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Child welfare certification programs

Written by Dr. Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero – Last updated:

This article provides an overview of child welfare training and child welfare certification processes for people working in the field. 

IN THIS GUIDE

Social workers are highly represented, and in demand, in child welfare agencies as frontline workers, supervisors, therapists, and managers. However, not all child welfare workers have a social work degree. Since not everyone working in child welfare has a social work or even mental health or human services background, agency training, state certifications, and academic certificate programs are important to ensuring all child welfare workers have the knowledge they need to help fulfill the missions of their agencies to promote the well-being, permanency, and safety of children and families. 

Working in child welfare can be quite demanding due to regular contact and work with traumatized children and families; but quality in-service training and child welfare certificate programs can help social workers be successful child welfare professionals. 

Several states require direct practice child welfare workers to be certified, but all require minimum pre-service training. In addition to required training, aspiring and established child welfare professionals may opt to further develop their skills and knowledge by earning an academic certificate in child welfare practice. Find more info in our complete state guides.

In-service training for child welfare professionals

When social workers, and individuals with non-social work backgrounds, are hired to work in a public child welfare agency they are required to complete pre-service training. This training helps prepare new hires to fulfill the responsibilities of their position. Pre- and in-service training is generally designed and delivered by experienced child welfare professionals and university-based trainers. 

Most public child welfare systems are state run, but some are decentralized with each county having their own department (e.g., Pennsylvania). Some cities have separate child welfare systems and agencies as well (e.g.,  New York City). Many states have regional offices (e.g., Connecticut). New and established employees may not have to travel far for training (or at all if it’s online) when training is provided at their local office, while others may have to travel a bit farther to complete training at a state agency’s central office. 

As an example of what social workers learn during pre-service training, here is a list of modules included in the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families ’pre-service’ training:  

  • Introduction to child protective services
  • Child abuse and neglect
  • Trauma
  • Co-occurring considerations
  • Safety
  • Court
  • Access
  • Initial assessment
  • Ongoing services
  • Placement
  • Confirming safe environments
  • Permanence

A specified amount of in-service training may be required each year as well. Continuing in-service training focuses on specialty areas of practice and on a number of important current topics. Training and webinars may focus, for example, on working with substance using mothers, parents with opioid use disorders, children with neonatal abstinence syndrome, non-custodial fathers, or youth aging out of the system. 

Child welfare professionals may also receive advanced training in supervision or child welfare management or become certified in delivering a manualized, evidence-based therapy such as parent-child interaction therapy. 

State-mandated certification for child welfare workers  

At the conclusion of pre-service training some public child welfare systems require new workers to be certified or licensed by a state licensing or exam board. For example, the Florida Certification Board (FCB) is responsible for certifying child welfare trainees and employees who have completed pre-service training or for whom pre-training requirements were waived due to prior employment in child welfare. The FCB certifies Protective Investigators (CWPI), Case Managers (CWCM), or Licensing Counselors (CWLC). Protective Investigators work in child protection units, case managers are frontline and administrative child welfare workers, and licensing counselors license foster care providers. 

Illinois requires all child welfare professionals to be licensed as well. According to the Illinois Department of Children and Families Administrative Code, all direct child welfare service employees must go through the licensing process after completing pre-service training. This includes “direct service casework managers, supervisors and caseworkers who carry assigned cases and/or provide case management services for the purpose of investigation, casework, intact/family preservation, permanency or licensing. To become a licensed direct child welfare service employee in Illinois, trainees must also pass a Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol exam. 

Academic child welfare certificate programs

Students and professionals also have the option of obtaining an academic certificate in child welfare. Every year more schools of social work are offering child welfare certificate programs to help new and experienced child welfare workers improve their skills and specialize in child welfare social work. Certificate programs are developed and administered by accredited schools or departments of social work. Some are for current BSW students or BSW level professionals working in the field who already have a BSW, while others are MSW students or MSW- level professionals. 

Some BSW level certificate programs are open to students pursuing any major, while others are only open to students in fields closely related to social work (e.g., human services)/ They often are also open to professionals who already hold a BSW and are working, or plan to work in, child welfare. Those who enroll are required to take specific social work courses, but current BSW students who already completed required courses can have those credits count toward the certificate. Required courses often include Human Behavior and the Social Environment, a volunteer engagement that includes a child welfare practicum, and social or child welfare policy. Elective courses may focus on practice with children and youth, trauma informed practice, domestic violence, pharmacology, substance use, and a host of other specialized courses.

MSW child welfare certificate programs often are structured similarly, with students who already completed required courses being allowed to apply the credits to the certificate. Required and elective courses are taken at the graduate level. Required courses often focus on child welfare policy and practice and child maltreatment. Elective courses allow a student to carve out a specialty area of child welfare practice such as trauma informed practice, working with families impacted by substance use or domestic violence, or working as a therapist. MSW level certificate programs are more likely to require a semester long internship in a child welfare setting. For non-students, a certificate program can take as little as a year to complete. 

Some BSW and MSW level certificate programs are oriented toward the acquisition of specific skills and competencies such as delivering evidence-based trauma treatments. Others focus on child maltreatment or adoption. Some social work certificate programs are not specifically geared toward child welfare professionals but can enhance the work one does in child welfare such as a certificate in case management or child mental health. 

Online child welfare certificate programs 

There are a growing number of online and hybrid child welfare certificate programs. These programs have similar focuses as in person certificate programs but can be completed in the comfort of a student’s home environment. These online programs emphasize policy and practice and generally also require a volunteer engagement or internship in child welfare. Students must have reliable internet, a computer, and a headset to participate in online certificate programs.

NASW child welfare certifications

The National Association of Social Workers sponsors several certificate programs that, although not limited to child welfare professionals, can help those in child welfare increase their knowledge and skills, and advance in the profession. Certain programs require only a BSW, while others require an MSW. 

Social workers working in child welfare may be interested, for example, in becoming a Certified Children, Youth & Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW) or a Certified Social Work Case Worker (C-SWCW). 

Career impacts of earning a child welfare certificate

For current social worker students, a certificate can help one specialize in child welfare work and therefore increase the number of opportunities they have to choose from in the field. For those who have already taken some courses related to child welfare, a certificate can help them develop more specialized skills for child welfare work. For example, MSW students who want to become child welfare administrators may focus their certificate courses on policy, administration, and management. 

For current students earning degrees in closely related fields, such as psychology or human services, who discover a passion for child welfare work, a child welfare certificate can help them enter the field with greater confidence. Although they are not social workers, the certificate credential can earn them greater respect in an agency that is mostly staffed by social workers. 

For child welfare professionals without a social work degree, earning a child welfare certificate from a school of social work can increase their professional confidence, skills, and knowledge. Individuals who have earned an undergraduate degree unrelated to human services, psychology, or social work can become excellent child welfare professionals. A certificate can boost their credentials, allow them to earn required continuing education credits, and earn a promotion or raise.

A certificate program may also help current professionals earn the continuing education units they need to maintain a social work licensure or their position in a child welfare agency. A certificate can also prepare aspiring child welfare professionals, who live in states that require certification for specific positions, for the licensing exam or help students and recent graduates earn the work experience they need for a specific position. 

Recap

If you are interested in working in child welfare and want to earn a valuable credential, or already work in the field and are interested in improving your skills, knowledge, and resume, a child welfare certificate can be worthwhile. For those who hold a BSW and are hesitant to invest in a full MSW program, a certificate may be just the right balance in terms of time and money invested. A certificate can also help trainees prepare for licensing exams and required work experience.

Social worker positions that involve work with children, families, and in schools are expected to increase by 13 percent over the next decade or so. Child welfare professionals, especially those with social work degrees and certificates, can distinguish themselves in the field. For social workers and non-social workers alike, one of the most important benefits of earning a certification is increasing one’s earning potential over the course of their career. 

For more information about additional training and learning opportunities for those working in child welfare visit National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.