WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRAINING COLLABORATIVE
Learning & Development Category
Throughout the child welfare field, high staff turnover rates represent a major challenge to agencies. Research suggests in child welfare agencies annual turnover ranges between 20 and 40 percent. Several studies point to a lack of skill levels in front line staff; others to the quality of the front line supervision. In addition to the high costs of hiring, orienting and training, turnover sets back client progress in many ways. Faced with intolerably high staff turnover rates, the executive directors of six Western Pennsylvania child services agencies searched for a concept that would offer a more efficient and less costly approach to training and retention. These agencies included Family Resources, Family Services of Western Pennsylvania, Every Child, Inc., Allegheny Children’s Initiative, Spectrum and the Western Pennsylvania Family Center.
The agencies partnered to establish the Western Pennsylvania Training Collaborative. Through the collaborative, the agencies could bring a level of training and support to those who give to others in our community on a daily basis. The agencies, moreover, reduced costs in their agency as well as built capacity by partnering to use their limited resources to provide high-level, quality training. The WPFC managed the project for the other 5 agencies. The collaborative took a comprehensive and results driven approach to strengthen the supervisory relationship and invest in improving the skills of line staff through developing two programs: The Effective Supervisor addressed the supervisory relationship; A Jump Start, improving the skills of line staff. Program participants engage in a variety of learning experiences both during program sessions and through on-the-job applications. The learning methodology focuses on theory, application and assessments. Through these components, participants can learn, retain, and apply skills in “real” practice on the job.
As a measurement of their success, the Western Pennsylvania Training Collaborative has seen tremendous results including: Collaborative partners reduced controllable turnover; Participants perceive the training as useful & valuable in their work with children & families; Peers & participants evaluate the quality & relevance of the training experience as above average; The number of agencies participating in the training sessions has increased; All fixed costs are covered; The business & training model work for the collaborative partners related to content, structure, & return on investment. Collaboration, consensus, flexibility, and resilience also represent critical success factors.
The building blocks upon which the directors established the collaborative make it unique and groundbreaking within the non-profit community. This effort called upon and utilized the knowledge, skill, talent and resources of each of the Western Pennsylvania Training Collaborative member agencies. A testimony to the fact that by banding together, the agencies made great things possible – for the benefit of the employees and ultimately the at-risk children and families they service in our communities.
Company Bio:
The collaborative represents family centered agencies collaborating to build capacity through training programs that meet both the individual and the combined needs of the agencies. The goal of the collaborative is to fill a void in how staff are prepared and supported in their complex work with families and children.
The collaborative’s mission is "To deliver effective competency-based training to ensure a consistently prepared workforce is in place within family serving agencies."
