



	Home

	About the Northern Academy

	Participating Counties

	Online Classroom

	Classroom Locations

	Resource Library

	Web Links

	Contact Us

	Programs

	Advanced and Specialized Practice

	Advanced Strength-Based Series

	Certificate Program in Children and Family Services

	Children's Health Issues

	Core Program
	(Social Workers and Supervisors)

	Court Courses

	CWS/CMS Northern Training Lab Consortium

	Foundation Courses

	Leadership

	Nurses and Child Welfare

	Distance Learning

	Symposiums and Special Offerings

Certificate Program in Children and Family Services

In the past decade, the number of social workers needed to provide services to children and their families has surpassed the number of people graduating from qualified university social work programs. As a solution to this shortage, many northern California counties have moved toward hiring paraprofessionals to support their child welfare social work staff. This Certificate Program provides a foundational, skill-based training for paraprofessionals and a career opportunity to individuals who may not have pursued a college degree. Child welfare community partners may also take these courses.

The UC Davis Academic Senate and appropriate academic departments have approved the Certificate Program in Children and Family Services. Academic credit earned through the program may be applied toward degrees at other institutions of higher education at the discretion of those institutions.

Course Requirements

The Certificate Program requires completion of 14.0 quarter units (equivalent to 140 hours) of instruction. Completion of the seven required courses (totaling 9.5 quarter units) and any combination of the eight elective courses (totaling 4.5 quarter units) will fulfill the certificate requirements. The Northern Academy recommends that participants take the required courses in the order listed below. Participants not interested in obtaining a certificate may take individual courses.

Certificate Program in Children and Family Services
Required Courses (9.5 units)	units	days
Policy and Practice in Child Welfare	2.0	3
Understanding the Dynamics of Child Abuse and Neglect	1.5	2
Building Skills for Working with Families	1.0	1.5
Developing Working Partnerships and Maintaining Confidentiality	1.0	1.5
Identifying and Responding to Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Family Violence	2.0	3
Safety and Self-Care Awareness	0.5	1
Delivering Excellent Customer Service	1.5	2
Elective Courses (4.5 units)	units	days
Child Development	1.5	2
Child Welfare and CWS/CMS	2.0	3
Health and Mental Health Issues in Children	1.5	2
Motivational Interviewing	1.5	2
Successful Home Visits and Family Visitation	1.5	2
Teaching Life Skills to Parents	1.5	2
Working with Families as a Translator	0.5	1
Writing Skills for Social Services	1.0	1.5

Required Courses

Policy and Practice in Child Welfare
2 quarter units academic credit, X408.1.

Replace this text with your new content

This course offers a historical overview of child welfare and the development of the field of social work. It also explores core competencies of workplace ethics and professional conduct.

Topics include:

� professional boundaries

� culturally sensitive practice

� influence of values and beliefs on working families

� perspectives of the provider

Participants will learn the importance of family, community, culture and professional attitude in child welfare services. They will also learn to consider the effects of public policy on the lives of children and the importance of record keeping in a legal and ethical framework.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Understanding the Dynamics of Child Abuse and Neglect
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.3.

Replace this text with your new content

This course focuses on the essential features and dynamics of child abuse and neglect.

Topics include

types of abuse and neglect
indicators of abuse and neglect
safety versus risk assessment
cultural beliefs and child-rearing practices

Participants will gain an understanding of child abuse and neglect. They will develop strategies for dealing with their own emotional response to child abuse and neglect.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Building Skills for Working with Families
1 quarter units academic credit, X408.4.

This course provides a framework of knowledge and skills for working with families using a strength-based approach.

Topics include:

developing healthy professional boundaries
ethnic sensitivity and multicultural practice
core child welfare skills
human behavior and the social environment

Participants will learn the principles of a strength-based practice and how class and culture affect a family's decisions and behaviors.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Developing Working Partnerships and Maintaining Confidentiality
1 quarter units academic credit, X408.5.

This course offers a framework for working with internal and external partner agencies to meet the needs of the families they serve.

Topics include:

building rapport with families and service providers
addressing issues of confidentiality
working with various policies, practices and levels of staff
maintaining professional boundaries

Participants will develop skills in building collaborative relationships with individuals, groups, organizations and government agencies.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Identifying and Responding to Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Family Violence
2 quarter units academic credit, X408.6.

This course focuses on strength-based strategies to help participants develop knowledge and skill in identifying and appropriately supporting families dealing with substance abuse, mental health or family violence.

Topics include:

cycle of addiction and recovery
treatment and intervention options
mental health disorders and mental health services
dynamics of family violence and strategies for intervention and support

Participants will develop the tools and skills to build on a family's strengths to address factors that may be barriers to a safe and stable family environment.

Sections of this course open for enrollment:

Identifying and Responding to Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Family Violence starts January 5, 2010

Safety and Self-Care Awareness
0.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.7.

Replace this text with your new content

This course enhances participants� safety skills and increases their self-confidence in working with families.

Topics include

integrating agency policies concerning safety into daily practice
recognizing pre-incident indicators that may lead to potentially dangerous situations
increasing awareness of environmental factors that affect safety

Participants will learn to recognize and value different cultural means of expressing emotions; identify and build a safety support system; and terminate an interaction due to safety concerns.

Sections of this course open for enrollment:

Safety and Self-Care Awareness starts March 16, 2010

Delivering Excellent Customer Service
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.8.

This course addresses skills for working effectively with agencies, clients and the public in ways that improve service, foster positive relations and promote the purpose of human services initiatives.

Topics include:

various customer groups and their needs
customer service and an agency's mission and goals
barriers to excellent customer service

Participants will be able to understand the elements of a client-centered, culturally-responsive approach to excellent customer service.

Sections of this course open for enrollment:

Delivering Excellent Customer Service starts February 24, 2010

Elective Courses

Writing Skills for Social Services
1 quarter units academic credit, X408.2.

Replace this text with your new content

This course presents basic writing skills for working in child welfare.�

Topics include

grammar
observation documentation
letter writing
emails
interoffice and community communication

Participants will have opportunities to practice writing techniques and refine their writing skills in a child welfare context.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Child Development
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.12.

This course builds a foundation for working with children and families by focusing on stages of child development.

Topics include:

age-appropriate play
attachment, separation and loss
child safety
car seats
home safety
cultural norms and biases in parenting

Participants will learn the developmental milestones of children and the ways to effectively support parent and child interactions throughout a child's development.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Child Welfare and CWS/CMS
2 quarter units academic credit, X408.11.

Replace this text with your new content

This course introduces the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), a statewide automated system that is used for tracking child welfare cases throughout the state and for documenting child welfare case activities. CWS/CMS and been fully implemented by all 58 counties in the state.�

Topics include

referral management
case management
client management
placement management
contact management
court management

Participants will learn how to document the investigation of referrals, create case plans, create and enter client data, record placement data, document contacts, create and track hearings and produce various documents.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Health and Mental Health Issues in Children
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.13.

This course provides information regarding the most commonly identified health and mental health issues of children in the child welfare system. Topics include * childhood inoculations * developmental delay * well-baby visits * record keeping Participants will gain a basic understanding of children's health and mental health issues to support interactions with parents, doctors and health specialists.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Motivational Engagement
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.14.

Replace this text with your new content

This course examines the use of motivational interviewing as a technique to help clients address ambivalence toward change.

Topics include

the cycles of resistance and change
skills for supporting change in each stage
working in partnerships

Participants will learn how to work with clients in the cycle of resistance or in various stages of change.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Successful Home Visits and Family Visitation
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.9.

The home visit can be a critical ingredient in successfully working with a family to provide child welfare services. This course will help participants strengthen and refine their skills for working with families in their homes and in locations other than the office.

Topics include:

how to prepare for a home visit
the elements of a successful home visit
how to work with a family in a home setting
special visitation challenges both inside and outside the home

Participants will have the opportunity to practice and improve their observation skills and become familiar with various activities designed to facilitate positive parent/child interactions.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Teaching Life Skills to Parents
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.10.

This class focuses on training participants to teach life skills to the parents they serve in child welfare.

Topics include:

financial planning
home safety
child safety
preparing meals
nutritional information

Participants will develop an understanding of adult learning principles to support their teaching and mentoring of adults.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.

Working with Families as a Translator
0.5 quarter units academic credit, X408.15.

The role of a translator is essential to ensure that information is appropriately communicated between social workers and families. A translator must not only be proficient in the language being interpreted but also must be culturally sensitive to each translation situation.

Topics include:

understanding the law-legal and ethical responsibilities
understanding the immigrant family's view of the social service system
role and responsibility of the translator
preparing the social worker for the translation appointment
methods for dealing with conflicts between the social worker and the immigrant family

As a result of this workshop, participants will be better prepared as translators to support successful working relationships between families and social workers.

Please refer to the �quarterly schedule of courses� above to see when this course will be offered again.
Notify me when this course is offered again.