Child Welfare Competencies

Competency models can guide an agency’s Human Resource functions including recruitment, training, and performance management. Universities can also employ competency models to guide curriculum for their traineeships in partnership with child welfare agencies. States and jurisdictions approach the development and implementation of these models differently based on their needs and characteristics. See below for examples from multiple states and for various positions.

The NCWWI report, Competency-based Workforce Development: A Synthesis of Current Approaches, defines and explains a competency-based approach, the rationale for using competency models, the history of competency models, a comparison of various approaches, the connection to the National Child Welfare Workforce (NCWWI) Workforce Development Framework, the intersection of social work education, and strategies for integrating competency models into agency practice.