Online Modules

Consisting of videos, infographics and narrated PowerPoint presentations, these online modules will help inform and improve your practice.

Our online modules are divided into two sections - CEU Eligible Courses and Public Good Courses. Courses eligible for CEUs are administered through DORS/Canvas (a University of Minnesota portal and course delivery system) and require users to register and complete a post-test. These courses are currently in development and will be available soon. Public good courses do not require registration and are not eligible for CEUs.

CEU Eligible Courses

Our CEU-eligible courses will be divided into five main topics, each curated and designed to increase knowledge:

Culturally Responsive Practice in Child Welfare
Engagement and Partnership in Child Welfare
Policy and Ethics in Child Welfare
Leadership in Child Welfare
Worker Well-Being in Child Welfare

Modules will be updated throughout the fall and winter as new courses are added to Canvas.

Public Good Courses

Public good courses are shorter videos narrowing in on one topic without a post-test. These courses are not eligible for CEUs, but can provide insight into your practice.

Tending Our Garden, Cultivating Resilient Roots This four-part series explores concepts of building resilient teams and creating plans to address individual and team-oriented plans for cultivating resilience in this interactive series of video workshops.

Interventions to Strengthen Parental Self-Efficacy: An umbrella review of systematic reviews The module was designed by Jeffrey Waid, Kazi Abusaleh and Scott Marsalis and provides a holistic approach to child welfare practices through evidence-based interventions that promote Parental Self-Efficacy (PSE).

New Support for Recovery - Two video modules for child welfare professions about new resources for people in recovery and medications treating opioid-use disorders.

Service Navigation Workforce Study - A three-part series diving into the barriers to care families experience.

Working with Parents - In this three-part module, participants will explore a variety of concepts in order to strengthen skills in work with parents, families, and children as child welfare professionals.

Refugee Communities in Olmsted County - Information to assist practitioners’ knowledge of local resources and proficiency working with local refugee communities in Olmsted county.

Refugee Communities in Rice County - Information to assist practitioners’ knowledge of local resources and proficiency working with local refugee communities in Rice county.

Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment - A two-part module on the co-occurrence of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment

Educational Disengagement Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness and Unstable Housing - An overview of youth homelessness, an examination of a study on educational disengagement patterns and key takeaways and practical strategies to promote youth stability and well-being.

Journaling to Support Recovery - In this three-part module, experts present a novel journaling intervention for those supporting addiction recovery - Positive Recovery Journaling.

Risks, Outcomes, and Inequities in Out-of-School Suspension - A three-part series about the risks and outcomes of out-of-school suspension for children who have been involved in the child welfare system or child protective services.

Strengthening Sibling Relationships for Youth in Care - The module explores the importance of sibling relationships, interventions that can improve aspects of the relationships, and strategies to improve sibling relationships for youth in care.

The Intersection Between Homelessness & Child Protection: An Integrated Administrative Data Approach - In this two-part module, viewers will learn about the intersection between student homelessness, child welfare involvement and education.

Parent Centered Planning for Parents with Disabilities - In this three-part module series, participants learn about a new intervention for working with parents with disabilities: parent-centered planning.

Students' Risks for Out-of-school Suspensions - This module summarizes the results of a study on the relationship between students' child welfare system involvement, Indigenous heritage, and out-of-school suspension in Minnesota.

Reducing Disparities Through Indigenous Social Work Education - This three-part module will help child welfare professionals learn about indigenous child welfare.

Navigating the System: Addressing the Overrepresentation of Parents with Disabilities in CPS - This module deals with the overrepresentation of parents with disabilities in CPS and the ways to best serve these parents.

Domestic Violence Court: Data from Offenders of Intimate Partner Violence - The module for child welfare professionals goes into the process of DVC in Mille Lacs County, survey data and an overview of goals related to child welfare.

Gossip about Addiction Recovery in a Rural Community - This three-part deals with how child welfare professionals can help those with substance use disorders in rural communities.

Engaging families and children in prevention and early intervention services - A three-part module on linking families to care.

Refugee Communities in Minnesota - Updated information for child welfare professionals and changing communities - This modules dives into how the refugee community in Minnesota has changed and what it means for child welfare professionals.

A Practitioner's Guide to the Family First Prevention Services Act - This one-hour module provides a practitioner-focused overview of the Family First Prevention Services Act.

Moral Injury in Emerging Adults with Child Welfare Histories - In this module series, moral injury in emerging adults who have child welfare histories are explored.

Intimate Partner Violence & Domestic Violence Courts - In this module the authors will describe for participants the impact and context of intimate partner violence for both women and children.

Reflective Supervision/Consultation for Child Welfare Workers - This series offers an in-depth look at reflective supervision/consultation, including child welfare worker testimony.

Youth in Care and Social Media - A three-part module on engaging social workers and caregivers in considering how foster youth use social media and how it impacts them.

Supporting Addiction Recovery during COVID-19 - Two-part series on research, resources and recommendations on supporting addiction recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting Parents with Disabilities in Clinical & Macro Practice - This two-part learning module series focuses on how child welfare professionals can support parents with disabilities in both clinical and macro practice.

Addiction Recovery in Rural Minnesota - A three-part module about seeking and maintaining recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders in rural and small town Minnesota.

Impact of Early Trauma on the Developing Brain - This module was developed to assist practitioners in understanding the impact of early trauma on the developing child's brain.

Positive Youth Development for Siblings in Foster Care - This training module describes risk, resilience and positive youth development (PYD), Camp to Belong (a brief, camp-based reunification program for sibling groups separated by foster care), and how PYD programming can support youth in foster care.

Indigenous Child Welfare: The Long Emergency and a Way Forward - In this two-part module, participants will explore the findings of a scoping study on Indigenous child welfare within Turtle Island (Canada and U.S.)

Risks and Protections for Black Girls' Receipt of Out-of-School Suspensions - This module presents research results regarding risks and protection for black girls’ receipt of out-of-school suspensions. The first study is a quantitative analysis of statewide data from the Minnesota Linking Information for Kids (Minn-LInK) project. The second study is a qualitative study of out-of-school-suspensions among Black students, aged 11-17.

Crossover Youth: Implications for Research and Practice - This module presents the results of a study on early involvement in the juvenile justice system among maltreated youth.

Parents with Disabilities in Child Welfare - This training module, Parents with Disabilities in Child welfare, has three parts. In part one, we talk about historical context and prevalence for parents with disabilities in child welfare. In part two, we talk about parents with disabilities and related policies. In part three, we discuss social supports for parents with disabilities.

What Works for Addiction and Child Welfare? - In this module, addiction and recovery interventions and their relevance to child welfare practice are discussed. The module covers screening for problematic alcohol use and useful tools.

Siblings in Foster Care: Assessment Considerations for Child Welfare Professionals - This module provides an overview of sibling relationships and their influence on child development. Research regarding the impact of siblings on foster care placement stability, permanency, and well-being are discussed. Assessment considerations with siblings in foster care settings are provided.

Refugee Families in Minnesota and their Experiences in the Child Welfare System - These Modules provide information for child welfare professionals about refugee families in Minnesota and their experiences in the child protection system.

Addiction and Child Welfare - The module covers addiction, the brain science of addiction and its impact on families in the child welfare system.

Moral Injury among Parents and Professionals involved in the Child Protection System - This series introduces viewers to the concept of moral injury, discuss the relevance of moral injury among parents involved in CPS, discusses the importance of retention of professionals in child welfare, and implications for policy and practice.

Supporting Recovery in Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare - In partnership with the Minnesota Center for Chemical and Mental Health (MNCAMH), CASCW created a three-part video series titled, Supporting Recovery in Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare. This video series features experts discussing the unique challenges and resources needed to support parents struggling with CODs.

Traumatic Stress Screening for Child Welfare Professionals - A three-part series walking through the Traumatic Stress Screening for Child Welfare Professionals.

Moral Injury - This module introduces the concept of moral injury, explores salient findings and makes recommendations on how to address moral injury in social work practice.

Positive Psychology and Well-Being of Child Welfare Workers - A three-part series on the problems child welfare workers face, focus on possible solutions and ways to put learnings into use.

Adoption and Permanency - A three-part series on adoption and permanency from a historical context, the impact of adoption on trauma and grief and the influence of adoption and permanency on the development of identity.

Health and Mental Health Literacy and their Link to Health Disparities in Immigrant and Refugee Families - Hee Lee, Ph.D. and Jennifer McHugh, MSW Candidate, present a concise overview of the compilation of Dr. Lee’s work on the impact health and mental health literacy have on immigrant and refugee children and the implications for child welfare practice.

A Review of Refugees' Involvement in the Child Welfare System - This 3-part module series assesses mental health services for refugees in child welfare. In these modules, Dr. Shannon describes the process that refugees go through when they arrive in the US and what structural services and supports they receive.

Disability and Child Maltreatment: Perceptions of Professionals in East Asian Countries - This learning module specifically focuses on children involved with child protection who also have disabilities. It is an elaboration of a previous IV-E learning module by Wendy Haight, Child Protection and Child Disability.

Parental Incarceration and Child Welfare - Developed by Rebecca Shlafer, PhD and Ed Morales, MSW, this three part series serves as a primer for child welfare workers who have contact with families affected by family incarceration.

Minnesota Tribal/State Agreement Training - This module aims to provide students and practitioners with in-depth training on the Minnesota Tribal/State Child Welfare Agreement, including legal and practice issues; key elements, strengths, and challenges; and case studies.

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) - This module provides an overview of the historical context that led to the development of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), and the Tribal-State Agreement. This module also includes a discussion of how ICWA is implemented and applied to cases.

Understanding Credit: An Online Training for Youth in Foster Care -This module is designed to assist youth in foster care with managing and monitoring their credit and to gain an understanding of the importance of their credit report.

Supportive Housing and Implications for Child Welfare - This module discusses a recent study conducted on the impact of homelessness on child outcomes and the effectiveness of supportive housing in boosting such outcomes. It takes a specific look at how educational and child welfare indicators are affected by homelessness and supportive housing programs.

Child Complex Trauma and Parental Belief System - The purpose of this module is to foster empathic understandings of children’s experiences of complex trauma and draw attention to the belief systems of parents who perpetrate complex trauma on their children.

Patterns of Disclosure in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse - The purpose of this training is to describe the conditions under which children disclose sexual abuse during forensic interviews when law enforcement and child protection professionals have reason to believe child sexual abuse has occurred.

Special Health Care Needs, Child Welfare and Vital Involvement - The aims of this module are to explore the strengths and supports of a specific family who is successfully raising fostered and adopted children with special needs, and to use the concept of Vital Involvement to identify meaningful interactions between this family and their environment.

Secondary Traumatic Stress - This module introduces secondary traumatic stress (STS) and its impact on the child welfare system and workforce.

Motivational Interviewing Techniques - This module provides a brief history of motivational interviewing and introduces the principles involved in it. The module relates motivational interviewing to child welfare practice and offers some techniques that can be used.

Resilience and Adult Attachment in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse - This module presents information on the skills needed to assess adult attachment to promote resilience. The viewer will learn the four styles of adult attachment, how they fit with the common factors model, and how they can be used as guidelines for practice.

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