The CWTC provides in-service training to newly hired social workers, case-carrying social workers, supervisory social workers, and support and clerical staff. The CWTC also provides stipends and specialized training for up to 16 Masters of Social Work students in the CSULB Department of social Work. These students intern at DCFS and commit to a year's employment at DCFS upon graduation.
For more information on this training project e-mail James Ferreira, MSW, Director: jaferrei@csulb.edu
The Stevenson-YMCA Community School (SYCS) is a partnership of the children, parents, community residents, Stevenson Elementary school staff, the YMCA of Greater Long Beach and the Child Welfare Training Centre. The goals of the SYCS are: (a) to improve school behavior and performance by providing high quality and integrated out-of-school programing for children and families; (b) to provide adult programming to strengthen parenting skills and promote self-sufficiency; (c) to develop grass-roots community leaders with the skills to reduce barriers to positive child, family, and school functioning; and (d) to increase collaboration between the family, school and community to improve children's learning. These goals are reached through the provision of extended-day educational programs for children, extensive adult and family programing and efforts to bring the school and home together. A Major component of the program is the Community Leadership Institute, a four-month program designed to teach teens and adults skills to make improvements in the school and community. SYCS received the Community Schools National Award for Excellence in 2006 and has been featured in Parade Magazine. The Child Welfare Training Centre has provided ongoing consultation and evaluation services to the program since 1997.
For more information on this project, e-mail Dr. Julie O'Donnell: julieo@csulb.edu
The Long Beach YMCA Youth Institute is an innovative program that uses technology and service learning as a mechanism for promoting positive youth development while enhancing the academic success and career readiness of low-income, culturally-diverse, urban middle and high school students. The goals of the program are to increase academic, technology, social and life skills and to develop leadership and job training skills. Youth are recruited strategically so that the project is ethnically and gender diverse and cultural-competence is emphasized. Students participate in an intensive summer program. They then graduate from the summer program and attend the afterschool program during their school year where they have access to the latest technologies, academic assistance, emotional support, job internships, and community services opportunities. The Child Welfare Training Centre provides ongoing quantitative and qualititative evaluation services to the program. The research is currently investigating program effects on technology skills, positive youth development , educational attitudes, and grades.
For more information on this project, e-mail Dr. Julie O'Donnell: julieo@csulb.edu
In 2007, the YMCA Youth Institute received funding to open Change Agent Productions, a social enterprise endeavor designed to provide paid internships to youth in the areas of digital movie making, graphic design, web design, conference AV support, technology set up and consultation for school dostricts and non-profits. This social enterprise consists of three professional digital artists and teaches Youth Institute participants technology and career skills. The Child Welfare Training Centre is providing a formative evaluation using a case study approach. Surveys, interviews and documentation review will be used to determine the effects of the program on youth as well as lessons for other social enterprise endeavors.
For more information on this project, e-mail Dr. Julie O'Donnell: julieo@csulb.edu
Afterschool University is a program of the YMCA Downtown Community Development Branch. Its mission is to deliver a structured system of training for the afterschool staff to ensure high quality programs throughout Southern California. The Child Welfare Training Centre is assisting program staff to develop standardized, best practices curriculum. It is also developing an evaluation that will assess the impact of the training on the attitudes and behavior of program participants.
For more information on this project, e-mail Dr. Julie O'Donnell: julieo@csulb.edu
For more information on this curriculum, e-mail Pamela Walker: pwalker@csulb.edu
