The Acorn | November 2020

Welcome to The Acorn! Each month we share the latest trainings, data, and resources available to child welfare professionals throughout Minnesota.

This November we will look at the worker competency of Assessment, which involves gathering information about reported concerns and family needs, practicing basic principles and techniques of interviewing children and families, evaluating the relevance of information, as well as identifying family strengths and community and tribal resources, with special attention to problems and concerns related to child protection and family preservation. Look for that article next week.

For supervisors we will explore the competency of Team Leadership, which asks that supervisors communicate and utilize agency mission and vision to support effective practice with children and families in a changing context.

Every month we look at specific competencies within the Framework for Competent Child Welfare Practice to explore what competency development really means to our work. If you have stories to share about your experiences in child welfare, or feedback about developing competencies in your work, let us know!

To register for the following course, visit TrainLink and select Class Schedule. If you need to cancel, even if it seems last minute, please contact Myrna Klegin at myrna.klegin@state.mn.us. Our class sizes tend to be small and we often have a waiting list.

Legal Practice Skills (CSP8205A)
December 1-2 | 9:00AM-12:30PM Each Day | Online
This is a "must take" class for anyone who may find themselves involved in child protection legal proceedings. Federal and Minnesota law requires county agencies to engage in reasonable efforts to support families involved in the child welfare system. This class discusses how case workers can do so by learning about their roles and responsibilities, collaborating with other courtroom professionals, and focusing on families’ cultures and strengths. Additionally, this class will cover in-depth the role of the case worker in court proceedings, including proper documentation, preparing for various court hearings, and tips for testifying at trials.

Accommodation Requests
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in a training, contact us as soon as possible at info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com.

SSIS COFFEE TALK TUESDAY for SSIS Fiscal and Worker Mentors: Adult Protection Processes and SSIS Statewide Release v20.4
SSIS Mentors and Coordinators are invited to join us Tuesday, November 24, at 9:00 a.m. for our next SSIS Coffee Talk webinar Adult Protection Processes and SSIS Statewide Release v20.4. November’s coffee talk is being offered via Zoom. Registration is required. Questions are appreciated in advance and should be directed to the SSIS Help Desk. To request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this session, please contact Heide Moris (heide.moris@state.mn.us).

The best way to thrive during these trying times is to find ways to take care of yourself. Following are several options that may be helpful:

NCWWI offers this Well-Being webinar recording as part of their Supporting the Virtual Workforce series. In this session, Dr. Amelia Franck Meyer provides hopeful perspectives, concrete action steps and tools, and words of comfort and support for our workforce to help them manage through this crisis.
Everyone is talking about self-care, but what do they really mean? This NBC News article shows how to cut through the marketing noise and actually practice it.