A multivariate analysis of training, education, and readiness for public child welfare practice

Substantial resources have been expended in the last 20Â years to implement various training initiatives and programs in order to ensure that child welfare workers have the knowledge and skills required to effectively work with the vulnerable populations referred to public child welfare systems. There has been little empirical research, however, testing for the differences that specialized training and education impart on such knowledge and skills. The current study adds to the knowledge base in this area by evaluating a pre-service training program for 469 newly hired workers at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. A repeated measures analysis of pre- and post-training tests indicated that participants in Title IV-E funded programs performed significantly better at both time points. Similarly, both level of education (having a Master's degree) and the discipline in which the degree was received (social work) significantly predicted better performance on both the pre- and post-tests. Workers without such Title IV-E training and educational backgrounds were able to make up ground during agency-sponsored training and performed better at post-test when compared to their pre-test scores. Implications for training in public child welfare and future research in this area are discussed.