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Child Protective Services Training Program

Mission

The Child Protective Services component improves the quality of child protective services offered to families and children through the training of State and local district child welfare personnel.

The Child Protective Services Training Institute

The Child Protective Services component offers Core training to new caseworkers and supervisors in the knowledge and skills to make complex decisions and to accomplish sophisticated tasks which ensure safety to children and reduce risk through services to families. CPSTI also offers residential child care training programs which include therapeutic crisis intervention to child care staff and foster parents, and a new component, Interagency Programming and Case Management for Families with Multiple Needs, which will pull together agencies in target communities which have existing Neighborhood Based Alliances, and use a problem solving process to assist them in developing more effective ways of providing services, including comprehensive case management. CPSTI's evaluation staff assesses program content and delivery, as well as changes in participant knowledge, attitude, and skill. Findings are reported to the New York State Department of Social Services as required and are used to refine program effectiveness.

Program Contributors

CPSTI programs have profited greatly from the contributions of local districts, child care agencies, university trainers, and trainers from the state and national child protective and child care systems. In addition, specialists in law, medicine, child psychology, management, law enforcement, and mental health have made significant contributions. Curricula conform to standards of CPS practice and crisis intervention established by the New York State Department of Social Services and national child protective and child care associations. The Institute maintains close advisory relationships with New York State's child welfare organizations. Throughout the year programs and curricula offered across the US are reviewed for their application to the needs of New York State and are revised to incorporate state-of-the-art information and methodology. CPSTI gratefully acknowledges the efforts of all child welfare professionals at the national, state, county and agency level who have given so much support and guidance to these training programs.

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The Child Protective Services Training Institute, established in 1979, is located in the Family Life Development Center, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The Institute is funded by the New York State Department of Social Services, Office of Human Resource Development.