NCWDDP Program Snapshot

The NCWDDP modules are organized around 4 key topic areas:

Total Program Time: 35-55 hours

Reading/Activities: 17-37 hours

Coaching: 18 hours

Organization Readiness Building

Module 1

Core Practice Model (3-5 hours)

Learn the fundamentals of the California Child Welfare Core Practice Model (CPM) and why it’s important. Understand how the CPM is implemented in your county and develop a basic plan for next steps. This module closes with a self-assessment and drafting of a professional development plan that will be used during the program.

Key Learning Activities:

  • Self-assessment
  • Professional Development Plan
  • Reading/Activities (1-3 hours)
  • Coaching (2 hours)

Module 2

Organizational Development (5-9 hours)

Delve deeper into the organizational culture and climate of your agency and gain an understanding of organizational assessments and how one might or might not benefit your work. Review your agency’s outcome data and the framework for making decisions for quality improvement.

Key Learning Activities

  • Orientation to a range of assessment tools
  • Organizational assessment (if applicable)
  • Study of county data
  • Reading/Activities (2-6 hours)
  • Coaching (3 hours)

Module 3

Leadership Development (6-8 hours)

Understand different leadership types and assess what type is most needed in your organization and if possible, in what circumstances. Special focus is on Adaptive Leadership capacity development due to the critical role it plays in public Child Welfare. Review and refinement of professional development plan from Module One is a key activity.

Key Learning Activities

  • Leadership Style Assessment (if applicable)
  • Adaptive Leadership assessment w/team
  • Professional Development Plan refinement
  • Reading/Activities (4-6 hours)
  • Coaching (2 hours)

Engagement, Relationship, and Partnerships

Module 4

Statewide Meetings and Regional Work (2-3 hours)

Understand the landscape of both statewide and regional meetings, their relevance to the Child Welfare director role and how they relate to each other. Identify and begin outreach to those entities to ensure appropriate participation.

Key Learning Activities

  • Talk with key committee members from region and state
  • Generate landscape document of statewide and regional meetings
  • Reading/Activities (1/2-2 hours)
  • Coaching (1 hour)

Module 5

Building Relationship with Community Partners (4-6 hours)

Understand the importance of key partnerships between public and private systems-local, regional, statewide, national.

Key Learning Activities

  • Add to Landscape document key local and regional partnership and stakeholder meetings
  • Reading/Activities (2-4 hours)
  • Coaching (2 hours)

Quality, Outcomes, and System Improvement

Module 6

Policy and Compliance (4-7 hours)

Understand all the applicable codes that are the regulatory framework for public Child Welfare in California. Key learning activity is developing internal strategies to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal policies that guide the implementation of Child Welfare.

Key Learning Activities

  • Gather key documents related to local, state and federal policy compliance
  • Assess internal practices, generate ideas for improvement
  • Reading/Activities (2-5 hours)
  • Coaching (2 hours)

Module 7

Fiscal Management (4-6 hours)

Understanding of federal, state and local funding streams are key to the delivery services to children and families. This module provides useful resources for the new director to use to better understand all funding streams in Child Welfare and strategies and fiscal tools for leveraging, budgeting and developing funding to the benefit of children and families.

Key Learning Activities

  • Understand the contents of key federal, state and local resources for managing human and financial resources to effectuate positive outcomes for children and families
  • Reading/Activities (2-4 hours)
  • Coaching (2 hours)

Module 8

Implementation Science (3-4 hours)

There is growing evidence that the improvement of any service or intervention is directly tied to how it is implemented. This module will provide useful resources and coaching in how to apply implementation principles to the inevitable policy, fiscal, program and practice changes in the future. Various implementation tools are reviewed and provided.

Key Learning Activities

  • Review of Implementation Science frameworks and assessing agency in the context of readiness for innovation and change.
  • Optional assessment
  • Reading/Activities (2-3 hours)
  • Coaching (1 hour)

Workforce Development

Module 9

Workforce Development (5-7 hours)

Understanding the key drivers of good selection, onboarding, practice development, and retention strategies is necessary to build a competent workforce in public Child Welfare. Develop and understand the landscape of training and education partnerships.

Key Learning Activities

  • Professional Development Plan review
  • Course evaluation
  • Reading/Activities (2-4 hours)
  • Coaching (3 hours)