fafard.jaime.towards a permanency planning training system.mpa 598 management report
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Towards a Permanency Planning Training System An intersection of organizational development, permanency planning child welfare practice and adult education 598 Management Report Prepared by Jaime J. Fafard School of Public Administration University of Victoria Supervisor: Dr. Jim MacGregor School of Public Administration Client: Annemarie Travers Ministry of Children and Family Development Province of British Columbia
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge all the children and youth whose experiences in the child welfare
system have led up to and informed this project. Your resiliency and strength of spirit, mind and
body is humbling. You have told adults about what you need to realize your potential; we are
listening.
I would like to thank Dr. Jim MacGregor from the University of Victoria and Annemarie Travers
from the Ministry of Children and Family Development for their support through the
conceptualization and development of this project. Your understanding of the realities of multi-
tasking family, career and school responsibilities and your patience with timelines are greatly
appreciated.
I would also like to express my gratitude to all the interview participants for this project. Your
commitment to and passion for creating stability and well-being for vulnerable children and
youth is remarkable and inspiring. It was truly an honour to listen to your perspectives, and I
learned a great deal from your individual and collective wisdom. I hope I was able to bring
forward your hopes in a way that does your dedication justice.
Finally, I would also like to thank my wonderful family for being there to support me through
this journey; my parents and my husband’s parents for always being there to lend a hand; my
husband, who lived the chaos of doing a masters project alongside me; and my young son,
Sandro, who sacrificed many weekends with his mom in the hope that other children may have
better opportunities.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As a branch within the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), Learning and
Development is responsible for ministry staff learning and development. The objective of this
project is to produce recommendations for a comprehensive and coordinated permanency
planning educational framework within MCFD in order to support permanency planning
practice and improve outcomes for children and youth in the care of the ministry. The
conceptual framework used to guide this project considers the intersection of three main
subject areas that are foundationally important to the understanding of the issue and therefore
the outcome of the project: organizational development, permanency planning child welfare
practice, and adult education principles.
The table below shows the activities that were completed in order to meet the objective, and
the major findings associated with each activity:
Activity Major Findings
Literature review of organizational development, permanency planning social work practice, and adult education
Practitioners must balance objective and subjective knowledge, as well as their rational and intuitive decision-making skills.
Training systems should contribute to positive organizational culture and create opportunities for meaningful learning, collaboration and innovation.
Training systems can mitigate the complexities of the child welfare environment by using constructive and humanistic instructional models that address higher-order learning domains.
Blended learning offers many benefits.
Review of MCFD permanency planning training curriculum (Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training Program)
Content across the courses was repetitive and did not align or build upon previously mentioned content.
There is missing content regarding new legal options to support permanency.
Relational and cultural aspects of permanency are not meaningfully reflected and do not support organizational goals.
Specific topic knowledge is largely absent from the classroom curriculum.
Curriculum largely addresses only the lower-order thinking skills within the cognitive domains.
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Activity Major Findings
Qualitative interviews with 14 participants with knowledge and expertise in the areas of permanency planning child welfare practice from an organizational, service delivery or adult education perspective
Permanency planning within the ministry requires a shift in organizational culture, with attention to change management and strong support from leadership.
Values of strength-based, compassionate practice grounded in relationships, openness and social justice are crucial.
Knowledge of trauma-informed practice and child development, as well as cultural competence and self-awareness, are crucial.
Skills in communication and critical thinking are crucial.
Providing opportunities for cross-disciplinary and cross sectoral learning is important.
Instructional designs that offer experiential and blended learning opportunities are desirable.
The following recommendations for future curriculum development emerged from the
literature review findings, review of MCFD child welfare training pertaining to permanency
planning, and qualitative interviews:
Recommendation 1: Support a shift in organizational culture
Support new curriculum development by an overall shift in organizational culture that views
permanency planning occurring along a continuum that begins with the initial contact with a
family and takes into consideration the range of out-of-care to in-care permanency options;
recognizes and values the interconnectedness of the relational, cultural, physical and legal
components of permanency; and embeds the importance of permanency planning across all
aspects of the organization’s service delivery.
It is recommended that:
the organization communicate clearly about priorities for permanency planning,
especially in terms of the definition of permanency and its connection to the greater
child welfare framework
the ministry conduct further analysis regarding actions to support permanency from a
systems perspective that are separate from yet connected to training
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permanency planning training communication be strategically aligned with leadership
support, such as an executive sponsor, using positive and inspiring messaging
permanency planning training development updates be communicated widely to staff,
with clear linkages to other ministry initiatives
components of permanency planning training be embedded in Child Welfare
Practitioner Interim Training Program and reflected in other province-wide training
within service delivery lines.
Recommendation 2: Develop curriculum content
Develop new curriculum content to reflect the current four dimensions of permanency
(relational, cultural, physical and legal aspects) and concrete areas of practice in a way that
improves a practitioner’s competence in permanency planning practice.
It is recommended that curriculum content address a practitioner’s values, knowledge and skill
by:
using strength-based, compassionate approaches to practice that value relationship,
connection and belonging
promoting inclusion and a human rights perspective
incorporating trauma-informed practice and child development within the context of
permanency planning for children and youth
incorporating current legislative changes that support the legal aspect of permanency
addressing concrete topics relevant to the complexities of children and youth in care
have an evaluative component to consistently and regularly assess the relevancy of
curriculum content to learners and organizational goals.
Recommendation 3: Support culturally safe practice
Develop new curriculum that supports culturally aware, culturally sensitive and culturally
competent practice, especially when supporting Aboriginal children, youth, families and
communities.
It is recommended that curriculum:
reflect the inclusion of Indigenous views on child development and resiliency
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address a practitioner’s skill in creating cultural safety in supporting Aboriginal children,
youth, families and communities
address a practitioner’s skill in cultural planning for Aboriginal children and youth
be grounded in holistic, collaborative and empowering approaches to permanency
planning practice.
Recommendation 4: Develop a learner-centred approach
Develop new curriculum according to a learner-centred approach, in a way that addresses the
complex child welfare environment.
It is recommended that curriculum:
be designed and developed using learning models that address a learner’s competency
holistically from a combination of cognitive, affective and psycho-motor perspectives to
best support transformative change
be designed to address the higher-order of critical thinking and analysis required in
practice in order to address the complexities inherent in child welfare practice
be designed to provide experiential and collaborative learning activities.
Recommendation 5: Incorporate a blended learning model
Base new curriculum on a blended learning model, with cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral
training opportunities.
It is recommended that curriculum delivery reflect:
online learning that allows for a multidisciplinary approach to permanency planning
local face-to-face delivery
communities of practices
alignment with clinical practice support
opportunities for joint ministry and community learning events.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 3
1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .......................................................................................... 9
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 9
Background .................................................................................................................................. 9
2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND OVERALL METHODOLOGY .................................................. 13
Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 13
Overall Methodology ................................................................................................................ 14
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................. 16
Organizational Development .................................................................................................... 16
Permanency Planning Child Welfare Practice ........................................................................... 17
Values in practice. .................................................................................................................. 18
Knowledge in practice. .......................................................................................................... 21
Skills in practice. .................................................................................................................... 23
Adult Education ......................................................................................................................... 25
Educational and learning theories. ........................................................................................ 25
Learning models and approaches. ......................................................................................... 28
Instructional design approaches. .......................................................................................... 33
Summary of Literature Review .................................................................................................. 36
4. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 38
Research Design and Objectives ............................................................................................... 38
Research Instruments ............................................................................................................... 38
Review of training. ................................................................................................................. 38
Qualitative interviews. ........................................................................................................... 39
Strengths and weaknesses of the approaches. ..................................................................... 41
5. FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 43
Review of Training Findings ...................................................................................................... 43
Catalogue of available curriculum. ........................................................................................ 43
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Content. ................................................................................................................................. 46
Design. ................................................................................................................................... 49
Qualitative Interview Findings .................................................................................................. 52
Organizational development perspective. ............................................................................ 52
Permanency planning child welfare perspective .................................................................. 56
Adult education perspective. ................................................................................................ 62
Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 65
6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................. 68
Recommendation 1: Support a shift in organizational culture ................................................. 68
Recommendation 2: Develop curriculum content .................................................................... 69
Recommendation 3: Support culturally safe practice .............................................................. 69
Recommendation 4: Develop a learner-centred approach ...................................................... 70
Recommendation 5: Incorporate a blended learning model ................................................... 70
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 72
APPENDIX A: MCFD Service Delivery Areas .................................................................................. 76
APPENDIX B: Ministry Training Model .......................................................................................... 77
APPENDIX C: Human Research Ethics Board Certificate of Approval ........................................... 78
APPENDIX D: Qualitative Interview Invitation .............................................................................. 79
APPENDIX E: Free and Informed Consent ..................................................................................... 81
APPENDIX F: Qualitative Interview Questions .............................................................................. 85
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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Introduction
The mandate of the British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) is to
promote and develop the capacity of families and communities to care for and protect
vulnerable children and youth and support healthy child and family development to maximize
the potential of every child in B.C. (MCFD, 2011). As a branch within MCFD, Learning and
Development is responsible for the learning and development of staff within the ministry. In
order to provide the best practice and services to citizens, curriculum development for training
practitioners must simultaneously reflect: current child welfare developments to ensure that
educational content is up to date; adult learning practices to ensure that the content and
methods of training are appropriate; and an organization development strategy to ensure that
the content and methods of training are aligned with organizational goals.
This project’s objective is to produce recommendations for a comprehensive and coordinated
permanency planning educational framework within MCFD. For the purposes of this report,
permanency refers to supporting the stability and well-being of children and youth who are
either in government care or at risk of being in government care, while permanency planning
refers to the planning process intended to achieve permanency for children and youth through
family reunification, kinship care or adoption. Recommendations will be based on the following
reviews and analyses:
literature review regarding the intersection of organizational development, permanency
planning child welfare practice and adult education
review of MCFD child welfare training pertaining to permanency planning
qualitative interviews with participants within MCFD and post-secondary institutions
who have knowledge and expertise in the areas of permanency planning child welfare
practice from an organizational, service delivery or adult education perspective.
Background
In order to begin this project, it was crucial to review the overall social context of the issue,
including internal and external drivers, in order to determine the scope.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) provides services to children, families
and communities organized across six service lines:
Early Childhood Development and Child Care Services
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Children and Youth with Special Needs Services
Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care Services
Adoption Services
Child and Youth Mental Health Services
Youth Justice Services.
Across the province, service delivery is organized across 13 Service Delivery Areas (SDAs) and a
further 47 Local Service Areas (LSAs) (Appendix A).
Services provided to children and youth at times involves them coming into government care
and custody. In March 2012, 8,049 children and youth were in the care and custody of the
province: 44.5% were in temporary care and the remaining 56.5% were in permanent care
(Representative for Children and Youth, 2013, p. 2). While the overall number of children in
care in B.C. has declined from 9,237 in March 2008 to 8,049 in March 2012 (Representative for
Children and Youth, 2013, p. 12), the percentage of children in permanent care has remained
relatively stable at 57%, which indicates a struggle to achieve permanency for children in the
provision of children welfare services. In addition, 52% of children in care are Aboriginal,
despite representing only approximately 8% of the total child and youth population of B.C.
(Representative for Children and Youth, 2013b). Children and youth in care have distinctly
unique needs in relation to children and youth in the general population, which makes service
delivery that much more complex: they are more likely to have come from socially and
economically disadvantaged circumstances and to have experienced abuse and/or neglect
(British Columbia, 2006). As a result, children and youth in care are at a higher risk of poorer
outcomes. Permanency planning is crucial in mitigating those complexities and improving the
long-term outcomes for children and youth in care.
Several key reports released since 2012 have influenced and directed the permanency platform.
In May 2012, MCFD released the Operational and Strategic Directional Plan 2012/13–2014/15
(MCFD, 2012), which outlines the ministry’s approach and strategic direction for a three year
period. Included in the plan are the overarching organizational mission and value statements
(MCFD, 2012, p. 5):
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Table 1: Ministry of Children and Family Development Mission and Values
Mission
The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) supports healthy child and family development through its
commitment to a collaborative professional practice delivered across a range of quality services that strive to maximize the
potential of children and youth through achieving meaningful outcomes for children, youth and families related to their
needs.
Values
The Ministry of Children and Family Development will deliver these services in a respectful, compassionate, strengths-based
and culturally appropriate way and fully engage Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, youth and families in successfully
meeting their developmental needs and goals.
A key focus of the Operational and Strategic Plan aligns with the Residential Review Project
Phase One Findings Report from June 2011. The Residential Review Project, the full and final
report of which was released in June 2012, was a joint review undertaken by MCFD and the
Federation of Community Social Services of BC to review residential care services provided by
MCFD with the desired outcome of identifying “opportunities to improve the experience and
life outcomes of children and youth who, for some reason, must live for a period of time in
MCFD operated or funded residential care placements” (Federation of Community Social
Services of BC and MCFD, 2012, p. 6). The report focused on MCFD’s role in shifting the
paradigm of child welfare from one that is purely focused on safety to one that expands to
include permanency as the most important planning goal when working with children, youth,
and families. Through comprehensive consultations with stakeholders and a literature review
on residential services for children and youth, the report revealed that achieving permanency
for children and youth needed to be made a priority by “integrating a ‘permanency mindset’
into assessments, planning processes, clinical supervision, training, etc” (Federation of
Community Social Services in BC & MCFD, p. 1).
The report recommends that in order to achieve permanency for children and youth, “MCFD
should enhance knowledge and understanding about permanency pathways and options”
(Federation of Community Social Services in BC & MCFD, 2012, p. 36). More specifically, the
report suggests that “staff, service providers, caregivers, community partners and family
members all need to be assisted to understand the many facets of permanency and how to
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achieve it in practice” and recommends action for a system-wide, cross-disciplinary /cross-
sectoral professional development permanency training program (p. 36).
In 2011 and 2012, MCFD led legislative and policy changes to strengthen a permanency
perspective. First, in 2011, amendments were made to the Child, Family and Community Service
Act, with the addition of section 54.01, which allows the ministry to apply for the permanent
transfer of custody of a child to a person other than the parent if the child is already under the
care of that person under a section 8 agreement or a temporary custody order. This
amendment allows the ministry to directly transfer permanent custody of a child, whereas the
ministry would have previously had to apply for a continuing custody order for the child,
thereby bringing the child into the permanent care of the ministry. Secondly, in 2012, the
ministry introduced new policy and procedures that provide more organizational expectations
for staff to be practising with both safety and permanency in mind.
Building on the momentum to improve outcomes for children and youth in MCFD care, the
Representative for Children and Youth released the report Much More than Paperwork: Proper
Planning Essential to Better Lives for B.C.’s Children in Care (Representative for Children and
Youth, 2013), which examined the lives of 100 children and youth in long-term MCFD care. The
report found “evidence of a lack of understanding about the importance and purpose of
comprehensive and regular planning and intervention for vulnerable children and youth” (RCY,
p. 3) and states that MCFD “must ensure that social workers receive training on how to conduct
proper assessment and planning, so that they understand the importance of developing
meaningful, relevant and accountable plans for the children and youth in their care” (p. 5).
In February 2013, the ministry’s Learning and Development department released its Learning
and Development Plan 2012/13–2014/15. As part of the department’s plan, a needs analysis of
training priorities was undertaken in consultation with ministry executives, directors, practice
consultants, and policy teams; permanency planning and kinship care was identified as a top
priority. A Ministry Training Model (Appendix B) was also presented, which provides a
conceptual framework for training in relation to experience and the associated core,
foundational, functional and advanced competencies both cross-ministry and discipline specific.
This scope and context sets the foundation for this project.
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2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND OVERALL METHODOLOGY
Conceptual Framework
Non-profit organizations and public service organizations have not been immune to the current
state of the economy; they have been increasingly required to be both effective and efficient
and to do more with less. While being effective and efficient has historically focused on
financial systems and balanced budgets, public service organizations are also accountable for
providing services that are of increasing value for citizens as clients. It is therefore important
that there be a reflection on how the ministry creates value in the provision of services,
especially in relation to training for permanency planning. This ideal defined the conceptual
framework for this project, set the foundation, and directed the collection and analysis of data.
The conceptual framework therefore outlines the three main subject areas that are important
to the project: organizational development, permanency planning child welfare practice, and
adult education. These three areas are foundationally important to the understanding of the
issue and therefore the outcome of the project. It is the intersection of these three areas that
were the focus of the project.
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
Organizational development
Permanency planning
child welfare practice
Adult education
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Overall Methodology
Institutional ethnography and grounded theory methodological approaches were used
throughout the development of this project. As a methodological approach, institutional
ethnography focuses attention on social relationships (Campbell & Gregor, 2002), the data
collected “is used to discover and illuminate linkages within and across boundaries of settings”
(Campbell & Gregor, 2002, p. 79), and analysis “is about making particular meaning from the
data” (p. 86). Meanwhile, a grounded theory method “emphasizes the process of analysis and
the development of theoretical categories, rather than focusing solely on the results of the
inquiry” (Charmaz, 2008, p. 155) by minimizing preconceived ideas about the research problem
and data and remaining open to the exploration of varied explanations or understandings of
the data (Charmaz, 2008). In terms of the conceptual framework of the intersection of
organizational development, permanency planning child welfare practice, and adult education,
institutional ethnography and grounded theory presented approaches that could highlight the
exploration of linkages or relationships between the three themes.
In addition, institutional ethnography and grounded theory methodological approaches capture
the unique position of the researcher. Instead of presenting the researcher as separate and
disconnected from the subject of inquiry, institutional ethnography identifies the researcher’s
ways of knowing as crucial to the inquiry and connects the researcher to the relationships
needed to make an ethical inquiry.1 In grounded theory methodology, a systematic inductive,
comparative and interactive approach and process of analysis keeps researchers interacting
with their data and emerging analyses (Charmaz, 2008). The validation and acceptance of these
complexities framed the way in which this project’s researcher approached the inquiry and
searched for potential solutions.
The methodology for this project included a literature review, review of MCFD permanency
planning training, and qualitative interviews with internal and external stakeholders. The
literature review is based on academic and grey literature on organization development,
permanency planning child welfare practice, and adult education. Searches were conducted
through the University of Victoria’s online library and the Internet. The search words included
1 As a researcher, I cannot stand apart from what I know, my own experiences, and what I have learned about the
world. My experiences and knowledge, both in social work theory and frontline child welfare practice, as well as my exposure to training programs, public administration and organization development while at the provincial office of the Ministry of Children and Family Development highlight for me the complexities involved. My past educational experiences include a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sociology, and a Bachelor of Social Work with a child welfare specialization. My past professional experiences include various child welfare roles such as an intake and investigation worker, a family services worker, and a guardianship worker. My current education experience consists of coursework towards a Master in Public Administration. My current professional experience includes a role as a provincial learning consultant, primarily in the areas of permanency planning and Indigenous cultural competency.
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topics that were focused on the intersection of organization development, child welfare and
permanency planning, and adult education.
The review of MCFD training is based on information that was provided by the Ministry of
Children and Family Development regarding its in-house training programs. Because of the
limited scope of this project, and at the request of the client, an in-depth review on content and
design was reserved solely for two training programs: Role of the Guardian and the Adoption
Worker Training Program.
Qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 participants who have organizational
development, permanency planning child welfare practice service delivery and/or adult
education experience and expertise.2 A decision was made to conduct interviews in order to
gain more insight into the direct experiences from a variety of different perspectives from those
who are working within the child welfare system and to illuminate connections and
disconnections within the broader setting of the permanency planning/child welfare
environment.
2 A more detailed description of interview participants is located in the Methodology section of Chapter 4.
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3. LITERATURE REVIEW
Organizational Development
Organizational development is a “system wide process of planned change aimed toward
improving overall organization effectiveness by way of enhanced congruence of such key
organization dimensions as external environment, mission, strategy, leadership, culture,
structure, information and reward systems, and work policies and procedures” (Bradford &
Burke, 2005, p. 12). In order to sustain and improve organizational development, Lowe (2010)
makes a compelling case that the “future prosperity [of an organization] will be powered by a
healthy, energized, and capable workforce” (2010, p. xiii). Lowe explains that positive
organizational culture and inclusive leadership are the building blocks that strengthen the link
between people and performance, creating a work environment where trust is generated and
employees feel valued and inspired. In order to foster inspired employees, organizations must
create “opportunities [for employees] to learn, collaborate and contribute” (Lowe, 2010, p. 33):
fostering a learning culture is a central component of the inspired employee and critical to an
organization’s success and sustainability (Gill, 2010, p. xi).
However, in terms of organizational development, individual learning is not the end goal;
learning must transcend the individual and take on a collaborative quality where teams
generate and share new knowledge, engage in critical thinking that is system focused, and
promote innovation on an organizational level (Gill, 2010). It is this important link between
individual and team learning that fosters overall organizational learning and drives
organizational improvements and transformation; all learning should be intentional and
consistent with organizational strategic planning (Gill, 2010; Buckley & Caple, 2004; Collins et
al., 2007).
The greatest challenge in fostering organizational learning may be in identifying the
opportunities and barriers for learning and training within the complexity of the child welfare
environment, the climate of organizational change, and ongoing fiscal constraints. Morrison
(1997) discusses the child welfare environment, highlighting the anxiety which permeates from
the individual experience (both to practitioners, and clients), to professional networks, to the
organizational level which can result in emotional defensiveness, polarization of attitudes, and
struggles for dominance and control. In turn, these processes impact the learning environment,
with the risk of creating a dysfunctional learning environment which concentrates on what
people must do, rather than a focus on the importance of process and reflective insight into
how and why work should be done (Morrison, 1997). In a dysfunctional learning environment,
the effects on learners can result in ambivalence or hostility to training, negative projections
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about authority, lack of personal safety, reduced optimism about being able to apply learning
back to the workplace and an overall lack of engagement (Morrison, 1997).
The current organizational context of child welfare practice also presents opportunities for
learning and improvement. Central to this improvement is generating creative opportunities for
meaning-making and understanding, both on individual, team, and organizational levels by “re-
examining our assumptions and practices, the relationship between our internal and external
worlds, in ways that can enable new insights and connections to be made about our knowledge,
strengths, resources and sense of self efficacy” (Morrison, 1997, p. 27). In the current
environment of fluctuations and transformation, “training has a key role to play in the
management of change” (Morrison, 1997, p. 28), so long as it can balance the tension between
service users’ needs, contribute towards achieving organizational goals, and meet the
development needs of staff.
In order to ensure an organization’s success, organizations must create opportunities for
employees to learn, collaborate and contribute. Fostering an inspirational learning culture and
providing training that bridges individual learning to broader team learning and ultimately
overall organizational learning can present a meaningful venue for both creating and managing
change. However, as mentioned, learning in an organizational context must balance the needs
of those receiving services as well as the learners and be intentional and consistent with
organizational goals and planning.
Permanency Planning Child Welfare Practice
For the purposes of this report, permanency planning practice refers to process by which
permanency, or stability and well-being, is achieved for children and youth through family
preservation, kinship care or adoption. Permanency planning practice is also a component of
child welfare practice, which is associated with general social work practice.3 As such, this
report makes reference to social work practice, especially within the literature review.
According to the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), social work and social work
practice can be defined as:
3 While child welfare is predominantly associated with social work practice, MCFD also employs a variety of other
professional backgrounds for child welfare practice positions: Bachelor or Masters degrees in Social Work, Bachelor degree in Child and Youth Care, Masters degree in Clinical Psychology, and Masters degree in Education Counselling. However, since literature aligns social work practice with child welfare, this report will use social work practice concepts. This is not meant to overlook other professions, but is rather a reflection of the limited scope of this project.
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A profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and
communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. It aims to help
people develop their skills and their ability to use their own resources and those
of the community to resolve problems. Social work is concerned with individual
and personal problems but also with broader social issues such as poverty,
unemployment and domestic violence. The uniqueness of social work practice is
in the blend of some particular values, knowledge and skills, including the use of
relationship as the basis of all interventions and respect for the client’s choice
and involvement (CASW, 2013).
Given this description, it is crucial to provide attention to the different components of practice -
the values, knowledge, and skills- in order to fully understand practice. The sections below will
address each of these components in greater detail, with a specific focus on their application to
permanency planning for children and youth.
Values in practice.
Values can be described as desirable principles, qualities, and ideals that strengthen
professional practice. The CASW (2005) also outlines a series of core values and associated
principles as a foundation for social work practice, shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Canadian Association of Social Workers Core Values and Principles for Professional
Practice
Value Principles
1 Respect for Inherent Dignity and Worth
of Persons
Human rights self-determination respect for diversity
2 Pursuit of Social Justice Advocacy for fair and equitable access to
services
3 Service to Humanity Use of power and authority in responsible ways that service the needs of clients and the promotion of social justice
4 Integrity of Professional Practice Honesty Reliability Impartiality Diligence Openness and transparency
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Table 2: Canadian Association of Social Workers Core Values and Principles for Professional
Practice (Continued)
Value Principles
5 Confidentiality in Professional Practice TrustRespect Transparency
6 Competence in Professional Practice High quality service Maintain and increase professional knowledge and skill Due care
Practice values aim to uphold the human rights of individuals and groups. These values have
also been influenced and impacted by the value positions of normative standards cited in
legislation and international agreements such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(1982) and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
In 1990, Canada signed the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, a formal
recognition that children and youth are entitled to human rights. The Convention defines the
basic human rights of all children through 54 articles, organized in the following main
categories: guiding principles, survival and development rights, protection rights, and
participation rights. While all of the articles are important, there are some that are particularly
salient when considering permanency planning social work practice:
Best interest of the child (article 3)
Right to preservation of identity (article 8)
Respect for the view of the child (article 12)
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article 14)
Right to learn about and practice their own culture, language and religion for Indigenous
or minority children (article 30)
The importance of restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of children who have
been neglected, abused or exploited (article 39).
When it comes to children in the care of the province of British Columbia, values in social work
practice are also bound by the section 70 of the Child, Family, and Community Service Act which
states that children in care have the following rights:
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to be fed, clothed and nurtured according to community standards and to be given the
same quality of care as other children in the placement
to be informed about their plans of care
to be consulted and to express their views, according to their abilities, about significant
decisions affecting them
to reasonable privacy and to possession of their personal belongings
to be free from corporal punishment
to be informed of the standard of behaviour expected by their caregivers and of the
consequences of not meeting their caregivers' expectations
to receive medical and dental care when required
to participate in social and recreational activities if available and appropriate and
according to their abilities and interests
to receive the religious instruction and to participate in the religious activities of their
choice
to receive guidance and encouragement to maintain their cultural heritage
to be provided with an interpreter if language or disability is a barrier to consulting with
them on decisions affecting their custody or care
to privacy during discussions with members of their families, subject to subsection (2)
to privacy during discussions with a lawyer, the representative or a person employed or
retained by the representative under the Representative for Children and Youth Act, the
Ombudsperson, a member of the Legislative Assembly or a member of Parliament
to be informed about and to be assisted in contacting the representative under the
Representative for Children and Youth Act, or the Ombudsperson
to be informed of their rights, and the procedures available for enforcing their rights,
under this Act, or the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Values act as the foundation of social work practice and are guides used in decision making
processes (Clayton, 2013). Respecting the dignity of others, pursuing social justice, and
practicing with integrity, confidentiality and competence have been identified as desirable
principles and ideals in social work practice. Advocating and upholding human rights is of
inherent importance, especially when working with vulnerable individuals and groups; this is
particularly important when considering working with vulnerable children and youth.
21
Knowledge in practice.
Knowledge can be described as the information, awareness or understanding that one receives
from experience or education. Knowledge in the human sciences is dynamic; as human kind
experiences, reflects and responds to the ever-changing social environment, as do theories,
philosophies, models and concepts. Practice in permanency planning is no different, with an
incredible amount of research which has influenced practice over the past few decades.
In the past, permanency planning has dealt primarily with the concept of legal permanence.
However, the current concept of permanency also addresses the relational and physical
concepts of permanency (Residential Review Phase One, Federation of BC Youth in Care
Network, 2010) where relational permanency requires strong, lasting connections with people
and organizations that provide positive commitment to children and youth, and where physical
safety involves creating a safe, stable, healthy and lasting living arrangement. A fourth concept
of cultural permanency has also been incorporated which highlights the importance of a
continuous connection to family, tradition, race, ethnicity, culture, language and religion.
Through an extensive community consultation process and literature review, the Residential
Review Phase One Findings Report (2011) identified three crucial knowledge areas that are
important to support the permanency for children and youth. Firstly, practice must be able to
identify opportunities for permanency throughout the child welfare process from assessment
to placement planning through effective: information sharing with family and community;
placement matching; transition planning; plans of care; and concurrent placement. Secondly,
practice must be based in knowledge that supports children and youth through specific topics
such as: child development; mental health; substance abuse; dual diagnosis; health concerns;
supporting learning disabilities and developmental delays; sexual exploitation; impact of
domestic violence; supporting teenage mothers; youth agreements; family support and
connection; life skills; and preparation for adulthood. Thirdly, practice must be grounded in
relational specific topics: inclusionary participation for children, youth and families; cultural
competency; trauma; attachment; working collaboratively; and advocacy.
The Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) also highlights the need for higher service
delivery outcomes for Aboriginal children in care (2013). The RCY notes that “extensive training
is required for workers to be able to write effective cultural plans and develop strategies that
help preserve the child’s unique identity and maintain cultural connections to their community”
(p. 54) with the necessity that “Aboriginal communities be actively involved with cultural
planning” (p. 55).
22
Carrière (2007, 2010, and 2011) also emphasizes the inconsistent approach to cultural planning
and the lack of training or educational support in knowing how to develop and maintain a
cultural plan for Aboriginal children. Carrière states that “cultural planning starts at the time a
child comes into care, not at the time of adoption” (2011, p. 27) and that “in adoption, [cultural
planning] is a critical component of recruitment and training of adoptive families” (2011, p. 22).
Carrière has provided recommendations for permanency planning for Indigenous children and
youth: the ministry and Aboriginal agencies need to coordinate to provide cultural outreach to
non-Aboriginal adoptive families on a more personal basis than what currently exists (2007);
there is a need for increased connection between workers, families and Aboriginal communities
(2010) ; and stability, recovering identity, connection to birth family and cultural planning are
important to Indigenous children and youth in the child welfare system (2011).
Aboriginal Elders in Indigenous communities also emphasize the importance of developing
appropriate cultural planning and permanency planning for Aboriginal children and youth who
are either in care or at risk of coming into care. The Sasamans Society on the northern end of
Vancouver Island has held several Elders Gatherings and has summarized the Elders’ key
teachings on traditional family law and parenting children: identity, pride, togetherness, history
and stories, food and medicine gathering, discipline and equality (2012, 2013). The Elders
shared suggestions for the ministry to ensure children’s safety and care such as the importance
of cross-cultural training, connection with family and communities, participation in traditional
practices, and removal of barriers for Aboriginal communities to be involved as leaders in the
care of their children.
Brendtro, Brokenleg & Van Bockern (2002) introduced The Circle of Courage model based on
traditional Native American child rearing philosophies and the work on self-concept in
childhood by Stanley Coopersmith. The Circle of Courage proposes the concepts of belonging,
mastery, independence, and generosity as the central values in creating positive outcomes for
children and youth. Belonging is related to the worldview of community where all belong to
one another and focuses on relationships whether by family, kinship, community and expressed
across generations and roles. Mastery is concerned with developing cognitive, physical, social
and spiritual competence through listening, observing, creativity and acknowledgement of the
skills of others. Independence is related to be value of individual freedom and internal
discipline, guided by the principle of guidance without interference; Elders teach values and
provide models and the child is given increasing opportunities to learn to make choices without
coercion. Generosity is concerned with the core value of sharing and community responsibility
through all aspects of life. While the model is of cultural significance to Indigenous people,
Brendtro et al. suggest that the values are also “a cultural birthright for all the world’s children”
(2002, p. 45) and therefore relevant for all children and youth regardless of culture or ethnicity.
23
Knowledge is the information, awareness or understanding that one receives from education or
experience. The literature review revealed key knowledge areas that are important to
permanency planning practice: knowledge on how to identify opportunities for permanency
within the child welfare process; knowledge on specific topics that support children and youth;
knowledge on using relational practice to support permanency planning; and knowledge of
cultural planning, especially in terms supporting Aboriginal children and youth.
Skills in practice.
A skill can be considered to be the ability to perform an activity and is driven and influenced by
the combination of values and knowledge unique to each individual. In terms of skills necessary
in practice, the research and discussion is considerable and varied. Therefore, due to the
limited scope of this project, this section will be limited to the skills identified by the Ministry of
Children and Family Development as well as emerging focus on critical thinking skills.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development uses the Helping Relationships model (British
Columbia, 2013) which is informed by a large and growing body of research on common
features of helping relationships in psychotherapy and counselling relationships. The premise of
the Helping Relationship is to identify the necessary interpersonal skills which enable the
worker to engage meaningfully with the client, since communication skills are fundamental to
practice (Forrester et al, 2008). The model identifies the following skills and actions to establish
a foundation for trust as well as physical, emotional and cultural safety:
friendliness, warmth, concern, empathy, positive regard, genuineness and patience
when engaging with children, youth, families, and community
client-focused practice of asking about values, beliefs, worldview
focusing on strength-based, solution-oriented, collaborative practice
validating and celebrating a client’s efforts towards change.
Critical thinking skills have also become a focus in practice and are considered to be an integral
component in effective decision making (Gibbons & Gray, 2004; Lietz, 2009; Carey & McCardle,
2011; Alter & Egan, 1997; Mumm & Kersting, 1997). The notion of critical thinking skills in child
welfare practice is particularly important as practitioners deal with a myriad of different
contextual factors which influence decision making. Clayton (2013) explains the complexities
inherent in child welfare practice:
24
Decisions in the field of child welfare are complex and filled with emotion. To
work in this field, individuals must be committed to advocating for their clients
and enter into relationships without judgement. Social workers struggle to
maintain this focus within the bureaucracy where they work. The issues of
workload, budgets, and lack of resources force social workers to be creative and
imaginative in their work to keep children safe and families intact. Workers
struggle with their fears for the children and families, and for themselves. They
are asked to assess and focus on risk, though their mandate is to protect children
and keep families together. With more experience, they can slow things down
and be creative; however, an emotional toll can threaten to overwhelm them (p.
129).
As Gibbons and Gray note, “when we encourage students to think critically, we are inviting
them to think creatively, to come up with new ideas and innovative ways of solving problems
and we are preparing them for the ambiguities and complexities of social work practice” (2004,
p. 22). In her influential report The Munro Review of Child Protection, Munro (2011)
underscores the “unavoidable degree of uncertainty involved in making child protection
decision making, and the impossibility of eradicating
that uncertainty” (p. 15). Morrison (1997) highlights
the need for an organizational culture in which
“thinking and feeling, and not just ‘doing’ are
legitimized and used in the organization’s whole
approach to problem-solving” (p. 33). Stokes (2011)
also highlights the need to balance objective and
subjective knowledge in order to avoid discounting
the uniqueness of each situation and ignoring the
“emotional complexity of people’s lives and the use
of self in practice” (p. 4). Stokes continues to develop
this insight by reflecting that “our behaviour is not
simply driven by our cognitive, intellectual processes;
our behaviour is a result of a complex interaction of the ‘doing’ behaviour, our ‘thinking’ at the
time, our ‘feeling’ or emotional reaction, and our ‘physiological’ experiences” (p. 7). Current
research findings into decision making among child welfare practitioners reinforces this theory
where it was revealed that child welfare practitioners in British Columbia use a combination of
rational and intuitive decision making for both crisis and non-crisis situations (Clayton, 2013).
The Representative for Children and Youth (RCY), in their report “Much More than Paperwork;
Proper Planning Essential to Better Lives for B.C.’s Children in Care” (2013) recommended that
Our behaviour is a result of a
complex interaction of the
‘doing’ behaviour, our
‘thinking’ at the time, our
‘feeling’ or emotional
reaction, and our
‘physiological’ experiences
(Stokes, 2011).
25
practitioners “receive training on how to conduct proper assessments and planning, so that
they understand the importance of developing meaningful, relevant and accountable plans for
the children and youth in their care” (p. 5). In particular, the RCY pointed out that that plans of
care are intended to be an assessment and planning tool where the information should be
analyzed, with appropriate written measurable outcomes attached to goals and objectives;
without these crucial pieces of work, a plan of care “is simply a status report” (p. 83). In
addition, the RCY noted that through their focus groups with youth in care, youth suggested
that practitioners should: ask youth to be more involved; be more open-minded to ideas the
youth have; ask youth who they want to invite to share in their planning; and most significantly,
highlight a youth’s strengths since “youth were interested to know what people saw in them
than they couldn’t see for themselves” (p. 72). The RCY summarized the above points by stating
that “good planning should help catch issues fairly early, find suitable supports and monitor
progress through a meaningful relationship with a child who has a voice in his or her own life
circumstances” (p. 87). This is an example of the importance of the need for the simultaneous
use of relational skills and critical thinking skills in practice with children and youth.
Skills are considered to be the ability to perform an activity and are driven and influenced by
the combination of values and knowledge unique to each individual. The literature review
revealed two important skills which are crucial in permanency planning practice: relational skills
and critical thinking skills. Relational skills are the interpersonal communication skills that
establish a foundation for trust as well as physical, emotional and cultural safety and enable a
practitioner to engage meaningfully with others. Critical thinking skills are the ability to balance
objective or rational knowledge and the subjective or intuitive knowledge in the process of
planning and decision making. The use of relation skills and critical thinking skills simultaneously
is seen as critical when practitioners are making meaningful and relevant plans for, and with,
children and youth.
Adult Education
Educational and learning theories.
Theories can be understood as the general principles or ideas that relate to a particular subject
(merriam-webster.com, 2013). With regards to adult education, andragogy4 has emerged as a
relatively new theoretical model and in contrast to the traditional theoretical model of
pedagogy (based on the meaning “leading children”). Knowles (1970) identified that the
educational theory of andragogy is based on four crucial assumptions about the characteristics
4 Andragogy refers to the methods or techniques used to teach adults.
26
of adult learners that are different from the assumption on which traditional pedagogy is
based:
1. That as they mature, their self-concept moves from one of being a dependent
personality toward being a self-directed human being
2. That they accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasingly
rich resource for learning
3. Their readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of
their social roles, and
4. Their time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to
immediacy of application and accordingly, their orientation toward learning shifts from
one of subject-centredness to one of performance-centredness (p. 44–45).
In terms of education, learning theories have also evolved throughout the ages, with the
development of four main learning theories: behaviourist learning theory; cognitive learning
theory; constructive theory of learning; and humanistic learning theory. In behaviourist learning
theory, based on the works by Thorndike, Watson and Skinner, learning is based on “stimulus-
response” connections where the learner is passive and responding to the environmental
stimuli. Learning systems centred on behaviourist theories are based on the analysis of the task
and the establishment of clear and specific learning objectives (Knowles, 1970).
Cognitive theories of learning, based on the works of Bruner and Gagne, took the behaviourist
learning theories one step further, viewing the learner as an active participant in the processing
of information. In cognitive theories of learning, learning systems also incorporate the learner’s
cognitive abilities and internal mental processes, with the goal of building objective knowledge
and overall cognitive development.
Constructive theories of learning, based on the works of Vygotsky, Piaget and Dewey, view
learning as an active, constructive process where learners are actively building their knowledge
through prior knowledge which has both objective and subjective qualities. In constructivism,
learning must be connected to the student and reflect a connection to an actual life problem
and this connection “can only be achieved through experimentation, real problem solving, and
construction of solutions through learner activities” (Garrison, Neubert & Reich, 2012, p. 12). In
addition, in order for learning to occur, students must be actively engaged in the learning
process in a way that provides for a meaningful experience: “One of the most important
principles of educational psychology is that teachers cannot simply give students knowledge.
Students must construct knowledge in their own minds” (Slavin, 2006, p. 243 as cited in
Garrison, Neibert & Reich, 2012, p. 18).
27
Humanistic learning theories, based on the works of Maslow, Rogers and Knowles, are based on
the assumption that learning is a personal act to fulfill one’s own potential where learning is
meant to enhance human development, well-being, and dignity (Aloni, 2011). Humanistic
learning theories view learners in a holistic sense and recognize the role of both cognitive and
affective learning. MacKeracher (2004) has also referred to the subjective, intuitive experiences
as the “spirit and soul in learning” where “the experience of soul is inward looking and allows
the individual to find inner completeness […and…] the experience of spirit is outward looking
and allows the individual to connect to relationships and realities beyond the immediacy of
body and mind” (p. 172). This philosophy is similar to the traditional Aboriginal teachings where
the person is made up of four parts: the spirit, the heart, the mind, and the body and where the
four parts help the person to see, feel, know, and do (BC Aboriginal Child Care Society, 2010). It
is within these holistic perspectives that connectedness is emphasized and where
transformative or transformational learning originates. Dirkx (1997 as quoted in Collins et al.,
2007) also describes transformational learning as “learning through soul” with a “focus on the
interface where the socio-emotional and the intellectual world meet, where the inner and
outer worlds converge” (p. 80). Transformative learning is also seen as set apart from other
forms of learning in its focus on modifying the way people see themselves and their world and
not just on the acquisition of knowledge or skills (Collins et al, 2007).
Mezirow (2000, as quoted in Collins et al., 2007) found several key factors of the learning
environment which were critical to fostering transformational learning: awareness,
understanding, and analysis of one’s own frame of reference; experiencing a disorienting
dilemma; critical reflection; and dialogue with others. In addition, Taylor (2000 as quoted in
(Collins et al., 2007) reviewed forty-six studies examining transformational learning, the results
of which are summarized in Table 3.
Table 3: Key Influencing Factors for Fostering Transformational Learning
Instructional methods and
skills
Specific learner needs Learning activities
Instructional methods that
support a learner-centred
approach
Encouraging learner
autonomy, participation, and
collaboration
Activities that encourage
exploration of alternative
personal perspectives via
problem solving and critical
reflection
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Table 3: Key Influencing Factors for Fostering Transformational Learning (Continued)
Cranton and King (2003) suggested practical strategies for integrating transformational
learning into the training environment: the use of intriguing cases and starting questions to
help learners debate the philosophical and practical aspects of their role, probe unspoken
assumptions, and analyze consequences of decisions; have learners apply learned materials to
their work while still in the learning environment; and engage learners in critical theory
discussions to build critical thinking skills.
While learning theories have evolved, constructive and humanistic learning theories align with
the learning necessary for the complex environment of child welfare and permanency planning.
Within the constructive and humanistic theories, learning is understood to be an active,
constructive process that recognizes the role of both cognitive and affective learning while also
emphasizing the impact of transformation learning. Furthermore, attention to instructional
methods and skills, learner needs, and learning activities are crucial to foster transformational
learning.
Learning models and approaches.
Learning models and approaches are both numerous and varied. No single model or approach
will likely fit the complex environment of learning and education for child welfare workers.
However, there are some models that appear to fit the philosophical base of the social work
profession more than others. Due to the limited scope of this project, this report focuses on
Bloom’s Taxonomy or Learning Domains, the ANISA Model of Education and Learner-Centred
approaches.
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains.
Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001)
are well known for identifying three learning domains that are important in terms of individual
Instructional methods and
skills
Specific learner needs Learning activities
Instructors who promote a sense of safety, openness and trust
Having an opportunity to discuss and work through emotions prior to moving onto critical reflection
Providing learners with experiential, hands on learning activities
Instructors who demonstrate
a high level of integrity
Having dissonance and
conflict addressed in the
learning group
Feedback to learners and
opportunities for learner self-
assessment
29
learning: the cognitive domain (knowing and thinking); the affective domain (feeling and
attitudes); and the psychomotor domain (doing and skills).
Bloom’s Taxonomy was chosen as a focus due to its alignment with the constructive learning
theory where learning is a product of a building of knowledge, and humanistic learning theory
which emphasizes the important role of both cognitive and affective learning. In Bloom’s
Taxonomy, the cognitive and affective domains have associated skills which are intended to
occur along a hierarchy (much like the underlying the theory of constructive learning discussed
in the previous section). For cognitive skills, Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl,
2001) orders the following skills on a progressive, hierarchical level from: remembering,
understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The affective domain orders the
skills on a progressive, hierarchical level from: receiving (awareness), responding
(demonstrating new behaviour), valuing (demonstrating commitment), organizing (integrating a
new value), and characterization by value (acting consistently with the new value). The
psychomotor domain describes the progressive skills of physically manipulating a tool or
instrument: perception (awareness); set (readiness to act); guided response (imitation);
mechanism (intermediate skill- habitual); complex overt response (skillful- complex); adaptation
(modification); origination (creating). Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy is summarized in Table 4.
Table 4: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Learning Domains
Increasing skill
Origination
Creating Adaptation
Evaluating Characterization
(acting consistently)
Complex overt
response
Analyzing Organizing
(integrating)
Mechanism
Applying Valuing (committing_ Guided response
Understanding Responding Set
Remembering Receiving (awareness) Perception
(awareness)
Cognitive domain Affective domain Psychomotor domain
While the cognitive domain is the most well-known, since education typically stresses the
acquisition of intellectual skills, the affective domains are equally important (Brown, 1999, p. 1).
Essentially, as individuals progress through their learning through both cognitive and affection
30
domains, “knowledge and skills are not simply learned, but acquire personal meaning” (Brown,
1999, p. 4).
Anisa model.
The Anisa model, based on the works of Jordan and Streets, is an educational philosophy
“derived from theory of development which [...] defines development as the process of
translating potentiality into actuality and designates interaction with the environment as the
means by which the process is sustained” (Jordan and Streets, 1973, p. 297). The Anisa model
includes five categories of human potential, defined in terms of competencies:
1. Psycho-motor competence: the capacity to coordinate, control and direct the
movement and position of the voluntary muscles
2. Perceptual competence: the capacity to differentiate sensory information and then
integrate that information into generalizable patterns which constitute interpretations
of reality that enable meaningful decisions and actions
3. Cognitive competence: the ability to differentiate aspects of thought, integrate them
into logical patterns, and generalize them to solve problems, form concepts or generate
new ideas
4. Affective competence: the ability to organize one’s emotions and feelings that energize
the system and support in a positive manner the release of further potentiality
5. Volitional competence: the ability to develop a sense of purpose that provides criteria
for making choices among a variety of possibilities and enables one to achieve an
intrinsic motivation of the will (Jordan & Streets, 1973).
Brown (2004) positioned the five competencies to represent a holistic model in Figure 2, where
volitional competence is centred in the middle and can be interpreted as the will or self-
determination that makes a person who they are. While all the competencies are
interconnected, volitional competence plays a key role in determining the potentiality of the
other surrounding competencies.
31
Figure 2: Brown’s holistic model of learner competencies
The development of affective competencies is a very important aspect of the Anisa model
where “emotions are a feedback system that evaluates the expression of energy toward
viability” (Brown, 2004, p. 68). By expressing and organizing emotion, values are developed and
over time reinforced to predispose one to respond in a particular way to aspects of the
environment.
The Anisa model represents a holistic educational philosophy that aligns with the theory of
humanistic learning. In addition, it aligns itself well with the components of organizational
development and permanency planning child welfare practice discussed in previous sections,
where the perceptual, affective, cognitive and psychomotor competencies align with the
values, knowledge and skills of social work practice and the volitional competence aligns with
the importance of creating opportunities that trigger inspiration and transformative change,
both for the individual, team and organization.
Learner-centred.
There has been a fundamental shift in educational theories and instructional approaches over
the past twenty years, from one that is instructor-centred to one that is learner-centred. While
instructor-centred teaching focuses on one-way transfer of information where the instructor is
the source of learning, the learner-centred approach focuses on the student’s needs, abilities
and learning styles while emphasizing “the student as the main agent of learning” (Hansen &
Volitional Competence
(Self-Determination)
Cognitive Competence
(Mental)
Perceptual Competence
(Spiritual)
Affective Competence (Emotional)
Psycho-motor
Competence
(Physical)
32
Stephen, 2000, p. 41). In learner-centred approaches, the traditional role of the teacher as an
instructor gives way to a facilitative and collaborative role with students in the learning process.
In 1997, the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs released a list of
14 learner-centred psychological principles as a response to research advances that show that
“our understanding of thinking, memory, and motivational processes can contribute directly to
improvement in teaching, learning, and the whole enterprise of schooling” (American
Psychological Association, 1997, p. 1).
1. The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an intentional
process of constructing meaning from information and experience.
2. The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can
create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.
3. The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful
ways.
4. The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning
strategies to achieve complex learning goals.
5. Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate
creative and critical thinking.
6. Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology, and
instructional practices.
7. What and how much is learned is influenced by motivation.
8. The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to
motivation to learn.
9. Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided
practice.
10. As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning.
11. Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication
with others.
12. Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capacities for learning that are a
function of prior experience and heredity.
13. Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and social
backgrounds are taken into account.
33
14. Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well
learning progress are integral parts of the learning process.
Learner-centred approaches are well aligned with constructive and humanistic learning
theories, as well as with the Anisa educational model. Learners remain at the centre, and their
own volition or motivation is crucial in the learning process. Since the learner’s needs, abilities
and learning styles are the focus, other elements take on a supportive, facilitative role. These
other elements, such as instructional practices, technology, and culture directly influence the
learner and should be positioned to encourage, guide, and support creative and critical thinking
and construct meaning from each learner’s experience. The next section highlights how
instructional design approaches can facilitate a learner-centred approach.
Instructional design approaches.
Instructional design is the practice of creating instructional experiences which make the
acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective and appealing for learners. The most
common instructional design model is the ADDIE model, which outlines five phases involved in
instructional design:
1. Analyze: Gather information, understand the big picture and the project’s overall goals.
2. Design: Identify learning objectives, key components of the course content, and key
work tasks.
3. Develop: Create content and learning activities.
4. Implement: Deliver course to intended audience.
5. Evaluate: An iterative process of instructional design involved throughout the previous
four stages to assess the project and make revisions as necessary.
While the ADDIE model represents a development model for instructional design, blended
learning has also been introduced as design approach that addresses the ways in which course
content can be delivered through a combination of face-to-face and online delivery
methodologies to optimize learning experiences. Through the combined and thoughtful use of
face-to-face and online learning delivery methodologies, blended learning represents “a
fundamental redesign that transforms the structure of, and approach to, teaching and learning”
(Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p. 5). Garrison and Vaughan (2008) note three key assumptions of
well designed blended learning model: thoughtfully integrating face-to-face and online leaning;
fundamentally rethinking the course design to optimize student engagement; and restructuring
and replacing traditional class contact hours. These three key statements distinctly reinforce
that blended learning is most effective when the combination of classroom and online delivery
34
methodologies, are united in a way that “can significantly
enhance the learning experience” (Garrison & Vaughan,
2008, p. 3).
Blended learning approaches and the use of technology
provide several advantages for learners. Garrison and
Anderson (2003) note that online learning can: (1) facilitate
critical discourse and meaningful learning experiences in a
convenient and cost-effective manner; (2) provide the
connectivity and reflective freedom essential for critical
and creative thinking and learning; and (3) provide a
dynamic and sustained community of learners engaged in
actively constructing meaning and confirming knowledge.
The advantages of a blended learning design are
particularly salient when it comes to continuing education courses that are not easily accessible
to working professionals due to time and geographic barriers.
At the same time, Garrison and Vaughan (2008) remark that “online learning cannot easily
replace the advantages and the need of learners to connect verbally in real time and in
contiguous space” (p. 163). Therefore, Garrison & Vaughan (2008) have recommended a
Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework that addresses three core and interdependent
components to enhance the effectiveness of blended learning: social presence, cognitive
presence, and teaching presence. Social presence reflects the learner’s need to establish
personal relationships and sense of belonging to the learning community through open and
meaningful communication, cohesive responses and affective/personal connections (Garrison &
Vaughan, 2008) built on trust and the creation of purposeful relationships.
Cognitive presence “is a recursive process that encompasses states of puzzlement, information
exchange, connection of ideas, creation of concepts, and the testing of viability of solutions”
(Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p. 22). In addition, Garrison & Vaughan (2008) remark that in order
to ensure cognitive presence, learners must have opportunities for personal reflection and
group collaboration. This is the major advantage of a blended learning community of inquiry
framework; the combination of face-to-face learning where learners collaborate, coupled with
online learning that offers more time for personal reflection provides an improved learning
environment to achieve higher-order learning outcomes (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008).
The final element of a CoI to support effective blended learning is teaching presence which is
essential to connecting the social and cognitive presence elements and ensuring productivity.
Through the combined and
thoughtful use of face-to-face
and online learning delivery
methodologies, blended
learning represents a
fundamental redesign that
transforms the structure of
and approach to teaching and
learning (Garrison and
Vaughan, 2008).
35
Teaching presence confirms the curriculum as well as moderates, guides and focuses
discussions and tasks. In addition, teaching presence establishes, manages and sustains
collaborative relationships through strong leadership and modelling as well as ensures that
learner inquiry moves to resolution and metacognitive awareness (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008;
Garrison & Anderson, 2003).
In blended learning, the question remains as to how to determine when to use and how to
balance the use of face-to-face versus online methodologies. When designing collaborative and
reflective blended learning experiences, Garrison & Vaughan (2008) report that it is the
educational design that “guides the selection of appropriate strategies and tools” (p. 105). They
recommend key guidelines such as reconceptualising and redesigning an entire course through
discarding ineffective and inefficient practices and adopting a critical rethinking of what we do
and why. Secondly, they recommend managing the volume of content in order to create space
and time to process and reflect since “too much content becomes a barrier to deep and
meaningful learning” (p. 106). Thirdly, they recommend creating a community of inquiry to
engage learners and provide feedback to assess critical thinking.
In order to begin a redesign process, Garrison & Vaughan (2008) recommend reflecting on a
series of key questions:
1. What do you want your students to know when they have completed your blended
learning course?
2. What types of learning activities will you design that integrate face-to-face and online
components?
3. What means will you use to assess these integrated learning activities?
4. How will information and communication technologies be used to support blended
learning?
These, and other key questions, can be easily incorporated into the ADDIE model phases of
analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation.
While ADDIE represents a structured framework for curriculum development, blended learning
introduces innovative thinking about ways in which the delivery of course content through the
combination of face-to-face and online methodologies can optimize learning experiences. In
order to realize the potential of blended learning, being mindful about blended learning and
strategically positioning how to balance and align the different methodologies throughout the
ADDIE process is critical.
36
Summary of Literature Review
Child welfare social work practice is inherently complex. Practitioners must constantly manage
the connection between their values, knowledge and skills in a complex environment that is rife
with ambiguity and uncertainty. To do so, practitioners must have confidence in their own
values of respect, social justice, integrity, confidentiality and competence. These values are
intrinsically important in social work practice and are often the guides used in decision-making
processes (Clayton, 2013). In addition, practitioners must have the key cognitive knowledge
necessary to inform and guide their practice, such as being able to recognize opportunities for
permanency, as well as knowledge of specific practice-related and relational-specific topics in
order to fully support children and youth in the child welfare system. Practitioners must then
put their value and knowledge framework into practice through fine-tuned interpersonal and
critical thinking skills. This is no easy task when faced with the uniqueness of each case, and
requires practitioners to balance objective and subjective knowledge, as well as their rational
and intuitive decision-making skills.
Organizational development and learning are crucial in supporting organizational success and
sustainability through competent social work practice and inspired employees. In an
organizational environment where complexity, change and fiscal restraint are constants,
organizational learning through effective and efficient training has a key role to play in
supporting organizational outcomes so long as it can balance the tension between client, staff
and organizational needs. Ultimately, training systems should contribute to positive
organizational culture and create opportunities for meaningful learning, collaboration and
innovation.
While the child welfare environment is complex, training systems can help practitioners
manage the complexities by using learning and
instructional theories and models that align with the
needs of permanency planning child welfare practice. By
applying constructive and humanistic theories of
learning, training systems can be better prepared to
attend to both the objective and subjective knowledge
required in practice, as well as the values of human
development, well-being and dignity that are inherently
important to current social work practice. Central to this
need is the ability to provide learner-centred
approaches that view learners holistically and attend to
both cognitive and affective learning, since in
professional practice in social work one “must be
“We must be continually
engaged in the journey from
the head to the heart if we
are to be effective,
compassionate and respectful
practitioners”
(Strega & Carrière, 2009, p.
17).
37
continually engaged in the journey from the head to the heart if we are to be effective,
compassionate and respectful practitioners” (Strega & Carrière, 2009, p. 17). In addition, in
order to address the complexities inherent in the child welfare environment, it is equally
important to address higher-order learning domains in training curriculum, especially with
regards to cognitive and affective learning domains. To do so will encourage not only higher-
order learning, but transformative learning as well.
In order to create learning opportunities that attend to improving both organizational
development and social work practice, it is crucial to deploy a strategic approach to
instructional design. Applying a blended learning design approach to the ADDIE model may
provide such a strategic methodology. Creative ways of addressing the effectiveness of learning
opportunities and efficiency with regards to time and money can be realized through
effectively-combined classroom and online learning, offering both opportunities for
collaboration in classroom settings and personal reflection in online learning.
38
4. METHODOLOGY
Research Design and Objectives
The purpose of this project was to produce recommendations for a comprehensive and
coordinated permanency planning educational framework within the Ministry of Children and
Family Development. The client requested a review of its current permanency planning courses
in order to gain a fuller understanding of strengths and challenges of the current course
offerings, from both a social work and adult learning perspective. In order to do so, a review of
content was conducted, as well as an analysis of the learning domains present throughout the
courses. In addition, qualitative interviews with participants in MCFD and post-secondary
institutions were conducted in order to gain a clearer picture of the organizational, practice and
adult learning context for permanency planning.
Research Instruments
A combination of qualitative data collection methods was used, including a review of
permanency planning training courses as well as qualitative semi-structured interviews. This
approach had the advantage of providing a clear foundational understanding of current
courses, which could then be compared to the current organizational, permanency planning
child welfare practice and adult learning desired outcomes brought forward through the
qualitative interview process.
Review of training.
The ministry provides core training along the four service delivery lines of Child and Youth
Mental Health, Child and Family Services, Adoption, and Youth Justice. However, the scope of
this project was to review the training along the service delivery lines of Child Safety, Family
Support and Children in Care Services and Adoption in order to:
identify a comprehensive list of curriculum for Child Safety, Family Support and Children
in Care Services and Adoption Services, and
review the content and design of training courses for Guardianship (Role of the
Guardian) and Adoptions (Adoption WorkerTraining Program) positions.
A list of curriculum for Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care Services and Adoption
Services was gathered through access to the Health and Human Services website, which houses
the entire text-based curriculum, and through coordination with the Justice Institute of British
Columbia, which is contracted to administer face-to-face courses such as the Child Welfare
Practitioner Interim Training Program, Role of the Guardian, and Adoption Worker Training
Program.
39
The review of content for the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training Program was
intended to:
highlight existing resources
identify repetitiveness, and
draw attention to any potential learning gaps.
The review of course design for the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training
Program was intended to examine the effectiveness of the content in its presentation to
learners by:
analyzing learning domains associated with content, using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy,
and
assessing delivery methodology in relation to adult education principles.
Qualitative interviews.
Qualitative Interviews were conducted with approval from the University of Victoria’s Human
Research Ethics Board (Appendix C). In addition, the Ministry of Children and Family
Development’s Modelling, Analysis and Information Management Branch granted privacy
approval to conduct interviews with MCFD staff.
Sampling.
For the purpose of selecting the qualitative interview participants, the client provided a list of
potential qualified ministry participants who have knowledge and expertise in the areas of
permanency planning child welfare practice from an organizational, service delivery or learning
perspective. Email invitations to participate were sent to those ministry employees (Appendix
D). Participants from post-secondary institutions were also sought through an identical email
sent by the client to a Deans and Directors distribution list for post-secondary institutions
offering social work and/or child and youth care degree programs. Participation was non-
random, self-selected and voluntary; interested participants contacted the researcher directly
and signed free and informed consent forms (Appendix E) in order to participate.
The cohort for the qualitative interviews consisted of 14 participants: 6 participants from
ministry upper-level management/executive positions; 4 participants from ministry social work
practice consultant or team leader positions; and 4 participants from post-secondary
institutions who had both social work practice and adult education experience. Participants
were from locations across British Columbia.
40
Interviews.
Telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Having personal contact was a
deliberate choice, given the potentially sensitive nature of the topic. Whenever possible, face-
to-face interviews were used and when that was not possible because of geographical
restraints, telephone interviews were conducted. If participants and the researcher were in the
same geographical location, participants had a choice of meeting face-to-face or over the
telephone. On average, the interviews lasted one hour; however, a few interviews were one
and a half hours.
An appreciative inquiry approach was taken when designing the interview questions and
conducting interviews. This approach allowed for an opportunity for rich discussion, which was
meant to elicit more meaningful, candid dialogue and derive more meaning-making from the
interview process. Interview questions (Appendix F) were designed to reflect the conceptual
framework of the project, specifically targeting information relevant to organizational
development, permanency planning child welfare practice and adult education principles as it
pertains to permanency planning. All interview questions were open-ended in order to promote
open discussion and dialogue and were given to the participants in advance of the interview. All
interviews were audio-taped (with permission from participants) to ensure that all information
was captured correctly.
Following each interview, participants were provided with a type-written account of their
responses for approval to ensure accuracy and provide an opportunity for participants to
correct inaccuracies or further elaborate on responses. In addition, all participants were offered
a follow-up interview if they felt it was necessary.
Methods of analysis.
A qualitative content analysis methodology was used for analysis of the qualitative, semi-
structured interviews. The content analysis method is a flexible approach for analyzing data,
where analysis goes beyond merely counting words to providing knowledge and understanding
of the phenomenon under study (Hesieh & Shannon, 2005; Downe-Wambolt, 1992). Qualitative
content analysis can be defined as a “research method for the subjective interpretation of the
content of text data through the systemic classification process of coding and identifying
themes or patterns” (Hesieh & Shannon, 2005, p. 1278). For the purpose of this study, a
combination of conventional content analysis and summative content analysis techniques was
used. For example, when responses were varied with no theme in specific words or language, a
conventional content analysis was used and themes were derived from the data. This approach
was used for Question 1 of the interview responses. However, when key words were identified
repeatedly in responses, a summative approach was used to count the occurrences of key
41
words and further analyze patterns and meaning. This approach was used for Questions 2–8 of
the interview responses.
To prepare for the analysis, each participant was assigned to a group based on their
employment position. For example, participants in higher level management or executive
positions were assigned to Group 1 (Organizational Perspective); participants in social work
practice consultant or leader positions were assigned to Group 2 (Permanency Planning Child
Welfare Practice Perspective); and participants from adult education/post-secondary
institutions were assigned to Group 3 (Adult Education Perspective). Despite being assigned to
a specific group, both the researcher and participants had a general understanding of the
natural overlap of the groups.
Following the interviews, the participant-approved typewritten responses were analyzed by
group, and question by question. Themes or patterns emerged and the emphasis of the pattern
was reflected in the number of participants who responded similarly. After each group was
analyzed independently, responses for each question were then compared to other groups to
compare the similarities (overarching themes) and differences (group-specific themes) between
the groups. Where differences or group-specific themes arose, those differences were
reflected. Some questions and responses that were not relevant to the conceptual framework
or did not have a high response rate or fit within themes were omitted. When a summative
approach was used, the responses were captured both numerically, to show the number of
responses within each group, and percentage-wise, as a reflection of the total participant
cohort.
Strengths and weaknesses of the approaches.
Regarding the review of the training documents pertaining to permanency planning, the
potential strength of the analysis can be seen through the structured and detailed approach in
which documents were analyzed by content and learning domain, which provides an accurate
account of the methodology involved. The potential weakness of the approach can be the
subjective nature of the analysis of the learning domains, which are based solely on documents
and not on the observation of class instruction, where learning domains may have been
impacted by the instructors.
With regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative interviews, 14 participants
participated in the semi-structured interview process. Potential strengths of the approach were
that the participants were committed to and passionate about sharing their thoughts and
experiences and this contributed to the depth of the responses and resulting themes and
patterns. All participants were invited to participate anonymously based on their knowledge of
42
and expertise in the topic. The direct contact between interviewer and interviewee also
provided a personal approach that elicited a trusting, understanding environment in which
participants could voice their concerns, which were sensitive and at times political in nature.
The semi-structured interview process, using open-ended questions, promoted an opportunity
for rich discussion and deepened meaning-making. Another strength was the verification of
individual responses and group themes with participants, thereby ensuring that the data used
for analysis were correct and used as intended by participants.
A potential weakness of the qualitative interview approach was the small sample size, which
was a result of resource and time constraints. The smaller sample size may have affected the
anonymity of participants and their willingness to be candid. In addition, the smaller sample
size may have impacted the theoretical saturation of the data. With more available time and
resources, a larger sample size could have been sought, which might have been more reflective
of the permanency planning community (by including community partners, service recipients
and Aboriginal communities) and uncovered additional themes and patterns. This could prove
to be an opportunity for future research.
Another potential weakness of the qualitative interview approach was the subjectivity involved
in the analysis of the data, which may impact validity. While the institutional ethnography and
grounded theory approaches emphasize the process of analysis in the discovery of themes and
patterns, it is possible that a different researcher might uncover different results from the same
sample and data.
At all times throughout the duration of this report, the researcher also sought to be responsive
to both the organizational needs of the client and the interests of the participants. These
strategies were used to improve the reliability and validity of the report, and to mitigate any
potential weaknesses.
43
5. FINDINGS
Review of Training Findings
The review of training findings reports a catalogue of available curriculum for Child Safety,
Family Support and Children in Care and Adoption service lines, then further analyzes the Role
of the Guardian course (Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care service line) and the
Adoption Worker Training Program (Adoption service line). The analysis will focus on the
content of the curriculum by highlighting existing resources, identifying any repetitiveness
across courses, and drawing attention to potential learning gaps. The analysis also focuses on
curriculum design through examining learning domains within the courses, and assesses
delivery methodologies.
Catalogue of available curriculum.
This section provides a summary of available curriculum that the Ministry of Children and
Family Development provides for child welfare practitioners. The catalogue of curriculum is
divided into the service delivery lines of Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care
Services and Adoption Services.
Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care Services.
The ministry provides the Child Welfare Practitioner Interim Training Program to all employees
entering into the field of child safety practice. The training program is based on a blended
learning model that incorporates the use of an individual learning plan, competency
assessment guide, field mentorship, and online and classroom curriculum. In 2012, the Child
Welfare Practitioner Interim Training Program was assessed in terms of learner-centredness.
Through a literature review and survey methodology, Miller-Cholette (2012) found that overall,
the training program “met its intent to become a learner-centred training program based on
adult education principles” (p. 4). The intent of this section, therefore, is not to assess training
according to adult education best practices, but to assess the training from an organizational
development perspective in relation to permanency planning goals and outcomes.
The individualized learning plan (ILP) and competency assessment guide (CAG) are the first
components of the program and are intended to be used simultaneously to support employees
to plan their learning and address key competency areas required for child welfare practice.
The ILP and CAG intend to provide new employees an opportunity to analyze and reflect on
their own learning needs in relation to the foundational, core and specialized competencies
required for child welfare practice. These competencies reflect the knowledge and skills
required of all child welfare practitioners and cover both the objective, cognitive requirements
(such as knowledge of legislation and policy) as well as the subjective, reflective components
44
(such as awareness and skills in relation to cultural agility, collaboration, and strength-based
practice).
The second component of the program, field mentorship, offers a key strategic link in
developing organizational culture and improving performance where “new hires view mentors
as conduits for information, support, and clarification of role ambiguity” (Miller-Cholette, 2012,
p. 42). When Miller-Cholette investigated new hires’ feedback on mentorship, participants who
did not have a consistent mentor “often felt unsure about the progress of their learning; they
felt they were nuisances to the team leaders and their colleagues” (p. 42). In her study, Miller-
Cholette ultimately made the recommendation that the ministry develop mentors through a
formalized learning process in order to add value to both the training program and the
organization, stating, “collaboration [with mentors] in new hires’ working relationships can
promote a sense of belonging and engagement that benefits not only the delivery of service,
but also the organization through employee retention and motivation” (p. 44). In addition, the
focus of developing mentors can reinforce the embedding of Lowe’s notions of inclusive
leadership, which contribute to a healthy organization and vibrant workplace.
The third component consists of both online and classroom-based curriculum and involves the
courses listed in Table 5.
Table 5: Child Welfare Practitioner Interim Training Program online and classroom curriculum
Online text curriculum Classroom-delivered curriculum
Child Protection Hearing, Orders,
Confidentiality and Disclosure
Interviewing
Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Legal Skills and Procedures
Overview of Adoption Planning for Children in
Care
Child Welfare Legislation and Standards
Preparing Youth in Care for Independence Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect
Gender and Identity Issues for Youth Strengths-based Approach for Practitioners
Understanding Family Violence Structured Decision Making
Fundamentals of Substance Abuse Role of the Guardian
Reunification of Children in Care
Understanding Suicidal Ideation in Child
Welfare Practice
Understanding Trauma
Fundamentals of Mental Health for Child
Welfare Workers
Working with Aboriginal Children and Families
Culture and Diversity
45
The online courses are accessible on the ministry intranet and are intended to be self-directed.
The seven classroom delivered courses are mandated for all new child welfare workers, with
the exception of Role of the Guardian. The six core courses are provided to all new child welfare
workers during a three week residency period in Vancouver, British Columbia through a
contract with the Justice Institute of British Columbia. Typically, new workers attend courses
consecutively as a cohort in the following order:
Strengths-based Approach for Practitioners (2 days)
Structured Decision Making (2 days)
Child Welfare Legislation and Standards (2 days)
Legal Skills and Procedures (2 days)
Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect (2 days)
Interviewing (4 days).
At one time, the Role of Guardian was part of the new hire classroom curriculum as a further
five day course. At some point, it was separated from the new hire program and was offered as
a shortened three day, stand-alone classroom course. In 2008, it was further changed to a four
and a half day classroom course.
Adoption Services.
The ministry provides the Adoption Worker Training Program to employees who provide
adoption services to children, youth and prospective families. The training was developed in
2002 through a contract with the Justice Institute of British Columbia and is organized into
three, one-week classroom deliveries:
Working with the Child (5 days)
Working with Prospective Parents (3 days)
Placing Children with Families (4 days)
Typically, Adoption workers attend Working with the Child and then at a later date, attend a
further seven days of training where the Working with Prospective Parents and Placing Children
with Families are combined.
46
Content.
Table 6 outlines the main topic areas within the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker
Training Program. Highlighted sections indicate areas where there is repetition across the
curriculum.
Table 6: Main topic areas within the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training
Program
Training
Role of the Guardian Adoption Week 1: Working with
Children
Adoption Week 2: Working with
Prospective Parents
Adoption Week 3: Placing Children with
Families
Definitions (Care, Custody, Guardianship)
History of Adoption
Values and Beliefs about Prospective Parents
Preparing Foster Parents
Roles and Responsibilities for Guardians, Foster Parents
Adoption Definitions
Recruiting
Separation and Loss
Legislation and Standards
Custom Adoption
Caregivers as Prospective Adoptive Parents
Matching Process
Information on Children and Care
Legislation and Regulations
Accepting Application to Adopt
Placement Process
Rights of Children in Care
Aboriginal Considerations and Impact
Assessment Process
Pre-placement Process
Permanency Planning Options
Cultural Identity and Cultural Plans
Adoption Education Program
Encouraging Attachment
Health Care Trans-racial Placements
Consent for Adoptions
Proposal Process
Cultural Consideration and Planning
Principles Informing Adoption Practice
Home Registry Preparing Prospective Adoptive Parents
Direct Work with Children
Adoption Process Matching Responsibilities during the Placement Process
Assessing and Planning for Children in Care
Adoption Support Services
Birth Parents Adoption Management System
Writing Measurable Outcomes
Child Welfare Statistics
Adoption Practice Standards
Post Adoption Assistance Program
47
Training
Role of the Guardian Adoption Week 1: Working with
Children
Adoption Week 2: Working with
Prospective Parents
Adoption Week 3: Placing Children with
Families
Emotional and Behavioural Needs of Children
Adoption Statistics Communicating under Pressure
Openness in Adoption
Resiliency Foster Care vs. Adoption
Tools: SAFE, Adoption Management System
Post-placement Services
Critical Health Care
Transfer of Custody vs. Adoption
Adoption Disruption
Preparing a Child for Placement
Implication for the Child Welfare Worker
Completing the Adoption
Tools: Eco-maps; Where I live Now; Immediate Developmental Needs Service Plan (IDNSP); Looking After Children Model (LAC); Comprehensive Plans of Care (CPOC); Life Books
Sibling Planning
Working with Foster Parents
Aboriginal Exceptions Committee
Promoting Adoption Access and Adoption
Openness in Adoption
Needs of children in care
Resiliency
Adoption Pre-placement
Transitional Planning
Matching Children with Prospective Adoptive Parents
Contributors to Adoption Disruption
Post Adoption Assistance
Tools & Forms: Eco-maps, Cultural Plans,
48
Openness Agreements, Life Books, Checklist when Preparing for Adoption
The identification of content highlights both the repetitiveness amongst the courses, and also
highlights potential missing content that could result in a learning gap. The current curriculum
content across the four courses highlights repetition in the areas of: resiliency; matching;
preparing a child for placement; openness in adoption, adoption pre-placement; Lifebooks; and
Post Adoption Assistance. While a certain level of repetitiveness can be expected within a
training program, any duplication should be directly related to the heightened importance of
the content and repetitive content should ideally build upon itself. Further analysis revealed
that repetitive content was either purely repetitive, or did not align or build upon previously
mentioned content in the topic area.
Potential missing content was also identified through the process. As can be expected, the
curriculum content is not always up to date and does not reflect current legislative changes or
current shifts in permanency practice. Content does not reflect in a meaningful way the current
relational, cultural, physical or legal aspects of permanency. While it can be expected that the
content of the Adoption Worker Training Program will emphasize adoption as a legal aspect of
permanency, the Role of the Guardian curriculum also emphasizes the promotion of adoption,
and does not address connection with family, out-of-care options, or new legislative options for
permanency. In an attempt to clarify if missing information about out-of-care options or new
legislative options was present in other child welfare curricula, the courses for the Child
Welfare Practitioner Interim Training Program were briefly reviewed. Unfortunately, the
information is also missing from those courses. Identifying opportunities for legal permanency
planning throughout the child welfare process and ensuring that the information is captured in
learning events is crucial to supporting the organization’s goals for improving legal permanency
for children and youth.
Relational and cultural aspects of permanency planning child welfare practice are not
meaningfully reflected within the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training Program.
Content is largely factual and procedural based and does not align or reinforce the ministry’s
Helping Relationship model of service delivery. In order to facilitate strong social work practice,
content must be also grounded in relational specific topics: inclusionary participation for
children, youth and families; cultural competency; trauma; attachment; working
collaboratively; and advocacy (Federation of Community Social Services in BC & MCFD, 2012).
49
This is especially important when providing service to Aboriginal children, youth and their
families, who are over-represented in the child welfare system. There is little curriculum that
reflects working with Aboriginal children, youth, families, and communities from a culturally
competent and permanency planning perspective. A review of curriculum sections revealed
that only 7% of the curriculum addressed working with Aboriginal children, youth, families and
communities. In the sections where it is addressed, it does not reflect an indigenous
perspective, such as respected Indigenous child development models. It is already known from
previous research (Carrière 2007, 2010, 2011; RCY 2013) that training for supporting the needs
of Aboriginal children and youth is lacking and this review of curriculum reflects those findings
as well.
Specific topic knowledge that is seen to support children and youth is also largely absent from
the classroom curriculum, such as: child development in permanency planning; mental health;
substance abuse; sexual exploitation; health concerns; supporting learning disabilities;
supporting teenage mothers; youth agreements; life skills and preparation for adulthood
(Federation of Community Social Services in BC & MCFD, 2012). Just as the child welfare
environment is complex, so too are the needs of children and youth; children and youth are
often in care due to extenuating and complex circumstances and their needs are reflective of
this. While it may be difficult to address all topics in classroom training, it is important to have
concrete information available to practitioners in order to adequately support children and
youth.
Design.
The curriculum design was also analyzed in terms of learning domains and delivery
methodologies. This analysis was conducted with the goal of discovering if adult learning
principles within the curriculum could be improved.
Learning domains.
The Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training Program learning domains were
reviewed according to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Each section was assigned to either the
cognitive, affective or psychomotor domain, depending on the content and associated
activities. The learning domains, their respective definitions, and an example within curriculum
are summarized in Table 7.
50
Table 7: Definitions and examples using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Learning Domain Definition Example
Cognitive Skills revolve around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking on a particular topic.
Reviewing statistics
Affective Skills describe the way people react emotionally and typically target the awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion and feelings.
Exploring values and beliefs
Psychomotor Skills describe the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument.
Filling out forms
The review found that within the Role of the Guardian and Adoption Worker Training Program
curriculum:
82% addressed the cognitive domain
14% addressed the psychomotor domain
4% addressed the affective domain.
In addition, the review found that within the cognitive domain, the curriculum predominantly
addressed lower order thinking skills, while the higher order thinking skills were significantly
lower, as shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Break-down of learning levels within the cognitive domain
Cognitive Domain Percentage
Remembering 46%
Understanding 37.5%
Applying 5%
Analyzing 11%
Evaluating 0.5%
Creating 0.0%
Total 100%
51
The focus on lower-order skills does not lend itself well to the complex child welfare
environment, where practitioners need to balance objective and subjective knowledge as well
as their rational and intuitive decision making skills. A focus on a holistic view of learning, that
incorporates the higher-order levels of cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning may likely
facilitate stronger creative and critical thinking skills in practice.
The concentration of learning domains in the lower-order thinking skills also appears to impact
the type of delivery methodology being used. The review found that the current curriculum is
predominantly focused on the instructor presenting information and knowledge to the learner,
and consequently offers few opportunities for the learner to link new information with their
existing knowledge in meaningful ways. The curriculum is also focused on individual learning,
with few activities that promote opportunities for participants to learn through social
interactions, collaboration and communication with others. While there are some activities that
learners progress through as a group, such as case examples, these activities are based in
abstract conceptualization, instead of being grounded in real-life experiences of the learners.
This is particularly relevant for the courses within the Adoption Worker Training Program;
practitioners who hold adoption and guardianship positions typically have extensive experience
in child welfare and likely have much to contribute to the learning environment. In addition, as
the literature review revealed, learning complex subject matter is most effective when it is an
intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience (APA, 1997).
Delivery.
The curriculum design was also analyzed in terms of delivery methodology. As mentioned in
previous sections, the Role of the Guardian is a five-day classroom course that is offered
approximately once a year in a central location to a maximum class size of 24 participants. The
Adoption Worker Training Program is made up of three classroom courses: Adoption Week 1-
Working with the Child is five days; Adoption Week 2- Working with Prospective Parents is
three days; and Adoption Week 3- Placing Children with Families is four days. Practitioners
generally attend the first week course in their service delivery area, and then come together to
attend Adoption Week 2 and 3 in a central location. However, there is not any aligned schedule
between offering of the Adoption Week 1 and Adoption Week 2 and 3 offerings. Typically, each
course is offered once a year to a maximum of twenty four participants.
In contrast to the Child Welfare Practitioner Interim Training Program, the Role of the Guardian
and the Adoption Worker Training Program have no individualized learning plans or mentorship
aspects attached to the classroom training. Essentially, learning is presented as an event, and
completed after attendance. As the literature suggests, the use of blended learning strategies
may improve the learning environment through the combination of face-to-face learning where
52
learners collaborate, coupled with online learning that offers more time for personal reflection.
In addition, the use of online or virtual learning may alleviate barriers to learning such as
increasing the accessibility to learning both in terms of geography and time, and creating
communities of learners across large geographical areas.
The design of the curriculum is intended to be provided to practitioners who are either in
guardianship or adoption roles. However, this creates professional knowledge and cultural silos
within the organization, which are not necessarily shared with other disciplines in the other
service delivery lines, such as Child and Youth with Special Needs, Child and Youth Mental
Health, Youth Justice, caregivers, or other significant community partners. As the literature
review noted, organizations around British Columbia have cited that joint, cross-sectoral
training is needed to advance permanency planning and provide an opportunity for all involved
to learn from a variety of different perspectives and establish a system-wide shared focus on
coordination, collaboration and cooperation (Federation of Community Social Services in BC &
MCFD, 2012).
Qualitative Interview Findings
The qualitative interviews were based on the conceptual framework that outlined three main
subject areas that are important to the project: organizational development, permanency
planning child welfare practice, and adult education. Since the intersection of these three areas
is the focus of the project, common themes that emerged from the qualitative data are
reflected within each of these subject areas below.
Organizational development perspective.
With regards to the organizational development perspective, questions were posed in order to
gain insight into the situational analysis of permanency planning environment within the
ministry. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative data: (a) organizational culture, (b)
leadership, (c) community inclusion and (d) change management.
Organizational culture.
Participants reported that permanency planning within the ministry requires a shift in
organizational culture. Participants recognized that there has been a depth of external
developments around permanency planning practice, and that those developments
represented an opportunity for the ministry to adapt and evolve as well. Overall, most
participants reflected that the ministry as an organization would benefit from viewing
permanency as a framework, mindset and paradigm.
53
Most participants noted that permanency planning is not currently embedded in the
organization culture, with a few participants remarking that permanency planning was “the
poor second cousin” to child safety. Most participants reflected that the organization often
operates from a protection framework, without effectively understanding that permanency is
crucial part of a child safety framework. Some participants reflected that permanency planning
has been typically seen as a responsibility of guardianship workers and adoption workers. Those
participants challenged the current operation of responsibilities, stating that permanency was
the responsibility of every worker within the ministry, regardless of work title or service
delivery line. There was a strong desire to break down the silos between title and service line
and to see permanency planning along a continuum that begins with the first contact that a
family has with the organization. One participant posed a reflective question: “What we have
seen is the promotion of particular tools and decision making for protection. The focus always
goes there...We haven’t focused on the planning and assessment for kids. Are we being
intentional about planning for children?”
It should be noted that almost all participants noted the
incredible passion, commitment and dedication for
permanency planning that exists with some areas of the
organization, despite the absence of organizational
culture that explicitly values permanency. A few
participants noted that there are pockets of good work
happening throughout the province and that it was crucial to identify and acknowledge the
good practice that already exists. In doing so, participants hoped to be able to showcase the
benefits of permanency and shift the belief system to influence and change the current
perceived organizational culture. One participant highlighted the need for action and
implementation of recommendations and reports of what works well, stating “Isn’t it time to
act upon some of these recommendations; there’s probably volumes of reports and why are we
‘inventing’ time and time again? The answers are fairly simple and they are all there.”
Another participant called for action by likening the need for a perspective shift to that of a
movement:
There needs to be a movement. This is a cause. This needs a movement. We
need a shift in perspective and we need a movement to happen – these kids
deserve this movement to happen. It needs to be supported in many different
ways and has to be seen as a cause that is worth taking up and fighting for.
“...Are we being intentional
about planning for children?”
~Interview participant
54
Leadership.
The role of leadership was a strong theme that appeared throughout the interviews. This was
notably more pronounced in the group from the permanency planning child welfare practice
perspective; 75% of the participants from the permanency planning child welfare perspective,
33% of participants from the organizational perspective, and 25% of the participants from an
adult educational perspective spoke about the crucial role that leadership plays in supporting
permanency planning.
Overall, participants noted that leadership across the ministry (executives, community service
managers, team leaders and practitioners with exceptional skill) should be actively engaged in
promoting permanency planning in order to affect organizational culture. One participant
reflected about the need for upper level management support: “There is a lot of passion for
kids and doing this work well, but because there hasn’t been a focus at the upper levels of
leadership, the training, skill development and tools haven’t been there.” Another participant
reflected on the important role that team leaders play: “We need team leaders and managers
who, no matter what change is happening, to support practitioners in focusing on permanency
planning. Leadership is critical.”
A few participants spoke about the role that leadership could play in clarifying priorities,
especially across the service delivery lines. Participants saw this as a way to ensure a more
concerted, proactive and intentional approach to realize good permanency planning outcomes
for children and youth. A few participants spoke specifically about the need for clearer
messaging about permanency planning for Aboriginal children and youth in care. Their
comments are especially noteworthy, considering that over half of all children in care are
Aboriginal. Those participants noted the different understandings of permanency between the
ministry and Aboriginal agencies and communities and the consequential lack of clarity and
direction on how to achieve permanency. This issue was seen as needing urgent leadership
attention since it is currently resulting in a lack of appropriate permanency planning and may
be influencing the over-representation of Aboriginal children and youth in the child welfare
system.
Participants also noted the role that leadership plays in holding staff accountable for
permanency planning. Some participants spoke about the need to challenge workers who are
not planning for permanency for children and to keep staff focused on timeliness. One
participant spoke about the need for leadership to have conversations with staff and listen to
them in order to support and improve practice. There was a collaborative quality to most of the
participants’ responses about the potential that strong leadership could provide, especially in
terms of inspiring workers and supporting transformational learning. As one participant noted:
55
If we approach it as this is an opportunity for me to truly be a social worker, not
just a bureaucrat, not just following standards and doing the paperwork, but of
being a social worker. That is why we all got into this business.
Community inclusion.
A theme around community inclusion appeared in the groups representing organizational and
adult education perspectives. Overall, participants related that permanency planning benefits
are realized when there is a meaningful connection to community and partners external to the
ministry. Participants noted the opportunity that exists in creating collaborative relationships
with community, whether it is with private adoption agencies, Delegated Aboriginal Agencies,
Aboriginal communities, grass-roots community agencies, or post-secondary institutions. This
theme ran throughout the interviews; it was seen as important not only in direct permanency
planning for children and youth, but also from the way in which the ministry designs and
develops organizational tools to the way training is delivered.
Partnership and collaboration with Aboriginal communities was seen as a vital aspect of
community inclusion. In order to accomplish this, some participants reflected that the ministry
would benefit from working differently with Aboriginal communities. One participant spoke
about the requirement of cultural competency in the development of a collaborative,
cooperative approach to working with Aboriginal communities:
What is paramount is the raising of the cultural competency of ministry staff so
the buy in to permanency as the community would like to see it would become a
lot easier [...] the possibilities that we have depend on the way we view and
structure our engagement. MCFD informs people – a one way street – with little
collaboration. Step one in community engagement is sharing information back
and forth, involvement is active...that the ministry recognizes the importance of
this engagement with the end of empowering the community design,
implementation and evaluation of its child care relationship and permanency
relationship.
Change management.
Change management appeared as a consistent theme within the interviews as participants
spoke about their thoughts and feelings around realizing improved permanency for children
and youth in care. First and foremost, participants viewed that while bringing about change is
56
urgent and critical, it was also recognized to be very hard work and very challenging. The
reasoning for this could be inferred from how participants viewed the current functioning of
the organization. Participants were very candid and honest in their reflections about the
current functions of the ministry. Participants predominantly reported that they felt the
organization functions reactively and unpredictably, with some participants likening the
organization to a trampoline bouncing people around or an old, outdated, broken-down
machine. Responses also reflected an organization that experiences a great struggle with
transformational change.
Participants’ reflections can offer a great deal of insight into how change can be prepared,
planned, implemented and sustained in order to realize good outcomes within the
organization. Participants’ perspectives about the role of organizational culture, leadership and
community inclusion reveal critical considerations that are important in change management.
Central to participant responses was to ensure that desired change is meaningful, relevant and
positive on different levels within the organization.
On an organizational level, participant responses reflected a need to provide a consistent
approach that links or connects both concepts and people. This is reflective in one participant’s
comment: “I strategically try to link new initiatives back; trying to present it as an evolution of
thinking and thought, not that the pendulum is swinging. We have to keep changing and
adapting as we learn more.” Inspiring change on a staffing level was often seen as important.
One participant reflected:
If we don’t believe that change is a positive thing then we don’t believe that we
can change, we don’t believe that our clients can change, which is the basis of
our work. We have to believe people are capable of changing or we shouldn’t be
in this business.
A critical aspect of change management can also be seen in the way new initiatives or
perspectives are implemented and sustained. One participant perceptively stated: “I do think
that we don’t finish anything. We start projects and initiatives and we don’t really finish them.
And so people get skeptical that we mean it.”
Permanency planning child welfare perspective
With regards to the permanency planning child welfare perspective, patterns emerged from the
qualitative data in terms of: (a) values; (b) knowledge; and (c) skills.
57
Values.
Values in social work can be described as
desirable principles, qualities, and ideals that
strengthen professional practice. There were
four strong recurring responses from
participants in terms of how practitioners
need to approach practice in permanency
planning: (1) strength-based and
compassionate approach; (2) valuing
relationship, connection and belonging; (3) openness and curiosity; and (4) social justice and
inclusion.
Approaching work from a strength-based, compassionate perspective represented the top
response for 64% (9 of 14) of participants. Included in this theme were responses that stated:
valuing strengths; focus on strengths; compassion; respect; and dignity. Participants
communicated that practitioners need to see and respect the strengths inherent in both the
family and the child. It was seen as particularly crucial for practitioners to build capacity in
children by recognizing, valuing and building upon each child’s inherent strengths and
resiliency. As one participant poignantly stated, “For each child, it is being able to see what is
absolutely gorgeous about this child?’”
Valuing relationship, connection and belonging represented another reoccurring response from
at least 50% (7 of 14) of all participants. While some participants did not identify relationship,
connection and belonging within the question about values in social work permanency planning
practice, the value did arise within other sections of the interview. Participants voiced that
practitioners need to a have a value system rooted in family, where practitioners recognize the
intrinsic value of belonging and connection for children and youth and, as one participant
stated, to see “the child as part of a whole, of something bigger.” One participant mentioned
that if practitioners did not value family, then they could not legitimately be in a collaborative
relationship with the family, with the effect of being at odds with the family, resulting in poor
outcomes. Another participant related the value directly to achieving good outcomes for
children and youth:
We look at a relational self and understand that we are all connected. And for
that child to have a good sense of self, they need to be surrounded by people
who are healthy enough. The child knows that they are part of collective and
knows where they belong.
TOP RESPONSES FOR VALUES
Strength-based compassionate approach
Valuing relationship, connection and belonging
Openness and curiosity
Social justice and inclusion
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Openness and curiosity presented as another recurring value mentioned by participants, with
36% (5 of 14) of all participants mentioning it as an important value underpinning permanency
planning. Openness was seen to be important in the provision of services for families, where
one participant noted that “we work in a huge bureaucracy, and our job ends up being about
that huge ‘system;’ very little of it ends up being about supporting children and families.
Services [end up] being cookie-cutter, with very limited options if [clients] don’t fit those
options or criteria.” Openness and curiosity was also seen to be particularly important in the
home assessment process, whether practitioners were assessing family, friends, or potential
adoptive family. Participants mentioned that practitioners need to keep an open mind when
assessing extended family and to take care to not transfer a dysfunctional psychology mindset
to extended family members only by virtue of the birth parents’ inability to parent
appropriately. Other participants mentioned that openness and curiosity can prevent
practitioners from making wrongful assumptions about potential adoptive families which may
prevent permanency for a child.
Social justice and inclusion was also reported from 29% (4 of 14) of participants. Many
participants spoke about permanency within a human rights framework and linked this with the
value of relationship, connection and belonging. As one participant affirmed, “you have to have
the value of belonging, and that belonging is a right, not a privilege.” Many participants noted
the importance of children and youth having meaningful participation in their own planning.
Other participants noted the crucial nature of practitioners being culturally competent,
especially when working with Aboriginal people. When work is not done from a value of social
justice and inclusion, one participant noted that practitioners may run the risk of wrongfully
devaluing families. The value of social justice can be seen in another participant’s remarks that
work done from a social justice perspective and in a culturally safe manner “includes and
empowers the Aboriginal person who is engaging with the ministry: listening to, involved, and
recognizing my need to make decisions about my kids.” The same participant offered a wise
approach to the concept of inclusion:
If you can imagine that everyone sits in the circle and at the centre of the circle is
a presenting problem. Everyone who sits in the circle are equal, age is not
discriminatory. When we ask people for their wisdom, you will be amazed of
how people will offer up things that will contribute to a real strategy of dealing
with [the problem].
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Knowledge.
As previously noted in the literature review, knowledge is
described as the information, awareness or understanding
that one receives from experience or education (Merriam-
Webster, 2013). There were four strong recurring responses
from participants when asked what knowledge is
particularly important in permanency planning social work
practice: (1) trauma-informed practice; (2) cultural
competence; (3) child development; and (4) practitioners’
self-awareness.
Trauma-informed practice represented the top recurring theme for knowledge required for
practitioners in permanency planning, with 57% (8 of 14) of participants remarking on its
importance. Many participants linked the need for trauma-informed practice knowledge to
increase practitioner’s understanding of how trauma impacts a child’s thoughts, feelings and
behaviours. One participant remarked “Lots of what we see with our kids is the hurt that they
have experienced.” A few participants mentioned that an increased knowledge of trauma-
informed practice was not only important in order to be able to recognize how past traumas
have impacted children, but also to be able to recognize when the child welfare system also
contributes to that trauma so that it can be avoided.
Cultural competency was also reported by 50% (7 of 14) of participants as knowledge needed
within a permanency planning practice. While many participants mentioned cultural
competency, most did not elaborate. However, some participants explained that it was
important for practitioners to have an understanding of history and to be able to place the
impacts of history within a current child welfare context. Some participants spoke about the
importance of awareness, acceptance and incorporation of Indigenous ways of knowing and
being into social work practice. Another participant spoke about the need to recognize how
child welfare practice can inadvertently be a colonialist practice if we are not aware of the real
history of Canada and the colonial violence inflicted on Aboriginal people. Another participant
wisely stated that it is impossible to be truly competent in a culture different from your own,
implying that to work within a culture that is not your own requires a constant journey of self-
discovery and humility. A connection to cultural competency was seen as important to one
participant when considering cultural and racial development for children; knowing how and
why this takes place and how it impacts children when it does not happen.
Child development represented another top response, with 50% (7of 14) of all participants
mentioning its importance in permanency planning for children and youth. Participants
TOP RESPONSES FOR KNOWLEDGE
Trauma-informed practice
Cultural competence
Child development
Self-awareness
60
reported that it was crucial for practitioners to have a solid understanding of child development
in order to be able not only to interpret a child’s behaviour appropriately, but to also set
appropriate expectations and interventions. One participant noted that it was the ability to
recognize and understand what a child is going through emotionally, mentally, and
behaviourally through different stages. It should be noted, however, that most of the responses
came from the group with an organizational perspective. Almost all participants from the
organizational perspective mentioned the importance of child development knowledge, while
only one participant from the permanency planning child welfare practice perspective
mentioned it; this may represent an opportunity for further analysis by the organization.
Self-awareness represented another common response, with 43% (6 of 14) of all participants
mentioning its importance. Self-awareness was often presented as knowing yourself and having
emotional intelligence; to have insight and thoughtfulness towards your own life experiences,
your own triggers and how those impact who you are, the values and assumptions that you
hold, and your actions. One participant mentioned self-awareness in the context of reflective
practice, where self-awareness is not solely an inner activity but also plays an important role in
outward decision making. This participant stated “ [We need] more opportunities for reflective
practice; initially that takes more time, but in the long run, that gives us confidence because we
are sure about why we made a decision.” Connected to this concept was also the recognition
about how challenging permanency planning can be and how self-awareness can mitigate the
complexity. One participant stated that practitioners need to know “the line between empathy
and enmeshment; you have to know yourself well enough to know when you are so involved
that you have lost perspective” while another noted, “I would love to see space in training
about how difficult the work can be, and what you need to do to thrive personally and
professionally, because it will never be an easy job, ever.”
Skills.
As mentioned in the literature review, skills are considered to be the ability to perform an
activity and are driven and influenced by the combination of values and knowledge unique to
each individual.
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When asked about what skills were
important in permanency practice,
93% (13 of 14) of all participants
reported communication skills as an
essential skill for practitioners.
Central to communication skills was
the ability to be a clear
communicator in order to have
difficult conversations in a way that
promotes openness, honesty, trust,
and transparency while at the same
time managing and overcoming difficulties. Participants spoke about the ability to have difficult
conversations with everyone involved in a child’s life: parents; extended family and community;
alternative caregivers such as restricted foster parents and foster parents; prospective adoptive
parents; and, above all, children and youth. Many participants reported the importance of
communication skills in interviewing, with one participant stating: “You need to not have
judgement, such as in how you frame your questions, and be careful in your use of words, but
also being able to probe.” Included in communication skills was the ability to confidently yet
sensitively use deliberate questions to highlight issues, and offer opportunities for people to
reframe their perspectives; one participant linked this to an ability to use an appreciative
inquiry approach in social work practice. A few participants mentioned the ability to use
communication skills to actively engage people, and build a relational, collaborative approach
to practice that connects people. Central to this relational approach was the notion that a
practitioner cannot effectively work in isolation; it is important to have communication skills
that support inclusion, collaboration, and co-creation of solutions. One participant perceptively
offered that the power of good communication skills is in the art of facilitating healing
conversations, especially with children and youth: “It’s the idea that every conversation should
be restorative. People should feel better after these interventions; you shouldn’t feel worse. So
if they feel worse, then we are doing something wrong.”
Following communication skills, critical thinking skills in assessment and planning was raised by
50% (7 of 14) of all participants. Included in many responses was the ability to link values and
intuition to rational decision making; as one participant noted it was the skill of using critical
thinking combined with thoughtfulness and mindfulness that marry the head and the heart-
that it was crucial “that workers have feeling about their choices and the impact on families.”
Many participants also spoke about the concrete ability to formulate goals and strategies in
interventions when using critical thinking skills.
TOP RESPONSES FOR SKILLS
Communication Skills
Having difficult conversations
Careful use of questions
Using a relational, collaborative approach
Critical Thinking Skills in Assessment and Planning
Link values and intuition to rational decision making
Formulate goals and strategies
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Adult education perspective.
With regards to the adult education perspective, the themes emerged from the qualitative data
under the following headings: (a) diversity of perspectives and (b) learner audience and (c)
delivery methodology.
Diversity of perspectives.
Participants were asked about who should be involved in developing curriculum content when
it came to designing and developing a permanency planning training. A theme emerged that
reflected a need for a diversity of perspectives to be involved, and above all, for those who are
involved to have credibility. Participants reported that it would be ideal to involve both internal
ministry perspectives, as well as perspectives that were external to the ministry. Examples of
internal perspectives included predominantly practitioner and team leader involvement, while
examples of external perspectives included predominantly service receivers and Aboriginal
community involvement. With regards to service receivers, participants mentioned the
involvement of people who have experienced the issue and have a personal perspective such as
previous youth in care or parents who have regained custody of their children. With regards to
Aboriginal community, participants mentioned the involvement of delegated Aboriginal
agencies, Elders, and Aboriginal community agencies. There were fewer reported responses for
involving the internal perspectives of managers, consultants and provincial office staff, and the
external perspectives of foster and adoptive families. As an overall theme for diversity of
perspectives, responses reflected a need for a blend of perspectives that possessed both
professional and personal experience. One participant noted: “We need a blend- subject matter
experts from all areas so that we are not existing in silos.”
Learner audience.
Participants were asked about who should be the intended audience of permanency planning
training; nearly 80% (11 of 14) of all participants reported that everyone within the ministry
should receive training in permanency planning. Many participants mentioned the need for
team leaders, community service managers and middle managers to attend training, citing the
crucial need for leadership involvement and commitment in order to effectively implement and
be accountable for changes in direct service delivery. Many other participants reported the
need for all ministry workers, along all service delivery lines, to attend the training. This would
include Child and Youth Mental Health, Youth Justice, Child and Youth with Special Needs and
Child Safety, Family Support and Children in Care (intake, family services, resource practitioner
positions) service delivery lines. This is in contrast to the current model of permanency planning
training, which is dedicated solely to the roles of a guardianship worker and/or adoption
worker. Many participants spoke about the benefits of staff across service delivery lines being
63
training together. One participant noted, “Anytime there is a division in the education, there
will be a disconnect in how people work.”
Another participant recognized a lost opportunity if training were to be only provided to staff in
particular roles, particularly since permanency needs to be seen along a continuum: “If only
guardianship workers attend, we will miss on a whole leveraging piece.”
Some participants also mentioned the need to provide training both internally and externally to
foster parents, lawyers, contracted agencies etc. By training both internally and externally, a
wider vision of permanency planning for children could be realized; as one participant noted
that it would be “so that everyone understands what we are trying to do.”
Delivery methodology.
Participants were asked about their thoughts on potential training delivery methodologies for
permanency planning. 64% (9 of 14) of participants reported a need for a blended learning
strategy, citing the use of online, face-to-face, communities of practice and clinical supervision
components. Some participants reflected that online methodologies could be used to establish
baseline knowledge for all learners, while some other participants reflected that online
methodologies can offer a reflective piece for learners where learners can consider how their
own values, knowledge and skills impact their competency. A few participants noted that the
online components could improve accessibility, which could be important considering the
potential scope and geographical range of learners across the province. A few participants also
mentioned the need for strong curriculum design in online training, especially in terms of
promoting learner engagement. One participant remarked: “We make a mistake when we don’t
have a facilitator; it’s the conversation that is so rich.”
The need for connection and discussion in learning events could be seen in the permanency
planning child welfare practice perspective group’s preference for face-to-face learning. While
many reported that they could see the benefit in online methodologies, all participants in the
permanency planning child welfare practice perspective group reported the need for face-to-
face training. Participants from all groups noted that face-to-face methodologies offered the
opportunities for learners to have dedicated time to connect and network with other learners
and have discussions. A few participants noted that face-to-face learning events also offered a
way to reinforce messaging; face-to-face training lent more credibility to the topic. Another
participant mentioned that face-to-face training provided an opportunity for instructors to
assess the engagement and understanding of learners in the room, and support those who may
be struggling with concepts.
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Another central facet of face-to face events was where face-to-face learning events were to
occur: 43% (6 of 14) of all participants specifically mentioned that face-to-face learning events
should be delivered locally in order to promote team and community learning. Participants
reported that locally delivered training promoted relationship building and collaborative
practice at a local level, where learners can create networks of support from people in their
own area. One participant provided the following reasoning for locally delivered training:
“Things are much more meaningful when we do it locally. If you learn with the people that you
work with, you’ll all be coming from the same place and shared understanding of what is
expected; a clear vision going forward.”
Many participants mentioned the use of communities of practice and the role of good clinical
supervision to maintain and further embed learning that has occurred. Participants mentioned
that communities of practice can promote connection between participants and offer a
platform to discuss presenting practice issues, while clinical supervision can support concrete
on the job skill development. Both were seen a useful and critical components to a training
system.
The use of a blended learning strategy can be seen as providing training along a continuum,
instead of an isolated event. As one participant noted:
Yes, you could take the training that day or week, but if training isn’t followed up
in practice, in the practical application such as if the clinical supervision is not
there to support, it starts to diminish what you did learn in the training. We
often fall down on the post-training piece. Training is not an event, but it is often
treated as an event.
Experiential learning was another theme that emerged from discussions, with 43% (6 of 14) of
participants reporting the need for learners to be actively engaged and applying learning to
practical, real-life issues in workshop styled learning events. One participant remarked: “People
learn more and retain it more when they have that experiential training.” A few participants
mentioned the use of praxis in learning events, where learners apply their learning to casework
as part of the learning environment, with planned follow up learning events to provide learners
with an opportunity to reflect on what learning or outcomes took place, both in terms of
successes and challenges. One participant mentioned the strength in experiential training was
how it brings forward the diversity of perspectives and knowledge within a group.
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Discussion
Developing training systems for child welfare practice is a complex endeavour. Those who
design the training system must take into consideration the organizational context, the
complexities of child welfare practice, and adult learning perspectives. Throughout the
literature review and qualitative interviews, it became evident that developing a permanency
planning training system requires a fundamental perspective shift that adds a layer of
complexity to the analysis, design, development and implementation of a new training system.
This perspective shift requires a shift in organizational culture that recognizes that permanency
planning for children and youth is a crucial part of the child welfare framework. The literature
review and qualitative interviews reflected a need to view permanency from different lenses:
one that recognizes the different components of permanency; one that reflects permanency
planning practice along a continuum; and one that reinforces the importance of permanency
planning practice across all aspects of the organization’s service delivery.
While a training system can play a key role in the improvement of an organization’s
development and service outcomes, it cannot deliver the level of organizational learning that
drives improvements and transformation without effective leadership support. With regards to
the ministry, interviewees reported that leadership support in the form of a strategic approach
to permanency planning practice was needed in order to support the new perspective shift.
This strategic approach would clarify the organization’s vision and priorities, learning can then
be further focused on being intentional and consistent with organizational planning, thereby
promoting organizational learning. Interviewees hoped that leadership support would assist in
ensuring that change was meaningful, relevant, and inspiring to workers; this is further
reflected in the literature review that showed that strengthening the link between people and
performance is related to creating a work environment where employees feel valued and
inspired (Lowe, 2010).
A training system plays a key role in the development of an individual worker’s competency to
perform their role. The literature review outlined the values, knowledge and skills required in
permanency planning child welfare practice. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (2013)
outlines six core values that are a foundation of social work practice. Interviewees were also
asked about what values were important in permanency planning practice. Overall, there was
alignment between the values that interviewees reported as crucial to permanency practice to
the CASW values, providing further credit that attention to those specific values will be
necessary in training. However, when supporting an especially vulnerable population of society,
extra emphasis on a human rights perspective and the importance of those human rights to a
child or youth is paramount, especially when considering the preservation of identity, the right
to learn about one’s own culture, and the importance of restoring health, self respect and
66
dignity of children who have been neglected, abused or exploited (UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child, 1990).
The literature review revealed a lengthy list of knowledge and skills that are necessary in
permanency planning. Out of approximately forty areas of knowledge and skills outlined in the
literature review, interviewees mentioned approximately 40% of these competencies. Specific
topics where knowledge and skill were seen to be important were largely not mentioned in the
interviews; this could be due to the short time available for interviews. However, it does
highlight the need for practitioners to have skill in concrete areas of practice, such as: mental
health; substance abuse; dual diagnosis; teenage pregnancy and parenting; sexual exploitation,
etc (Federation of Community Social Services of BC, 2011).
The literature review also reflected particular knowledge and skills needed in order to support
Aboriginal children and youth in care. As the literature review indicates, Indigenous academics
and Elders are advocating for the needs of Aboriginal children and youth. This is particularly
relevant considering that 52% of children and youth in care are Aboriginal. In the qualitative
interviews, cultural competency was noted to be a key area of knowledge and skill required in
permanency planning. However, as previously noted in the findings section, most interviewees
did not elaborate on what cultural competency meant. Many interviewees did report, however,
a need for skills in completing appropriate and meaningful cultural plans, as well as assistance
from leadership to provide clarity on permanency planning for Aboriginal children in care. This
reflects a need for further exploration by the ministry. This need is further reflected and
compounded by the finding within the review of training that only 7% of all topic areas
addressed working with Aboriginal children, families and communities. This can be a significant
opportunity to align with the ministry’s Aboriginal Equity and Inclusion Policy Lens to increase
cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural competency and cultural safety in training
programs, which may influence outcomes for Aboriginal children and youth in care.
In order for training systems to be effective, using learning and instructional theories and
models that align with the needs of permanency planning child welfare practice is crucial. The
literature review revealed that training systems can be better prepared to attend to both the
objective and subjective skills required in practice, and to the values of human development,
well-being and dignity that are inherently important to social work practice, by applying
constructive and humanistic theories of learning. Given the stated need for a shift in
perspective to fully realize a permanency mindset, learning models that address a learner’s
competency holistically (from cognitive, affective, perceptual and psycho-motor perspectives)
are best aligned to support transformative change (Brown, 1999; Jordan & Streets, 1973). In
addition, because of the complexity inherent in child welfare practice, designing training to
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address the higher-order of critical thinking and analysis required in practice is essential, since it
facilitates creative and critical thinking (APA, 1997). This is particularly relevant when
considering a redesign of permanency planning training, since the review of training revealed
that 82% of the training was cognitive based and addressed predominantly lower-order
thinking skills of remembering and understanding, versus the high-order domains of applying,
analyzing, evaluating and creating.
The literature review also revealed that it is crucial to use a strategic approach to instructional
delivery through the thoughtful combined use of classroom and online learning. The review of
training revealed training events that were one to three weeks in duration. Participants often
travelled outside of their own community to attend training and training was only offered once
a year for each program, and class size was limited to approximately twenty four participants in
each course. This presented issues for the organization in terms of budgeting (travel and
associated costs), resources (covering casework while workers were away for an extended
amount of time), and accessibility (due to the limited number of seats available). Interviewees
expressed a desire to have a blended model that incorporated online and face-to-face
components. It should be noted that while some interviewees recognized a benefit of online
training on the basis of efficiency, they questioned the effectiveness of online training. If online
learning were to be used, this reflects a need for a strategy around the implementation of any
online learning to ensure that participants are aware of the benefits and are engaged in the
process of learning online. It should also be noted that interviewees reported that face-to-face
training should be experiential. This is in line with the concepts of learner-centredness noted in
the literature review.
A strategic blended approach will also be crucial when considering the potential scope of future
learning opportunities, since the majority of interviewees hoped that all staff within the
organization, plus relevant community partners, could attend in one fashion or another. A
blended approach, using online learning may be a way to address potential accessibility issues,
both from a geographical and a volume perspective.
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6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The objective of this project was to produce recommendations for a comprehensive and
coordinated permanency planning educational framework within MCFD. Recommendations for
future curriculum development emerged from the literature review findings, review of MCFD
child welfare training pertaining to permanency planning, and qualitative interviews.
Recommendation 1: Support a shift in organizational culture
Support new curriculum development by an overall shift in organizational culture that views
permanency planning along a continuum that begins with the initial contact with a family and
takes into consideration the range of out-of-care to in-care permanency options; recognizes
and values the interconnectedness of the relational, cultural, physical and legal components of
permanency; and embeds the importance of permanency planning across all aspects of the
organization’s service delivery.
While training initiatives have a key role to play in organizational culture, a shift in
organizational culture requires a multifaceted approach that includes focused and sustained
leadership support inspiring meaningful, relevant and positive change. In order for permanency
planning training initiatives to be effective, and for the necessary paradigm shift to be fully
embedded, a clear line of connection and partnership with leadership across the organization is
needed.
It is therefore recommended that:
the organization communicate clearly about priorities for permanency planning,
especially in terms of the definition of permanency and its connection to the greater
child welfare framework
the organization conduct further analysis regarding actions to support permanency from
a systems perspective that are separate from yet connected to training
permanency planning training communication be strategically aligned with leadership
support, such as an executive sponsor, using positive and inspiring messaging
permanency planning training development updates be communicated widely to staff,
with clear linkages to other ministry initiatives
components of permanency planning training be embedded in Child Welfare
Practitioner Interim Training Program and reflected in other province wide training
within service delivery lines.
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Recommendation 2: Develop curriculum content
Develop new curriculum content to reflect the current four dimensions of permanency
(relational, cultural, physical and legal aspects) and concrete areas of practice in a way that
improves a practitioner’s competence in permanency planning practice.
The literature review and qualitative interviews reflected a need to provide curriculum content
grounded in relational approaches and topics such as, a strength-based, compassionate
approach to practice; communication skills; inclusionary participation for children, youth and
families; and social justice/human rights. The literature review and qualitative interviews also
reflected a need to incorporate curriculum content that reflects both the cultural aspect of
permanency, through attention to cultural competency, and cultural planning, through inclusive
and collaborative practice. The review of current MCFD training reflected a need to incorporate
current legislative changes that promote permanency. The need to incorporate knowledge in
concrete areas of practice—such as mental health, substance abuse, dual diagnosis, teenage
pregnancy and parenting, sexual exploitation, and trauma—was also noted in the literature and
qualitative interviews.
It is recommended that curriculum content address a practitioner’s values, knowledge and skill
by:
using strength-based, compassionate approaches to practice that value relationship,
connection and belonging
promoting inclusion and a human rights perspective
incorporating trauma-informed practice and child development within the context of
permanency planning for children and youth
incorporating current legislative changes that support the legal aspect of permanency
addressing concrete topics relevant to the complexities of children and youth in care
have an evaluative component to consistently and regularly assess the relevancy of
curriculum content to learners and organizational goals.
Recommendation 3: Support culturally safe practice
Develop new curriculum that supports culturally aware, culturally sensitive and culturally
competent practice, especially when supporting Aboriginal children, youth, families and
communities. The review of current MCFD training found that only 7% of training content
addressed support for Aboriginal children and youth. The lack of curriculum content and the
70
over-representation of Aboriginal children and youth in care, when viewed together with the
lack of cultural planning (RCY, 2013) and interview participants’ emphasis on the need for
culturally competent practice, highlights the urgency for developing curriculum content and
instruction that will contribute to higher service delivery outcomes for Aboriginal children in
care.
It is recommended that curriculum:
reflect the inclusion of Indigenous views on child development and resiliency
address a practitioner’s skill in creating cultural safety in supporting Aboriginal children,
youth, families and communities
address a practitioner’s skill in cultural planning for Aboriginal children and youth
be grounded in holistic, collaborative, and empowering approaches to permanency
planning practice.
Recommendation 4: Develop a learner-centred approach
Develop new curriculum according to a learner-centred approach, in a way that addresses the
complex child welfare environment. A learner-centred approach focuses on the learner’s needs,
abilities and learning styles through learning events that are facilitative, experiential and
collaborative. The review of current MCFD permanency planning training indicated that 82% of
the training was cognitive-based and addressed predominantly lower-order thinking skills.
It is recommended that curriculum:
be designed and developed using learning models that address a learner’s competency
holistically from a combination of cognitive, affective, perceptual, and psycho-motor
perspectives to best support transformative change
be designed to address the higher-order of critical thinking and analysis required in
practice in order to address the complexities inherent in child welfare practice
be designed to provide experiential and collaborative learning activities
have an evaluative component to consistently and regularly assess the relevancy of
curriculum content to learners and organizational goals.
Recommendation 5: Incorporate a blended learning model
Base new curriculum is based on a blended learning model, with cross-disciplinary and cross-
sectoral training opportunities. A blended learning approach uses effective combination of face-
to-face and online delivery methodologies to optimize and enhance the learning experience by
71
facilitating critical discourse and meaningful learning experiences in a convenient and cost-
effective manner; providing opportunities for connection and reflection essential for critical and
creative thinking and learning; and providing a dynamic and sustained community of learners
(Garrison & Anderson, 2003; Garrison & Vaughan, 2008). In addition, the advantages of a
blended learning design are particularly salient in the context of continuing education courses
that are not easily accessible to working professionals because of time and geographic barriers.
A blended learning approach is the most effective and efficient way in which to facilitate and
promote a wider permanency planning vision both internally and externally.
The interview participants’ views on learning illustrate the need to depart from the current
delivery methodology of training and to evolve toward providing training along a continuum,
instead of as an isolated event. Training along a continuum provides continuity of learning and
includes online training, face-to-face training, communities of practice and clinical supervision.
It is recommended that curriculum delivery reflect:
online learning that reflects a multi-disciplinary approach to permanency planning
local face-to-face delivery
communities of practices
alignment with clinical practice support
opportunities for joint ministry and community learning events.
72
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APPENDIX A: MCFD Service Delivery Areas
The map above represents the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development’s 13 Service Delivery
Areas (SDA) and the further 47 Local Service Delivery Areas (LSA). The map reflects the vast geographical
range within which the ministry provides services. Added to the pressures of providing services in a
concerted fashion across a large geographical area is the demographic uniqueness of each LSA. British
Columbia is the third-largest province in Canada, with over 4.6 million persons.5 British Columbia also
has the second-highest population of Aboriginal people in Canada, with 155,000 persons.6 In addition,
British Columbia has a large immigrant population, with the largest immigrant groups from China, India,
Philippines and Korea, who reside predominantly in the Vancouver area.7
Providing learning opportunities for staff across this geographic and demographic range can present
unique challenges from financial, accessibility, cultural, and course content perspectives.
5 B.C. Stats: Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography/PopulationProjections.aspx
6 Statistics Canada: Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/video/index-eng.cfm
7 B.C. Stats: Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography.aspx
77
APPENDIX B: Ministry Training Model
Learning and Development’s Training Model highlights the leveled competencies according to
cross-ministry and service line specific audiences. The model focuses on the introductory core
competencies required in the first six months of employment, onto the foundational practice
competencies needed in the first and second year, and onto the advanced competencies
required generally following the second year of practice.
There is high learning curve when an employee enters into practice, which is highlighted by the
higher proportion of competencies needed with the first two years. There is also a significant
overlap between the competencies throughout the first two years, which adds to the
complexity of creating learning events that are relevant and address each learner’s needs.
Foundational CompetenciesFoundational competencies
Functional Competencies
Foundational Competencies
Advanced Competencies
Functional Competencies
Advanced Competencies
Introductory – Cross Ministry
Practice – Cross Ministry Practice –Service Line Specific
Advanced – Cross Ministry
Advanced – Service Line Specific Specialist
Up
6
mo
nth
s
1-2
yea
rs
2+
year
s
1
Ministry Training Model
Introductory –Service Line Specific
Ministry Core Competencies
BC Public Service Professional Values
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APPENDIX C: Human Research Ethics Board Certificate of Approval
79
APPENDIX D: Qualitative Interview Invitation
Hello,
I am conducting a research project on Permanency Planning Training and would like your help. I
have included a brief purpose of the study below as well as a background summary. If you are
interested in participating at this stage of the project, please contact me via email or phone to
discuss further.
Ministry of Children and Family Development Permanency Planning Training Interview Guide
Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this interview is to determine the effectiveness of the
Permanency Planning Training that the Ministry of Children and Family Development provides
to employees. I am specifically interested in the intersection of organizational development,
social work, and adult education principles and how this intersection can improve learning and
development opportunities for MCFD staff, and thereby improve service outcomes for children,
youth and families. As such, I am interested in your ideas and suggestions for improving training
relating to permanency planning.
I am interviewing up to 18 participants who have direct knowledge and expertise in the areas of
social work practice in permanency planning from either an operational, service delivery or
learning perspective. You will be asked questions that relate to three main concept areas:
situational analysis of the permanency planning environment; social work knowledge and skills
relating to permanency planning, and adult education principles relating to training design and
delivery. We will have up to one hour to complete the interview; interviews can take place over
the phone, or face to face at a location of your choice if convenient. In addition, the possibility
of a second half hour interview may occur within a month of the first interview, in order to
confirm the accuracy of the captured responses received in the first interview.
Background Summary: This research is the final step toward the completion of my MPA. In
addition, this research project complements the prior work of the Residential Redesign Project,
and seeks to improve the ministry’s current permanency planning training, which was created
in 2008 and is in need of a comprehensive review.
The interview questions that I will ask will be open-ended and will be provided to you prior to
the interview. I will be analyzing the responses of all interview participants and organizing by
themes which will then be compared to a thorough literature review of the three main concept
areas.
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Use of Information: Information obtained through the interview is intended to inform the
Ministry of Children and Family Development, Learning and Development department on how
to improve permanency planning training throughout the province. Findings will be presented
to the Learning and Development department of the Ministry of Children and Family
Development. Participation and responses will be CONFIDENTIAL; only my academic supervisor
and I will have access to participant identification. Participants will be identified within the
report solely as anonymous participants in either the operational, service delivery or adult
education groups. While specific information (responses) within the report will be anonymous,
readers may be able to attribute responses to particular participants due to the small
community of participants.
Participation in Research Project: Your participation is completely voluntary, and there is no
pressure to participate. You have the right not to participate or to withdraw your participation
at any point without consequence or explanation, and all interviews will be conducted
objectively and professionally. Participants can refuse to answer any of the questions or
withdraw their participation at any time. I have included a Consent Form as an attachment to
this email for your perusal, which can be signed at the time of interview, should you choose to
participate.
I look forward to the opportunity to talk with you further.
Sincerely,
Jaime Morais
Learning Consultant, Learning and Development
People & Workplace Strategies
Ministry of Children and Family Development
Phone: 250-387-3268
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APPENDIX E: Free and Informed Consent
Towards a Permanency Planning Training System:
An intersection of organizational development, social work practice and adult education You are invited to participate in a study entitled “Towards a Permanency Planning Training System: An intersection of organization development, social work practice and adult education” that is being conducted by Jaime Morais. Jaime Morais is a graduate student in the department of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and you may contact her by phone (250-589-0685) or by email ([email protected]) if you have further questions. As a graduate student, Jaime Morais is required to conduct research as part of the requirements for a Masters in Public Administration. It is being conducted under the supervision of Dr. James MacGregor ([email protected]). Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this interview is to determine the effectiveness of Permanency Planning Training that the Ministry of Children and Family Development provides to employees. I am specifically interested in the intersection of organization development, social work practice, and adult education principles and how this intersection can improve learning and development opportunities for MCFD staff, and thereby improve service outcomes for children, youth and families. As such, I am interested in your ideas and suggestions for improving training relating to permanency planning. Participants Selection You are being asked to participate in this study because of your knowledge and experience of social work practice in permanency planning from either an operational, service delivery or learning perspective. What is involved If you agree to voluntarily participate in this research, your participation will include an interview, and a follow-up interview if needed. Interviews will be conducted either in-person or by telephone. In-person interviews would be conducted either in the community or at your workplace; whichever is most convenient for you. It is expected that the total amount of time you would need to commit would be approximately one hour and thirty minutes. During both in-person and telephone interviews, written notes will be taken. This will ensure that anything said during the interview process is properly documented. During in-person interviews, audio recordings will also be used, in order to better ensure that the interview is accurately recorded. Upon the request of a participant, a transcription of the interview(s) will be made available.
82
Following each individual interview, participant responses will be documented in written form and each participant will be asked to approve or edit their own response to ensure that responses are captured as accurated as possible and in the context that the participant intended. Inconvenience Participation in this study may cause some inconvenience to you, including requiring that you take time away from other work responsibilities temporarily. You will have the option of participating outside of work hours if that option is more convenient for you. Risks This project has a maximum of eighteen participants; six participants from MCFD management positions; six participants from MCFD practice consultant positions; and six participants from Post-secondary positions. Due to the small pool of participants and the relatively small professional community, there is a risk that readers will be able to deciper the identities of participants and deduct or speculate which responses are attributable to which participants. Benefits The potential benefits of your participation in this research is improved knowledge within the government about creating an effective and efficient training system pertaining to permanency planning. Voluntary Participation Your participation in this research must be completely voluntary. If you do decide to participate, you may withdraw at any time without any consequences or any explanation. If you do withdraw from the study, you may request that the information that you previously provided not be used and your wishes will be respected. Researcher’s Relationship with Participants The researcher may have a relationship to potential participants as they may be colleagues. To help prevent this relationship from influencing your decision to participate, the following steps to prevent coercion have been taken:
Participation is completely voluntary, and there is no pressure to participate
Participants have the right to withdraw their participation at any point without consequence or explanation
All interviews will be conducted objectively and professionally On-going Consent Follow-up interviews may be requested from you for the purposes of elaboration or clarification. Your participation in any follow-up interviews will again be completely voluntary, and you may withdraw your participation at any time. Anonymity
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In terms of protecting anonymity, participants will be assigned with a number according to which group they have been recruited for. Given that the researcher will be dependent upon referrals for participation, coupled with the small number of participants expected to be involved in this report, there are limits to participants’ anonymity, which has been identified in the “Risks” section above. Confidentiality Your confidentiality and the confidentiality of the data will be protected by password-protected electronic files and by keeping hardcopy records in a locked cabinet. This data will only be accessible to the researcher and the academic supervisor. While interview responses are unlikely to involve or reference client personal information, participating MCFD staff are be reminded to protect client privacy. Dissemination of Results It is anticipated that the results of this study will be shared with others in the form of a final report. This final report will be made available to the Learning and Development deprtment of the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Department of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. Participants will be provided with the final report prior to the final report being shared on a organizational level. Disposal of Data Data from this study will be disposed of once this report has been finalized. Elecontric files will be erased, audio tapes will be destroyed, and interview transcripts will be shredded. Contacts Individuals that may be contacted regarding this study include myself or my academic supervisor. Please refer to the beginning of this consent form for contact details. In addition, you may verify the ethical approval of this study, or raise any concerns you might have, by contacting the Human Research Ethics Office at the University of Victoria (250-472-4545 or [email protected]). For MCFD participants, this project has also undergone a privacy review and has been approved by the Chief Information Officer and the Executive Director of Modelling, Analysis and Information Management Branch of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Your signature below indicates that you understand the above conditions of participation in this study, that you have had the opportunity to have your questions answered by the researchers, and that you agree to participate in this research project. PLEASE SELECT STATEMENT only if you agree (Participant to provide initials):
84
I agree to participate in this study: _______________
Name of Participant Signature Date
A copy of this consent will be left with you, and a copy will be taken by the researcher.
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APPENDIX F: Qualitative Interview Questions
Operational Perspective: Situational Analysis of the Permanency Planning
Environment
1. You work within the permanency planning environment. Consider the strengths and
weaknesses internal to MCFD as well as the opportunities and challenges external to
MCFD. Based on your knowledge and experience of working within the system:
a) What is working well?
b) What is a barrier or challenge?
c) What could be improved?
d) What could we do differently? How do you see this happening?
2. What outcome(s) would you like to see achieved when it comes to permanency
planning for children and youth?
3. In terms of permanency planning for children and youth, the Ministry functions
like_______.
4. Bringing about changes in permanency planning policy and practice is __________.
Service Delivery Perspective: Social Work Practice Relating to Permanency Planning
5. You have knowledge and experience working within the permanency planning
environment, either through direct support to children, youth and families and/or
consulting on issues relating to permanency planning. Consider the competencies
involved in social work practice that are particularly important in permanency planning:
a) What values are important?
b) What knowledge is important?
c) What skills are important?
6. Generally speaking, what major strengths have you observed in social work practice in
permanency planning?
7. In your opinion, what areas of practice could be improved? What are your thoughts on
how practice can be better supported and improved?
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Learning Perspective: Adult Education Principles Relating to Instructional Design and
Delivery
8. Acknowledging, valuing and incorporating diverse perspectives are important in
addressing complex issues such as permanency planning. On that note:
a) Who do you think should be involved in developing curriculum content?
b) How should MCFD involve a diversity of perspectives in curriculum
development?
c) Who should be the intended audience of MCFD permanency planning training?
9. Accessibility, budget constraints and flexibility are three major challenges of the current
delivery approach to permanency planning. What ideas do you have about how
curriculum could be delivered differently? Would you use different approaches? How
would you decide which approach to use?