Education

The field of children’s services is constantly changing.  Regardless of professional degree, a program of ongoing learning is important to keep skills and knowledge current.  Often working in partnership with others, the Center offers a range of university-based services for lifelong professional education. These include:

Child Welfare Education Program

This program offers financial support and customized field and classroom instruction for social work students committed to careers in child welfare.  (For more information, or how to apply, see the full description under “Child Welfare Partnership”) 

Culturally Responsive Leaders: A child welfare traineeship grant

This 5-year project, funded by the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and the U.S. Children’s Bureau, creates a specialized MSW pathway for culturally competent and responsive emerging leaders in public, tribal, and community-based child welfare systems. Students selected for the program receive financial assistance, specialized curriculum in leadership, and field placement experiences to support the development of culturally responsive management skills and practices in child welfare. For more  information on the project, contact Dr. Richard Hunter, Principal Investigator, at hunterr@pdx.edu.

Post-Graduate Certificate Program in Adoptive Family Therapy
The Center offers the child welfare connection to this course offered by PSU’s Extended Studies program.  Offered once yearly starting in the fall, this program provides a series of advanced, evidence-based courses for mental health professionals in working with families formed by adoption from child welfare. Courses, offered both on-site and using distance technologies, cover the specialized theories and practices for treating adopted children who have histories of abuse and neglect, for strengthening their family systems, and for enhancing parental and child resilience.
The goal is to provide accessible mental health services to adoptive families throughout Oregon.  For more information about the program: http://www.ceed.pdx.edu/adoption/

Continuing Education Credits

Many courses sponsored by the Center are registered for continuing education contact hours.  See individual programs for information.