Child Welfare Supervisor Learning Collaborative

The Northern Academy’s twice-annual Supervisor Learning Collaborative Series is designed to elevate leadership, strengthen teams and transform child welfare practice. Topics are drawn directly from supervisor feedback in a regional survey, ensuring each session is timely, relevant and grounded in the real-world needs of supervisors.

Upcoming Sessions

Sharpening Our Lens: Critical Thinking for Child Welfare Practice

Virtual: March 25, 2026, 9–11 a.m.

This session focuses on cultivating critical thinking in high-pressure environments. Participants will learn to strengthen assessments, reduce bias and support reflective decision-making, all while fostering sustainable leadership practices.

Who Should Attend:

Child welfare supervisors aiming to:

Strengthen assessment and decision-making skills
Support staff well-being and reflective practice
Build resilience and improve retention

What You’ll Gain:

Tools to apply critical thinking in fast-paced settings
Strategies to reduce bias and empower staff
Insights to build confidence, competence and sustainability

Let's Sharpen Our Lens Together

Together, these upcoming sessions create a supportive space for supervisors to grow as leaders, strengthen their teams and drive meaningful change in child welfare practice. We hope to see you there!

Academic Units

CEUs

0.2

Section Number

253SSA507

Instruction Method

Online class

Enroll Now

Section Schedule

Wed., Mar 25th, 2026, 9:00am to 11:00am

Fees

$0.00

Instructors

Nicole Bradford

Nicole Bradford, M.S.W., has spent over a decade working with vulnerable children and families as a child welfare social worker and supervisor in one of the few frontier counties in California. She has expertise in child abuse prevention and differential response, referral intake and emergency response investigations, and Resource Family Approval. Bradford has significant experience working in child abuse investigations, forensic interviewing of abuse victims and critical incidents related to child death investigations. She extends this trauma-informed lens administratively in her work to recruit, retain and build a competent child welfare workforce.

Kate Bedwell

Kate Bedwell is a social worker, trainer and certified Gallup Strengths Coach with more than 20 years of practice and leadership experience. Her career spans public child welfare, juvenile justice, family self-sufficiency and workforce development. As a supervising practice coach in public child welfare for more than seven years, she refined expertise in coaching, training and simulation facilitation to advance best practices across the workforce. She designs safe, dynamic and interactive learning environments that motivate individuals and teams. Inspired by her experience coaching within child welfare, Bedwell believes workforce development through training and coaching is essential to implementing evidence-based practice.