Development and Application of the Training Needs Assessment for the Child Welfare Workforce (tna-Cww)

Identifying child welfare (CW) workers’ training needs is challenging as they have diverse and complex roles and responsibilities. In this article, we describe our mixed methods approach to develop and examine the utility of the Training Needs Assessment for the CW Welfare Workforce (TNA-CWW). Through focus groups with 23 supervisors and administrators, we identified 72 practice competencies across 9 areas. We then administered the TNA-CWW to a statewide CW workforce (n = 1,018). Respondents indicated some level of need for training related to each competency. Social workers’ top training needs were related to assessing social/environmental factors, preventing burnout, and assessing sexual abuse. Supervisors’ top training needs were related to collaboration, progressive discipline, and implicit bias and racism. We also found that training needs varied by area of responsibility and region. The findings suggest the TNA-CWW is a valid instrument that agencies can use to inform workforce development.