The New Jersey Department of Children and Families Child Welfare Training Academy was established to create a quality training program for all personnel in the State's child protective services system. The Training Academy works in partnership with New Jersey's social work and child welfare professionals, higher education communities and other practitioners who serve children and families to ensure that the Department's training programs reflect the best child welfare policies and practices across all disciplines.
The NJCWTA staff is located at the following locations:
- Administrative Office – 30 Van Dyke Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ – 732-448-6300
- Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center, Farmingdale, NJ – 732-935-5061
- 101 Haddon Avenue, 4th floor, Camden, NJ – 856-614-2985
- 100 Hamilton Plaza, Paterson, NJ – 973-977-4493
Pre-Service: Family & Community Engagement: Pre-Service Family and Community Engagement training teaches new caseworkers, prior to their assuming a full caseload, how to conduct interviews with parents, medical staff, and other child welfare professionals, as well as how to refer families for services.
Supervisory Practices in Child Welfare: Supervisory Practices in Child Welfare was developed to train newly promoted supervisors how to provide quality supervision and support to their direct services staff.
In-Service Foundation Courses are offered to newly hired DCP&P employees within their first year of service. Training courses are geared toward providing the caseworkers with a full overview and basic knowledge of some of the factors involved in child abuse and neglect. Courses include:
- Understanding Substance Abuse & Addiction
- Mental Illness
- Domestic Violence
- Child Sex Abuse Identification & Investigation
Concurrent Planning: This training optimizes caseworkers’ skills and ability to simultaneously work toward family reunification while also ensuring timely adoption, if ordered by the courts.
First Responders in Child Welfare (Child Protective Services Intake): The First Responders in Child Welfare training is designed to enhance the skills of child protective services investigators, when they are called upon to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect.
NJ Spirit Training in how to use the State's new Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, NJ Spirit, includes instruction on how to navigate the computer system and teaches staff how to develop and maintain automated records management, case planning, service planning, and data tracking.
New Jersey Partnership for Child Welfare: Lead by Rutgers University, with partners Montclair State University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and Kean University, this initiative provides training sessions on the Case Practice Model (CPM). With help from these prestigious institutions, DCF seeks to train more than 4,000 DCP&P caseworkers, supervisors, managers and community partners by 2009.
Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program, Stockton College: The Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP) is a consortium of seven New Jersey colleges (Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Stockton College, Georgian Court University, Monmouth University, Kean University, Ramapo College) that enables students to earn the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree and begin a career in child public welfare. The BCWEP program offers students a supervised child welfare practice internship in local DCP&P offices and tuition reimbursement for their last year of college, to those who agree to work at a local DYFS office for a period of two years, post graduation.
The Masters Child Welfare Education Program (MCWEP), a consortium of three New Jersey MSW Programs (Monmouth University, Rutgers University, and Stockton College): Expanding on the Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP) with Stockton College as the consortium’s Lead Institution, its purpose is to offer current Division of Youth and Family Services supervisors the opportunity to strengthen their skills in clinical social work practice and supervision by enrolling in a graduate social work program and earning an advanced degree in social work (MSW). Successful applicants will have their tuition and fees provided, be able to continue their employment, and will enroll in one of the part-time MSW programs at Monmouth, Rutgers, or Stockton.
Montclair Child Advocacy Certification Program: This is an 18-hour credit program for staff, Child Placement Review Board members, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) who wish to volunteer to help children at risk of out-of-home placement or who are in foster care. The program covers the importance of the Family Court's role with respect to child placement; the Adoption of Safe Families Act; and how to negotiate community systems that impact on children and families already in or at risk of entering the child placement system.
