MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Between Tennessee Center for Child Welfare And Tennessee Department of Children s Services

Transcription

1 This coaching document from Tennessee was developed collaboratively by a large team of Social Work Practice Specialists at the Tennessee Center for Child Welfare, led by Barbara Middleton and Carolyn Biggers, including Gail Seymour and Susan Lee.

2 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Between Tennessee Center for Child Welfare And Tennessee Department of Children s Services This Memorandum of Understanding is made and entered into on _ by and between the parties identified below. _ Gail Seymour TCCW Representative Regional Administrator Field Coach / OJT Coach I. PURPOSE The purpose of this Memorandum is to: Professional Development Specialist Supervisor New Hire a) Establish a formal commitment between the parties to work together on developing and improving the New Hire s readiness to perform their assigned duties before, during, and after core training; - and - b) Position the parties, via the establishment of a formal agreement, to provide leadership for New Hires with respect to supervision, support, PDA (Professional Development Assessment) and PDP (Professional Development Specialist). 1

3 II. DEFINITIONS New Hire: a new employee with the Department of Children s Services (DCS) serving in any role of the case manager series. Field Coach / OJT Coach: one who provides support and assistance to supervisors in designing professional development activities. Professional Development Specialist: one who facilitates classroom learning experience and provides support to New Hire and the Supervisor. CBT: Computer Based Training. Peer Support: An experienced DCS staff currently serving in the any role of the case manager series. III. IV. Support Team Meetings: Required meetings designed to assist the New Hire with the Preservice process. These meetings must occur as indicated in the schedule. TENESSEE CENTER FOR CHILD WELFARE TCCW will be responsible for scheduling, delivery, and evaluation of Pre-service and select in-service professional development and training. REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR AND CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM As the Core Leadership Team and Regional Administrator, we understand that our role will be to: Provide the support needed to assist newly hired employees, from this point identified as New Hire to become successful and competent case managers. Provide for the newly hire an atmosphere safe for learning and professional development yet also minimizing any risk to the families and children. Proactively anticipate any barrier to the success of the newly hire having a positive learning experience through commitment of time and needed resources and technical assistance. Identify the panel participants for the New Hire panel assessment. Ensure that supervisors will be allowed uninterrupted time for participation in panel assessment Support evaluation and assessment activities before, during, and after Pre-service. Provide access to a computer for the purpose of utilization for the on-line training. Ensure the New Hire will have the support of a supervisor. 2

4 V. SUPERVISOR As the supervisor for, I understand my role will be to: Ensure time and resources are available to aid in a positive learning and skill development experience. Provide a positive learning environment by not giving the New Hire additional tasks outside of the instructional information during the first four weeks of Pre-service. Provide support by maintaining individual conferences with the New Hire as often as needed. Participate in weekly Support Team Meetings with the Professional Development Specialist, Field Coach/OJT Coach, and/ or Regional SWPS. (Conference calls may be used to support these communications.) Assign initial cases, following certification, to the New Hire that are challenging but not overwhelming. Initiate the process of identifying the Peer Support by week three of training. Ensure training cases for the New Hire are identified before the scheduled transition Support Team Meeting. Ensure the New Hire does not perform any unsupervised fieldwork during the Pre-service process. Assist the New Hire with identifying activities to shadow, co-lead, and lead during the OJT experience. Ensure the New Hire document their OJT activities on the OJT Observation Form. MODEL Debrief with the New Hire at a minimum of one time per week during the OJT experience. Provide additional support during the OJT experience if it is determined that the New Hire has not demonstrated adequate skills in any given assignment. Contribute to evaluations and worker assessments before, during, and after Pre-service. In addition to the items listed above, I understand the Professional Development Specialist, Field Coach/OJT Coach, and/or Regional SWPS are available to support me in carrying out these responsibilities. TN 3

5 VI. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST As the Professional Development Specialist (PDS) for all DCS employees with core training group, I understand and agree to: Provide support to the New Hire via , telephone calls, and individual conference time as needed outside of the normal classroom schedule. *Participate in support team meetings as agreed upon by all team members. Monitor the on-line progress of each New Hire. Provide additional support during the on-line/learning lab experience if it is determined that the New Hire has not demonstrated adequate skills in any given assignment. Document the New Hire s classroom participation on the PDS Observation Form. Ensure a copy of the PDS Observation Form is placed in the New Hire s Professional Development Portfolio. Contribute to evaluations and New Hire assessments before, during, and after Pre-service. Refrain from providing New Hires with a copy of the panel assessment scenario and questions prior to the scheduled panel assessment. *Provide coaching to the Supervisor as needed following the support team meeting. Communicate with the Supervisor and the Regional Administrator any issues of concern brought to my attention regarding the New Hire s learning experience. *This is applicable for all New Hires whose official work station is within the official delivery region of the host university. Universities PDS (Supporting PDS) within the official delivery region will serve in this role for New Hires. 4

6 VII. FIELD COACH / OJT COACH As the Field Coach/OJT Coach for be to:, I understand my role will Coordinate support team meetings. Coach the New Hire as needed following support team meetings. Initiate the development of the New Hire s Professional Development Portfolio during the orientation week of the training. Attend the learning lab a minimum two times unless otherwise directed by the Regional Administrator or designee. Ensure the New Hire is given the Professional Development Portfolio to share with the PDS during the first week of training. Assist the supervisor with the monitoring and maintenance of the Professional Development Portfolio after the transition from the on-line/classroom learning environment to the on the job learning environment. Assist the supervisor in identifying suitable training cases for the New Hire. Contribute to evaluations and New Hire assessments before, during, and after Pre-service. Attend and participate in the panel assessment of week five. Refrain from providing New Hires with a copy of the panel assessment scenario and questions prior to the scheduled panel assessment. Ensure that the New Hire s writing sample is not saved in any medium (computer, flash drive, etc.). Complete the OJT Activity Debriefing Form during the STMs that occur during OJT. Attend and participate in the certification assessment of week nine. Ensure that all required documentation (Panel Assessment, Certification score sheets and, Professional Development Plans) is provided to TCCW as specified in the form instructions. Provide feedback regarding job performance of the New Hire. Provide support to New Hire throughout his/her first year of employment. 5

7 VIII. NEW HIRE As a new employee with the Tennessee Department of Children s Services, I understand my role will be to: Take responsibility for my own learning. Approach all learning opportunities with a positive outlook. Maintain professionalism during the entire learning experience. Understand that my learning experience will entail two full days (7.5 hours) of on-line learning for weeks one through three. Refrain from accepting a copy of the panel assessment scenario and questions prior to the scheduled panel assessment. Refrain from providing other New Hires with a copy of any of the panel assessment material, including the writing sample. Complete the OJT Observation form during weeks 6 8 Share any issues of concern with my support team. IX. BREACH OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING In the event of a contravention of any item listed above from the supervisor, Field Coach/OJT coach, or New Hire, the following steps will be taken: The Regional Administrator will be notified via electronic messaging immediately of any violation. The TCCW Program Delivery Program Specialist will be copied on the electronic message notifying the Regional Administrator of the violation. The Regional Administrator or designee will assist in the development of a corrective action plan. In the event of a contravention of any item listed above from the Professional Development Specialist, the following steps will be taken: The University Supervisor will be notified via electronic messaging immediately of any violation. The TCCW Program Delivery Program Specialist will be copied on the electronic message notifying the University Supervisor of the violation. The University Supervisor will assist in the development of a corrective action plan. 6

8 X. EFFECTIVE DATE IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have entered into this Memorandum of Understanding as evidenced by their signatures below. The Memorandum of Understanding is effective upon the date of the final signature. Signature (Regional Administrator) Signature (Supervisor) Gail Seymour Signature (New Hire) Signature (Professional Development Specialist) Signature (Field Coach) June 6, 2012 Signature (TCCW Representative) 7