Vol. 24, No. 2
May 2019

Required CPS Assessments Course Is Being Revised

To ensure child welfare professionals have access to information about the best ways to achieve positive outcomes for families and children, the NC Division of Social Services (NCDSS) is continually revising and updating its child welfare in-service training.

One of the courses currently being revised is CPS Assessments in Child Welfare Services. This course is mandatory within the first year for county DSS employees responsible for completing CPS assessments.

CPS Assessments teaches participants to do thorough family and investigative assessments. This includes how to apply policy, engage in family-centered practice, conduct effective interviews, and complete structured decision-making tools.

What Will Be Different: This course now involves both online and classroom learning. Prior to attending the classroom portion, learners must take a self-paced online module on policy on ncswLearn.org.

This change will allow the 4-day classroom portion to focus on the application of policy, and to devote more time to skill development. For example, the revised classroom portion will share a guide on interviewing children and introduce narrative interviewing (aka "funneling"). In this way the course will lay a good foundation for effective practice and prepare workers for what they will learn in more depth in the related courses Responding to Child Sexual Abuse and Child Forensic Interviewing.

Launch Date: Fall 2019.