Residential caregivers play an essential role in providing safe, supportive, and nurturing environments for children and youth in care. The Child Welfare Education Partnership (CWEP), in collaboration with the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), offers training opportunities designed to equip residential care staff with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to support the well-being and development of the youth they serve. Through foundational and ongoing education, caregivers can strengthen their professional practice and respond effectively to the diverse needs of children and families.
Residential Core Training (RCCT)
This program is offered to residential counselors in preparation for their work with children and youth in care at any eligible New Hampshire residential facility. RCCT is a 30-hour competency-based training series consisting of five modules – each six hours in length.
Residential Counselor Core Training (RCCT) is offered to residential counselors in preparation for their work with children and youth in care in any eligible New Hampshire residential facility. The RCCT program intends to ensure that participants receive peer support and high-quality, transferable training that addresses the universal knowledge and skills applicable to the position of residential counselor in any facility throughout the State.
The 30-hour competency-based series consists of five modules – each six hours in length. The program provides generalized training that addresses the basic knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to the position of residential counselor. Participants are introduced to the spectrum of out-of-home care options, the basic principles of child growth and development, abuse and neglect, and the need for cultural competence in working with children and families. Course content also focuses on the influence of trauma on youth while addressing the variety of roles and responsibilities residential care providers may assume as counselors.
Residential Ongoing Training
Professional development is an important part of providing quality residential care. CWEP offers ongoing training opportunities that allow residential caregivers to expand their knowledge, strengthen their skills, and stay informed about current practices in child welfare. Training topics address a variety of areas relevant to residential care, including trauma-responsive approaches, behavioral support, communication, family engagement, and caregiver well-being. These opportunities encourage continued learning and help residential staff build the confidence and competence needed to support positive outcomes for children and youth.
Better Together
The Division for Children Youth and Families advocates for equal and mutually respectful partnerships between birth parents, foster parents, child welfare agency staff, allies, and community partners to achieve the common goals of keeping children in safe, loving, and permanent homes while increasing reunification outcomes. The Better Together Program provides the space for this work to happen.
Register for the upcoming Better Together Residential Round Table.
There are three 3-hour Zoom session taking place from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on the following dates.
- May 9th
- August 29th
- December 12th
Better Together fosters the following guiding principles:
- Honoring parent voice and promoting parent leadership;
- Shared decision-making;
- Communicating respectfully, honestly, and often;
- Acknowledging shared purposes and common values;
- Understanding the impacts of race, culture, and disproportionality on interactions;
- Encouraging behaviors and attitudes that lead to success;
- Understanding the needs and perspectives of fathers and other parenting partners;
- Engaging extended family members and other supporters within the community;
- Understanding and then overcoming the disparity in power between parents, foster parents, and staff;
- Providing parents with a forum in which they can express what they need and can offer.