families and Children works collaboratively across the office to provide and develop policy and practice training and guidance to child protective services staff. The Children Services Training and Development Section partners with the policy areas, automated systems, technical assistance specialists (TAS) teams, the state training coordinator (Ohio Child Welfare Training Program), and regional training centers (RTCs) to provide a comprehensive support system to our agencies.
The Children Services Training and Development Section is intended to provide focused support, guidance, and skill development to assist counties with identified practice needs. The Children Services Training and Development Section does this through partnering with counties to assess needs, coordinate training, provide support in applying policy to practice, evaluate outcomes, and contribute to policy development. Rules and regulations are forever evolving, and we need a dedicated unit to interpret, train, and help agencies with effective implementation. This level of support is another way of assisting counties to become more consistent and improve outcomes for children and families.
All training content is now available in the new CAPS LMS (See login job aid below).
This includes the Caseworker and Supervisor Onboarding Modules.
Access to non-ODJFS staff to limited training content is at the bottom of this page.
The Child and Adult
Protective Services Learning Management System (CAPS LMS)
Job Aids:
CAPS Intro Video for County Liaisons (To play, click on the slide show and select "from the beginning")
CAPS LMS-Introduction for Caseworkers Assessors
and Resource Caregivers
AVEnueS in Child Protection Caseworker Training
AVEnueS is a voice-activated interactive tool that simulates the real-world situations that caseworkers face in the field. Participants are given background information on a family and then they enter into a real-life scenario. Participants can see the home the family lives in and can make observations around the living space with a 360-degree view. The participant will have the opportunity to interact with the virtual family by asking one of three pre-programmed questions that will prompt the virtual family to respond to the question, creating a dynamic interaction. There are trillions of pathways the scenario can take, so it is possible that no two participants will have the same experience.
A curriculum advisory group was created to review the trainer guides developed by Ohio’s University Consortium for Child and Adult Services. The group includes OFC policy staff, CAPMIS trainers, and Regional Training Center (RTC) staff. Workshops linking the scenarios to Ohio CAPMIS were piloted and finalized in December 2021. Each workshop was designed as a two-part experience. Participants will complete the virtual reality (VR) scenario prior to the workshop and then attend the learning session afterward to discuss what they experienced, reflect on their decision-making, articulate their professional opinion and gain skills in documenting their work. The discussion will allow them to reflect on their experiences and better understand how they form opinions about the families they work with. One caseworker who completed a workshop, stated, “It was pretty cool using the VR goggles. It is very engaging. It is about biases, race, differences, etc.”
AVEnueS can also be used as a hiring tool for potential employees. The tool allows candidates to see what a caseworker position entails. It also gives agencies the opportunity to learn how that candidate makes decisions. Indiana has been using this tool and has found it helpful for improving caseworker retention rates. In using the AVEnueS tool in Ohio, we hope to be able to strengthen our workforce and give caseworkers and potential caseworkers real-life experiences in a protected environment. For more information please contact the Children Services Training & Development team at OFCTraining@jfs.ohio.gov.
OCWTP was founded in 1986. It is a comprehensive, competency based in-service training system to public child welfare professionals, foster caregivers, and adoptive parents in Ohio’s 85 county Public Children Services Agencies. Recognizing the critical need for consistent, standardized, in-service training for child welfare professionals, ODJFS, in collaboration with the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO), initiated the OCWTP. The OCWTP develops and provides an array of training activities to promote mastery of the complex knowledge and skills needed to assure protection and permanence for Ohio’s abused and neglected. Training is provided by highly skilled and certified trainers through a regionally organized delivery system.
State Training Coordinator – Ohio’s University Consortium for Child and Adult Services (OUCCAS)
OUCCAS is responsible for the general administration and management (GA/M) of OCWTP and OHSTS training development and delivery, evaluation, analytics, and communication. The contract includes statewide coordination with the University Partnership Program (UPP), Regional Training Centers (RTCs), and stakeholder partnerships. The training coordinator, OUCCAS, is also responsible for statewide technical and administrative support for the learning management system.
Ohio Revised Code sections 5103.30 through 5103.422 govern the operations of the OCWTP, state training coordinator, steering committee, regional training centers, and define other requirements of the OCWTP.
OCWTP Steering Committee
The OCWTP Statewide Steering Committee conducts strategic and operational planning, program management, and oversight for all OCWTP initiatives and activities.
Regional Training Centers (RTCs)
For child welfare training purposes, the OCWTP divides Ohio into 8 RTCs, each of which is responsible for the budgeting, scheduling, registration, and administration of child welfare-related training within its region. Each RTC collaborates with its constituent agencies regarding the identification of training needs, the implementation of training, transfer of learning, and other training-related issues.
The 8 RTCs convene monthly as a group to discuss common issues, including the development of new trainers, implementation of specific workshops, transfer of learning, RTC operations, and general problem solving.
Ohio’s UPP was established in 2002. It is part of Ohio’s commitment to improving outcomes for children and families by strengthening its child welfare workforce. It is a unique and beneficial partnership among the ODJFS, eight of Ohio’s public university schools of social work, OUCCAS, PCSAO, and Ohio’s 85 PCSAs. The purpose of UPP is to bolster Ohio’s professional child protection workforce by increasing the number of well-trained graduates with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work who enter the field.
The partnership has four primary purposes:
- Recruiting social workers to the field of child welfare
- Preparing graduates for entry-level work in child welfare (minimizing time and money in training)
- Increasing retention of child welfare staff; and
- Professionalizing the field of child welfare in the state of Ohio
UPP students take special courses on child welfare, complete a field placement at a PCSA, and after graduating and accepting a casework position in an Ohio PCSA, receive a student incentive payment (maximum $10k). Those who complete the program may not have to take the required core training (102 hours) that all other new caseworkers must complete within their first year of employment.
View the most recent UPP evaluation report (2021 - 2022)
OHSTS began providing in-service training in 1989 to Ohio's Adult Protective Services workforce and their private and public partners.
OHSTS is a cooperative effort between the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, four Regional Training Centers and OUCCAS. The statewide Steering Committee provides program oversight and governance of the developmental and operational activities necessary for OHSTS to achieve its mission.
OHSTS is a comprehensive, competency-based in-service training system. Four Regional Training Centers coordinate training events in local agencies based on identified learning needs for Adult Protective Services staff. The system promotes culturally competent practice and plans deliberate strategies to transfer learning from the classroom to the workplace.
Training Resources (All county and state staff should be accessing this content through the CAPS LMS)
The County Child Abuse and Neglect Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (5101:2-33-26)
February 28, 2023
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
MOU PowerPoint PDF
Resources:
JFS 01425 Model Memorandum of Understanding (The PCSA may create a template in lieu of the JFS 01425, containing all requirements outlined therein)
JFS 01425-I Instructions for the Model Memorandum of Understanding
Review Documents:
MOU Review Process
MOU Review Tool
Kickoff Event: Ohio's Approach to Strengthening Relationships Between Primary and Resource Families
Statewide Training: July 21, 2022, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Strengthening Relationships Toolbox:
“ODJFS has created the Strengthening Relationships
Toolbox in collaboration with testimonials and resources we have collected as
part of our research and engagement with external partners. These
resources should not be perceived as promotion or endorsement by ODJFS of any
entity identified throughout the videos and literature. These resources
are intended to support your agency’s library while developing your practices
in strengthening relationships between primary and resource families”.
- JFS08106 Resource Parent Questionnaire
- JFS08107 Quick Tips to Support Resource Families and Primary Families in Strengthening Relationships
- JFS08108 Care Guide Resource Tool
- JFS08110 Care Guide
- JFS08074 Poster
Additional Tools:
The Power of Relationships: Sarah, Josh and Samantha https://youtu.be/1ORH6kwPEz0
Family Connections Program Website Training Tidbit: Why Relationships Matter - Overview | Rise 360 (articulate.com)
**Please note: This podcast is the individual’s
firsthand account of her experience. It provides a very emotional story
and should be considered as such when listening, being mindful of possible
trauma triggers and/or overwhelming emotions.
Institute for Family Seen Out Loud Podcast: Ep. 2 with Shrounda Selivanoff | Seen and Heard by Institute
for Family
Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) (Date December 7, 2022; 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.):
PowerPoint Note slides
Video
QA Document
SB 239 Non-Licensed Professional Treatment Staff Training
Private Agency Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines
If you need accommodation for accessibility in reference to the videos posted on this page, please contact 614-644-2703.
Additional "how to" articles and webinar's can be found on the SACWIS Knowledge Base.
Please be advised that all Ohio SACWIS Knowledge Base content are being migrated to the CAPS LMS community. For more information you may reach out to the CAPSLMS@jfs.ohio.gov
PCSA New Caseworker and Supervisor Onboarding: Content now live in the CAPS LMS (Need help OFCTraining@jfs.ohio.gov)
Adult Protective Services Training Corner