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Vol. 3, No. 3 • June 2002 New
Training Courses Make their Debut in Spring 2002 Spring this year brought with it frequent news of our state’s worsening fiscal crisis. Would the budget shortfall be $1 billion? $1.5 billion? More? It was a season full of concerns about how North Carolina’s financial problems might affect our ability to serve families and children. Yet at the same time the spring of 2002 was the encouraging, hopeful season it always is. In the midst of their concern, county departments of social services continued to protect children and help families overcome difficult, complex challenges. While the counties did this, the N.C. Division of Social Services developed and offered several new training courses—a continuation of its efforts to provide the state’s child welfare workers with the information and skills they need to do their vital work. Following is a brief profile of two of these courses, signs of progress during an uncertain spring. Child NeglectLast year in North Carolina, there were 32,581 substantiated cases of child maltreatment. Out of those cases, 90% were classified as “neglect only.” National child maltreatment fatality statistics are even more striking: in 1999, 38.2% of child maltreatment fatalities were classified as “neglect only”—by far the most common cause of fatalities. (“Physical abuse only” was next, at 26.1%). Clearly, neglect is a major issue in child welfare. Yet the person on the street would probably tell you differently—the dramatic, visual impact of physical and sexual abuse capture our attention more easily than the often “invisible” effects of neglect. To help child welfare workers cultivate a greater understanding of this issue and develop their ability to work with families who neglect, North Carolina has created Understanding and Intervening in Child Neglect. This three-day course, which debuted in Fayetteville and Charlotte this spring, teaches practitioners to:
Understanding Neglect was developed and piloted by the Jordan Institute for Families in partnership with the N.C. Division of Social Services. Child Mental HealthDid you know that children in foster care are three times more likely to suffer from mental illness than children in the general population? Or that child maltreatment causes some psychiatric disorders and worsens others? The mental health of the children involved with the child welfare system is a serious and complex issue. To help workers understand and address the mental health needs of the children they serve, the N.C. Division of Social Services and the Jordan Institute for Families have created Understanding Child Mental Health Issues. This three-day course gives participants a basic understanding of six of the most common childhood mental disorders encountered by those working in child welfare: ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, conduct disorder, and reactive attachment disorder. Child Mental Health teaches participants about the causes and treatments of these disorders and provides them with practical tips for enabling birth and foster parents to help children with mental health issues. Both Neglect and Child Mental Health are “300-level” courses, intended for those who possess more than one year’s child welfare experience. They would be of benefit to supervisors, administrators, and line workers in all areas of child welfare.
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News About the Child Welfare Training CalendarThe publication of the 2002 Summer/Fall Children’s Services Training Schedule has been delayed. It is anticipated the schedule will be published and mailed to county agencies, in limited quantities, in early fall 2002. In the interim, directors of county departments of social services will be informed about individual training events through correspondence from the Division. As usual, after the training calendar has been published it will be made available online at <http://ssw.unc.edu/fcrp/training_schedule/trainsched_welcome.htm>.
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Partial List of Upcoming Training EventsIf you work in a county department of social services in North Carolina, look for correspondence from the N.C. Division of Social Services about these courses: Adult Mental Health Adoptions Case Management and Planning Child Development in Families
at Risk Effects of Separation and
Loss Emotional Aspects of TPR Foster Family Home Licensing Intake Making the Most of Visitation Placement Substance Abuse Sexual Abuse Understanding Child Mental
Health Issues Understanding and Intervening
in Child Neglect |
