Core 3.5 Virtual February 2025 Cohort

Core for Social Workers provides a foundational understanding and skill set related to child welfare practice in California. The goal is to provide training that reflects real world application of knowledge and skill to daily child welfare practice. Additionally, Core for Social Workers allows participants to build a network of support with colleagues in Northern California as they work through the variety of key concepts and foundations of child welfare practice.

Application Required:

The Northern Academy will offer most of our Core cohorts fully in-person in the 2025/2026 training season. We understand that attending in-person training may present a hardship for some workers in our region. To accommodate, we are offering a limited selection of virtual cohorts by application. Priority will be given to staff who:

• Come from extremely small frontier counties who hire only one or two people at a time;
• Workplace is more than 2 hours away from any available in-person cohorts; and/or
• Have a unique hardship that would prevent them from attending in-person trainings

If you meet any of the above requirements and have the approval of your Child Welfare Director to attend virtually, simply choose "Enroll Now" to begin the application process. 

Application Deadline: TBD

Cohort Course Schedule

This entire cohort will be held VIRTUALLY.

• Full day trainings: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Half-day trainings: 9 a.m.–12 p.m.

COURSE MAKE-UP REQUESTS: In order to be enrolled in select courses within this cohort for make-up, please email your request to Academy@ucdavis.edu

Module 1

• Orientation to CA Child Welfare Practice Feb. 17, 2026
• Intro to Child Development Feb. 18, 2026
• Trauma-Informed Practice Feb 19, 2026
• Fairness and Equity Feb. 20, 2026 

Module 2

• Child and Family Teaming March 10, 2026
• Legal Procedures March 11, 2026
• Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and Working with Native American Families and Tribes March 12, 2026

Module 3

• Key Issues in Child Welfare April 7-8, 2026
• Cultural Humility in Child Welfare Interviews April 9, 2026
• Critical Thinking & Assessment April 10, 2026 (1/2 day)

Module 4

• Engagement & Interviewing May 5, 2026
• Interviewing Children May 6, 2026
• Child Maltreatment Identification Skills Lab May 7-8, 2026

Module 5

• Structured Tools & Assessment Skills Lab June 9-10, 2026
• SOP Foundational Institute June 11-12, 2026
  (The SOP Foundational Institute is not part of the statewide standardized Core requirements but is a regional addition. If students miss this class, they will still successfully complete Core.)

Module 6

• Teaming with Families to Develop Behavioral Case Plans June 30, 2026
• Managing the Plan: Supporting Safety, Permanency and Well-Being July 1, 2026
• Transition Practice July 2, 2026

Please note this schedule only lists the classroom requirements for the Core for Social Workers program. Please refer to the Core 3.5 Overview document for information on the full requirements of the program, including eLearnings and Field Activities.