D F C S - Department of Human Services

AT A GLANCE
Program Overview
The Education and Training Services (ETS) Section supports the Division of Family
and Children Services mission and goals by developing and maintaining a stable,
competent and professional workforce, which is critical to strengthening families and
achieving division outcomes related to safety, permanency and well being of
children and families. The section offers programs and services in three major
areas: training, educational opportunities and retention strategies that target both
the professional development of staff and improvements to the system’s
infrastructure. The section develops curriculum, coordinates, implements, and
evaluates new and veteran worker training, and develops retention initiatives for
staff at all levels in both Social Services (SS) and the Office of Family Independence
(OFI).
The Education and Training Services Section consists of seven closely interrelated
units that work as a team, involving practitioners and other partners collaboratively,
in order to achieve the outcomes of the section. Those seven units are:
• Metrics, Projects, and OFI Learning Group
• Social Services (SS) Learning and Development
• Social Services (SS) Organization and Skill Development
• Office of Family Independence (OFI) Learning and Development
• Education and Project Management
• Technology and Systems Management (SS and OFI)
• Field Leadership Learning and Development (SS and OFI)
Office of Family Independence Learning and Development Unit
The development of a competent, quality workforce is an ongoing process. It begins
with the selection of individuals who have an aptitude for the job and continues
through the orientation process of new worker training and ongoing training
throughout one’s career.
In the Office of Family Independence (OFI), our ultimate purpose is to help applicant
and recipient families to become self-sufficient, able to support themselves
financially apart from having to rely on government assistance, and able to make
their own decisions and to accept responsibility for the decisions they make.
We believe that dependence on government assistance is not good enough for any
family. Consequently, the goals of the programs for which OFI is responsible are
that the families that come to us for help will become self-sufficient and not
continue to need our help.
We are all responsible for acting as the change agents who can help the families
that come to us for help achieve the goals we’ve established for our assistance
programs. Therefore, OFI training is focused not only on making sure that our staff
knows the right policies and procedures to follow, but that they do the right work in
the right way.
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