The Child Welfare Professional curriculum is 20 hours and focuses on case work practices and professional skills for staff across the child welfare continuum to promote child well-being, permanency and family stability for children in foster care and adoptive or guardianship families.
These aligned, state-of-the-art, web-based training utilize adult learning principles to actively engage the user. Each self-directed module includes a mix of text, video and audio and includes links to resources, activities, and opportunities for reflection using examples and stories from adoptive parents, children, and experts for each content area.
You may take the training through NTI, but if you are looking for reduced cost for the credit-granting version of the course, register here!
Key:
Complete
Next
Failed
Available
Locked
Module 1: Overview
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Overview, Purpose, and Need
- Guiding Principles That Support Effective Mental Health Practice
- Adoption and Guardianship Options Today - How Practices Have Changed
- Children’s Urgent Need for Permanence
Module 1 Quiz
21 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 14/21 points to pass
21 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 14/21 points to pass
Module 1 Quiz
Module 2: Mental Health
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Overview of the Mental Health Needs of Children
- Mental Health Assessment and Treatment Planning
- Helping Children and Youth Create Their Life Narrative
- Working with Parents to Address Mental Health Needs
- Child Welfare Role with Community Mental Health Providers
Module 2 Quiz
24 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/24 points to pass
24 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/24 points to pass
Module 2 Quiz
Module 3: Attachment and Separation
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Attachment and Separation: Their Impact on Development
- Supporting Attachment after Children’s and Youth’s Separation
- Working with Children and Youth to Support Healthy Attachment
- Child Welfare Professionals Role in Working with Parents
- Working with Mental Health Providers to Support Attachment
Module 3 Quiz
26 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/26 points to pass
26 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/26 points to pass
Module 4: Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Diversity
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- The Impact of Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Diversity
- Understanding the Mental Health Needs of Children in Diverse Families
- Working with Children and Youth Around Issues of Race and Racial Identity
- Role with Parents in Transracial and Transcultural Families
- Working with Youth and Families with Diverse SOGIE
Module 4 Quiz
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
Module 4 Quiz
Module 5: Loss and Grief
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Impact of Ambiguous and Unresolved Loss and Grief on Emotional Adjustments
- Understanding Loss and Grief Issues in the Context of Developmental Stages
- Helping Children and Youth Deal with Loss and Grief
- Helping Parents and Guardians Support Their Childs Grief
- Maintaining Connections and Openness
Module 5 Quiz
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 19/25 points to pass
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 19/25 points to pass
Module 5 Quiz
Module 6: Trauma
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Traumatic Experiences of Children Achieving Permanence
- Understanding the Psychological Impact of Trauma and How Children Cope
- Address the Impact of Trauma
- Working with Parents to Address the Impact of Trauma
- Child Welfare Professional's Role in Supporting Mental Health Treatment
Module 6 Quiz
27 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 19/27 points to pass
27 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 19/27 points to pass
Module 6 Quiz
Module 7: Identity
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Overview: Identity Matters
- Identity Formation During Adolescence
- Child Welfare Role With Children, Youth, and Birth Families in Supporting
- Helping Children and Youth with Positive Identity Formation
-Search and Reunion and Collaboration
Module 7 Quiz
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
Module 7 Quiz
Module 8: Child, Youth, and Family Adjustment
Begin self-paced component package.
Begin self-paced component package.
Included in this module are the following lessons:
- Child, Youth, and Family Adjustment After Adoption or Guardianship
-nChallenges of Children, Youth, and Families After Adoption or Guardianship
- Matching Child, Youth, and Family Needs to Services
- Maintaining Stability Post-Permanency - The Ongoing Journey
- Review of Lessons and Tools to Enhance Adoption Mental Health Competence
Module 8 Quiz
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
25 Questions | Unlimited attempts | 17/25 points to pass
Module 8 Quiz
Certificate of Completion
25.00 CEU credits | Certificate available
25.00 CEU credits | Certificate available
This certificate is awarded for successful completion of all module components.
| Access Date |
Quiz Result |
Score |
Actions |
The National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) is a research initiative, funded through a 5-year, $9 million-dollar cooperative agreement (#90CO1121) between the Children’s Bureau, and the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) working alongside the University of Maryland School of Social Work, Institute for Innovation and Implementation. NTI developed, piloted, and evaluated two state-of-the-art, standardized, web-based trainings to build the capacity of the child welfare and mental health workforce in all States, Tribes and Territories, to better understand and address the mental health needs of children, youth and their families moving toward or having achieved permanency through adoption and guardianship.
Because of traumatic life experiences and compromised beginnings, many children who are adopted or in guardianship experience elevated risks for developmental, health, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The impact of these experiences and challenges compromises well-being and family stability. NTI seeks to improve these outcomes by infusing enhanced adoption mental health competency in the provision of casework and clinical practice.
Learn More
