WHAT:  This webinar will provide an overview of Simulation Labs, an innovative technique being utilized with newly-hired children's services social workers at the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Los Angeles County, as well as undergraduate and graduate social work students.

Simulation is a technique for education and training that has been used in many different disciplines, including aviation, the military, and medicine. It offers guided, "immersive" experiences that evoke or replicate aspects of the real world professional experience in a fully interactive fashion. LA's model was developed and implemented by a multi-disciplinary workgroup consisting of DCFS training staff, child welfare training faculty from four university schools of social work (Cal State University - Los Angeles; Cal State University - Long Beach; UCLA; USC), law enforcement consultants, County attorneys, and other stakeholders. Initially piloted in August 2013, LA's simulation model is an integral component of the County's new worker Foundation training and education for child welfare students, as it is designed to promote, develop, and reinforce key social work skills - client engagement, critical thinking, assessment skills, interviewing techniques, decision-making, analysis, and problem solving - in a team-focused, supportive setting.

Workgroup members will share the strategies involved in creating and implementing this model, including curriculum design, training infrastructure (space, set design, resources) and staffing (facilitators, role-players), as well as lessons learned in designing scenarios to support key learning objectives and competencies, and current efforts to evaluate effectiveness and impact.

• Harkmore Lee, Director, Center on Child Welfare at California State University, Los Angeles
• Beth Minor, Training Manager, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services
• Heidi Staples, Director, Center on Child Welfare at UCLA
• Tamera Pruitt, Attorney, Los Angeles County Counsel's Office

For more information, please explore our Presenter Bios.

 

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