Child Welfare Academy

The Child Welfare Academy (CWA) represents a long-standing partnership between the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the Maryland Department of Human Services, Social Services Administration.  

The Child Welfare Academy is committed to enhancing safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for Maryland’s children and families through the development and provision of expert training, education and support that is current, relevant, and responsive to the needs of child welfare professionals, resource parents and kinship care providers.

•  Competency-Based Pre-Service Training for New Child Welfare Professionals
• Ongoing In-Service Training for Child Welfare Professionals
• Advanced Level Workshops for Supervisors and Administrators
• Expertise in Training Design, Development and Implementation in Response to State-Wide Initiatives and Local Needs and Priorities
• Technical Assistance and Specialized Training to Support DHS/SSA Identified Priorities
• Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) Home Study Training
• Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Training
• Supervision Matters Training Series for New Child Welfare Supervisors
• Recorded and Live Webinars on A Wide Range of Relevant Topics to Support Knowledge Acquisition and Skill Development
• State-Wide Coaching Implementation Using The Coach Approach Framework
• Transfer of Learning Activities and Supports
• In-Service Training and Regional Conferences for Resource Parents and Kinship Care Providers
• Rigorous Evaluation and Continuous Quality Improvement

The Child Welfare Academy is committed to creating and maintaining an affirming, supportive learning community that inspires collaboration, celebrates differences, and ensures that everyone feels valued, seen and heard. We believe that different identities and perspectives enrich the learning experience for all, and endeavor to provide a welcoming environment that promotes authenticity and respect.

We honor this commitment by……

• Recognizing and embracing individual and collective differences across multiple dimensions
• Modeling and exemplifying behavior that supports access and collaboration
• Actively cultivating safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces for learning and growth to occur
• Acknowledging how challenges and circumstances, experienced both individually and systematically, may impact participant engagement
• Ensuring equal access and opportunity for all individuals to fully participate and succeed
• Holding ourselves and learners accountable when social justice principles and practices are not upheld

Courses for Resource Parents and Kinship Caregivers are housed in CE21, https://manager.ce21.com/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F If assistance is needed in locating and logging into a Resource Parent or Kinship Caregiver Training course, please contact our help desk.

Courses for Child Welfare Professionals are housed in Workday, https://dbm.maryland.gov/sps/Pages/SPS-Training.aspx To access those courses, participants should log into their State of Maryland Workday account, https://stateofmaryland.onelogin.com

For Workday Technical Challenges:
Help desk: dhs.sps@maryland.gov 

For General Workday Training Inquiries:
dhs.learning@maryland.gov