History

History

In April of 1990, the Virginia Institute for Social Services Training Activities (VCU-VISSTA) began as a collaborative effort that brought together the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), and Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS).  Based on a competency-based model that was developed by Ohio’s Institute of Human Services (IHS), VCU-VISSTA was created to develop and deliver training to local social services staff and other community stakeholders.  As part of that process, five Area Training Centers (ATC) were established and were responsible for scheduling and delivering training based on the needs of the localities in each DSS region. 

During the early years of VCU-VISSTA, successful efforts were made to engage LDSS and other representative stakeholders on a statewide steering committee and various program specific committees in order to help shape the training system.  However, over the years, the training system changed.  The statewide steering committee was dismantled as were most of the program specific committees, and the training system evolved over the years under different leadership, evolving priorities and varying degrees of resources. 

VCU-VISSTA's trainings are designed to increase knowledge, build skills, and improve the effectiveness of social services staff in their day-to-day work.  Training currently supports the policies and philosophy of VDSS in seven program areas: Adult Services, Child Care, Child Welfare, Fraud, Domestic Violence, Employment Services, and Benefit Programs.  VCU-VISSTA curricula focus on a range of skill levels - from foundation skills and basic service delivery policy to highly specialized skills required to develop expertise in delivering specific program services.

As part of Virginia’s Children’s Services System Transformation, a work group, made up of both state and local representatives, was charged to reengineer the child welfare training system with a mandate to return it to the model from which it was originally created - a competency based training model.  In addition, our federal partners conducted the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) in July of 2009.  The review resulted in findings that indicated areas of improvement for the child welfare training system.  As a result, the Division of Family Services created a Program Improvement Plan that outlines strategies for the reestablishment of competency-based training for child welfare staff.  The overall goal is to ensure that the training infrastructure is locally-responsive and includes timely initial training and appropriate on-going training for child welfare supervisors and staff.  As a result of the work group recommendations and the CFSR findings, VDSS, LDSS, the five ATCs, and VCU-VISSTA are now working closely to realign child welfare training. 

In order to advance competency-based training for child welfare, a steering committee was reestablished as the mechanism to drive change. The Committee meets on a monthly basis and is made up of representatives from VDSS, VCU-VISSTA, ATCs, the Virginia League of Social Service Executives (VLSSE), and the Virginia Alliance of Social Work Practitioners (VASWP). The Steering Committee works to coordinate and manage the activities and developmental aspects of the child welfare training system.  Together, the collaborating organizations of the Steering Committee make decisions about training system management that are informed by the needs of local workers. The mission statement of the VCWTP states, “The Virginia Child Welfare Training Program is a partnership that provides comprehensive, competency based training that equips agency staff with knowledge and skills to deliver child-centered, family-driven services that make a positive impact on the lives of children and families in Virginia.”

In addition to the Steering Committee, several subcommittees have been charged to address different aspects of the reengineering process.  Since subcommittees are made up of various representatives in addition to those who participate on the Steering Committee, there are ongoing opportunities to engage LDSS staff.  Subcommittees include topic areas such as the Knowledge Center, Evaluation, Communications, and Policy Training.