Learning and Development

Under contract with the Department of Children and Family Services (Department), the School of Social Work, through the Learning and Development Program provides professional learning and development solutions to suit the specific needs of external and internal child welfare staff, caregivers, and service providers serving youth in care.  The departments that comprise this program are: Certification and Licensing (Child Welfare Employee Licensure), Instruction Design and Development, Information and Instructional Technology, and Testing and Evaluation.

The instructional design team is responsible for design and development of curricula for initial Pre-service Foundation and In-service courses; and for related and non-related caregiver pre-and in-service training programs, including Foster, Adoptive, Kinship and Subsidized Guardianship programs in both classroom and digital format that meet Title IV-B and IV-E requirements.  In collaboration with the testing evaluation team, staff in this program evaluate the effectiveness of training, including the development and administration of instruments and surveys to measure and indicate the qualitative and quantitative effectiveness of training programs.

The testing and evaluation team directs and oversees statewide employee testing.   This team creates, updates and monitors evaluations and examinations; creates and monitors training reports; and collaborates with contracted providers in establishing systems and reporting tools regarding the design, development, and scoring for all preservice and in-service training conducted by DCFS’ Office of Learning and Professional Development (OLPD).

The information and instructional technology team oversees operations and continued development and enhancement of DCFS’ learning management system (the Virtual Training Center or VTC); administers the Learning Management System (LMS), deploys and monitors online course materials that include audio and video media, troubleshoots technical issues for participants; and tracks and monitors mandated training compliance.

The certification and licensing team tracks and monitors the Child Welfare Employee Licensure (CWEL) credentialing and other licensure processes and requirements.