State of New Jersey | Department of Children and Families

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families Child Welfare Training Academy was established to create a quality training program for all personnel in the State's child protective services system. The Training Academy works in partnership with New Jersey's social work and child welfare professionals, higher education communities and other practitioners who serve children and families to ensure that the Department's training programs reflect the best child welfare policies and practices across all disciplines.

The NJCWTA staff is located at the following locations:

320 Sullivan Way (Katzenbach Campus), Trenton, NJ (609) 883-7701
Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center, Farmingdale, NJ
(732) 938-6922 x 2037
4 Echelon Plaza, 201 Laurel Road, Voorhees, NJ (856) 770-1073 x 1050
100 Hamilton Plaza, Paterson, NJ (973) 977-4493

TRAINING PROGRAMS

Pre-Service: Family & Community Engagement: Pre-Service Family and Community Engagement training teaches new caseworkers, prior to their assuming a full caseload, how to conduct interviews with parents, medical staff, and other child welfare professionals, as well as how to refer families for services.

Supervisory Practices in Child Welfare: Supervisory Practices in Child Welfare was developed to train newly promoted supervisors how to provide quality supervision and support to their direct services staff.

In-Service Foundation Courses are offered to newly hired DYFS employees within their first year of service. Training courses are geared toward providing the caseworkers with a full overview and basic knowledge of some of the factors involved in child abuse and neglect. Courses include:

Understanding Substance Abuse & Addiction
Mental Illness
Domestic Violence
Child Sex Abuse Identification & Investigation

Concurrent Planning: This training optimizes caseworkers’ skills and ability to simultaneously work toward family reunification while also ensuring timely adoption, if ordered by the courts.

First Responders in Child Welfare (Child Protective Services Intake): The First Responders in Child Welfare training is designed to enhance the skills of child protective services investigators, when they are called upon to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect.

NJ Spirit Training in how to use the State's new Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, NJ Spirit, includes instruction on how to navigate the computer system and teaches staff how to develop and maintain automated records management, case planning, service planning, and data tracking.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS

New Jersey Partnership for Child Welfare: Lead by Rutgers University, with partners Montclair State University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and Kean University, this initiative provides training sessions on the Case Practice Model (CPM). With help from these prestigious institutions, DCF seeks to train more than 4,000 DYFS caseworkers, supervisors, managers and community partners by 2009.

Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program, Stockton College: The Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP) is a consortium of seven New Jersey colleges (Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Stockton College, Georgian Court University, Monmouth University, Kean University, Ramapo College) that enables students to earn the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree and begin a career in child public welfare. The BCWEP program offers students a supervised child welfare practice internship in local DYFS offices and tuition reimbursement for their last year of college, to those who agree to work at a local DYFS office for a period of two years, post graduation.

The Public Child Welfare Intensive Weekend MSW Program, Rutgers University: This program enables DYFS staff to earn their Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with the agreement to continue their work in child welfare for a period of no less than two years upon completion of the degree. Students must attend classes one weekend a month for a period of approximately three years and complete two internships over the course of their educational experience: one in a local DYFS office performing a different function from their current jobs; and one at a local contracted agency to learn how social services organizations outside of DYFS work with families who are involved with the public child welfare system.

Montclair Child Advocacy Certification Program: This is an 18-hour credit program for staff, Child Placement Review Board members, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) who wish to volunteer to help children at risk of out-of-home placement or who are in foster care. The program covers the importance of the Family Court's role with respect to child placement; the Adoption of Safe Families Act; and how to negotiate community systems that impact on children and families already in or at risk of entering the child placement system.

Tuition Assistance Program: The Department of Children and Families has created several initiatives to strengthen the professionalism of the workforce. This program supports approved staff to pursue DCF job-related courses and receive 75% reimbursement for up to six credits a semester.

Human Resource Development Institute Training and Certificate Programs (HRDI): HRDI offers courses and programs to all State Government employees in professional development, management and supervision, business operations, workforce issues, public safety and information technology.

Career Ladders: This program is offered to all non-degreed Department of Human Services and Department of Children and Families staff (case aides, youth workers, and clerical staff) who wish to pursue a career in child protective services. Satisfactory completion of the program results in 12 college credits, as members of a Community College Consortium offer this training program to employees at their work sites and during work hours.