• Implemented 1/1/03.
• Enhanced 4-week, classroom-based training program for new public and private-sector child welfare professionals.
• New private agency child welfare staff receive structured field support for one year following completion of classroom training.
• Trainers coach and shadow new employees in the field.

Training topics include:

• Assessing safety and risk within families;
• Using Family Group Decision Making and Family Team Meetings;
• Service and permanency planning;
• Preparing for juvenile court;
• Cultural competency;
• Child development and well-being;
• Working with adolescents and foster parents; and Family preservation

All newly-hired Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) child welfare staff and a random sample of staff from 48 private agencies.

Both Title IV-E eligible and non-IV-E eligible children are served through the demonstration.

Implemented in Cook (Chicago) Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Will, and Kankakee Counties.

• Interim evaluation report expected 7/2005.
• Three-stage experimental design:
  • Private child welfare agency “teams” are randomly assigned to experimental and control groups at 1:1 ratio. There are approximately 150 private agency teams. Each team is made up of approximately 7 caseworkers and one supervisor.
  • New child welfare workers are randomly assigned to the private agency teams at a 1:1 ratio.
  • Child welfare cases are then randomly assigned to experimental and control group teams.
• Anticipated sample size is 420 caseworkers in experimental group and 420 in control group.
• Project moved from pilot phase to implementation phase in 1/03.
• As of 11/04, 113 private agency caseworkers have been assigned to the control group and 95 private agency workers have been assigned to the experimental group.
• Training curriculum has undergone numerous revisions based on feedback from experts in child welfare practice and research and lessons learned during the project’s pilot phase.
• Because of a lack of field support staff, the field support component of the waiver has not been routinely implemented since March 2004.
• No outcome findings available to date.