Module 1 — Classroom Training — 3 days
Day 1 — Essential Management Skills
Competency
Participants will create a development plan for their three roles as a DHS Child Welfare supervisor.
Practice Behaviors
- Compare supervisory strengths from Strengths Finder Instrument with the three supervisor roles of an effective DHS Child Welfare supervisor.
- Develop approaches to support the developmental needs to improve worker performance.
- Apply mentoring guidelines to meet the needs of new workers.
- Identify signs of stress, burnout and secondary trauma in workers.
- Develop a plan for a supportive climate on the team.
Day 2 — Retention
Competency
As a result of this training, participants will be able to successfully select and retain staff for their units.
Practice Behaviors
- Identify essential tasks and KSAs of entry level staff.
- Consider candidates based on good cultural fit.
- Select strategies to create a supportive climate on the team.
- Develop a plan to retain staff based on evidence-based practices.
- Conduct stay interviews with the goal of retaining staff.
Day 3 — Influential Leadership
Competency
Participants will be able to apply different leadership styles in situationally appropriate contexts.
Practice Behaviors
- Identify their preferences in leadership styles.
- Practice different leadership styles in different situations.
Competency
Participants will be able to effectively lead teams.
Practice Behaviors
- Diagnose unhealthy team functions and determine a correction path.
- De-escalate conflict situations and negotiate an agreement.
Module 1 — Post-work
Instructions to Supervisors
- Conduct a Community Meeting. When you have your staff together, conduct a Community Meeting. Ask each specialist, “How are you feeling today? What is your goal for today? Who can you ask for help from?” Remember, this task should take no longer than 10-15 minutes. After the meeting, ask the specialists for feedback about the process. What was helpful? When you meet with your FM/DD, reflect on the meeting and assess your skills.
- Review your self-care plan with your field manager/district director and discuss how you will access your plan, and how the FM/DD can best support your self-care.
- Ask your staff to develop self-care plans and cards to carry with them. Review the self-care plans one-on-one with each specialist.
- Discuss your True Colors strengths and weaknesses and your 5 Top Strengths with your staff and discuss effective ways to work together. Identify potential areas for misunderstandings and determine a plan to work through difficulties.
- Conduct a meeting with the DD/FM to discuss your transition from a specialist to a supervisor.
- How does the role differ from your expectations?
- What has been challenging about your transition?
- What concerns do you still have?
- What barriers to your transition still exist?
- What options will best help you overcome these barriers?
- How can your FM/DD best support you?
- What development needs do you have now?
- Please review your Action Plan (created during Session 1) with your FM/DD and discuss the following questions:
- What have you learned?
- What changes will you make based on what you have learned?
- What are your priorities?
- How does the Action Plan relate to the Quality Standards?
- How does your Action Plan support the Practice Standards?
- What in your Action Plan has an important parallel process? (What do you want to model for specialists to incorporate in their practice?)
- How can your FM/DD best support you?
- How will you sustain your plan?
- How will you hold yourself accountable?
- In Day 3, you discussed leadership styles (coercive, visionary (authoritative), affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching. An effective leader learns to read the context and apply the most effective leadership style. Discuss with your FM/DD your favored styles and possible opportunities for growth in other styles. In what style are you least comfortable?
- In this session, you were assigned an accountability partner. Please call or email your partner and discuss your progress on your Action Plan.
- What has been most useful to you?
- What is still giving you difficulty?
- What options do you have?
- What support can you offer to your partner?
Instructions to Field Managers and District Directors:
- Self-Care: During Module 1 supervisors created their own self-care plan. This plan will be critical in the prevention of burnout and managing Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). The plan could include the agreement for the supervisor to leave early enough to attend a special event or activity planned for his/her family, or leaving early a certain number of days a month, etc. FM/DD’s need to review the plan with the supervisor, negotiate if needed, approve, and help the supervisor remain committed to the plan.
- The supervisor will be conducting a Community Meeting as a Post-Work assignment. Please reflect on the meeting with the supervisor and discuss:
- What happened during the meeting?
- What are you proud of?
- What do you want to improve on?
- What were the consequences of the meeting?
- How were you able to model skills for the specialists to incorporate in their practice?
- How will you use Community Meetings in the future?
- Meet with the supervisor to discuss his/her transition to a supervisory role. Please discuss:
- How does the role differ from your expectations?
- What has been challenging about your transition?
- What concerns do you still have?
- What barriers to your transition still exist?
- What options will help you overcome these barriers?
- How can your FM/DD best support you?
- What development needs do you have now?
- Meet with the supervisor to discuss his/her Action Plan created during Session 1. This meeting is designed to apply what was learned in Session 1. Please discuss the following questions:
- What changes will you make based on what you have learned?
- What are your priorities?
- How does the Action Plan relate to the Quality Standards?
- How does your Action Plan support the Practice Standards?
- What in your Action Plan has an important parallel process? (What do you want to model for specialists to incorporate in their practice?)
- How can your FM/DD best support you?
- How will you sustain your plan?
- How will you hold yourself accountable?
- In Day 3, the supervisor discussed leadership styles (coercive, visionary (authoritative), affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching. An effective leader learns to read the context and apply the most effective leadership style. When a leader has a dominant style and is not able to apply differing styles, the climate can suffer. Discuss the supervisor’s styles and possible blind spots. Mentor with your experiences and leadership styles.
- Complete the Onboarding Process. FM/DDs should review:
- The DHS mission, vision, and Quality Standards
- The Child Welfare Practice Model
- The goals and objectives of your office and unit
- The supervisor’s previous HCM-111 if applicable
- Any reports that can assist the supervisor in monitoring and tracking work
- The goals and objectives of your office and unit;
- The Supervisor’s previous HCM-111, if applicable; and
- Any reports that can assist the supervisor in monitoring and tracking work
