Pennsylvania Code › Title 55 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part V - Children, Youth and Families Manual › Subpart D - Nonresidential Agencies, Facilities and Services › Article III - County-Administered Services › Chapter 3490 - PROTECTIVE SERVICES › Subchapter D - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND GENERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICES › STAFF ORIENTATION, TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS › Section 3490.312 - Training program requirements for direct service workers

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) The county
						  agency shall establish and implement policies for orientation of direct service
						  workers.
(b) The county agency
						  shall establish and implement written policies on the assignment of cases to
						  new staff and staff reassigned as direct service workers, including the
						  criteria used to determine when a worker is prepared to assume responsibility
						  for a full caseload.
(c) The county
						  agency shall implement the supervisors' orientation, training and resource
						  manual. A county agency may implement its own process or manual provided it
						  addresses the objectives of the manual provided through the training program
						  and is approved by the Department.
(d) The Department, with consultation from
						  its steering committee, will establish standards, a process and a program for
						  county agencies relating to the initial and ongoing certification of direct
						  service workers including the following requirements:
(1) Direct service workers include the
						  persons providing direct services to children and families and case management
						  functions on a full-time or part-time basis.
(2) Direct service workers hired on or after
						  July 1, 1996, shall be certified under the established standards within 18
						  months of their date of employment.
(3) Direct service workers who are not in a
						  permanent employment status as of July 1, 1996, shall be certified by December
						  31, 1997.
(4) Permanent direct
						  service workers hired prior to July 1, 1996, are certified.
(5) Direct service workers hired after June
						  30, 1996, who are in the process of achieving initial certification may be
						  assigned a caseload, up to the caseworker-to-family ratio of the county agency,
						  based on the worker's ability to handle job duties as determined by the written
						  policy of the county agency.
(6)
						  Initial certification of direct service workers shall include the following
						  components:
(i) A minimum of 120 hours of CORE
						  training.
(A) The content of CORE training
						  shall be determined by the Department in consultation with the steering
						  committee.
(B) The content of CORE
						  training shall be subject to periodic review by the Department and the steering
						  committee for continued relevancy.
(C) An overview of CORE training shall be
						  communicated by the Department to the county agencies and direct service
						  workers through a Departmental bulletin.
(D) Upon request by a county agency and
						  approval by the Department, a county agency may provide the CORE training
						  developed by the training program to its direct service workers.
(E) The county agency shall maintain a record
						  of CORE training completed for certification in the employe's personnel
						  file.
(ii) A decision by
						  the employing county agency that the worker is certified.
(A) The decision shall be based on an
						  assessment of the worker's ability to apply the principles, concepts and
						  content of CORE training, the supervisors' orientation, training and resource
						  manual or its equivalent and other learning opportunities to on-the-job
						  situations. The assessment shall conclude with a decision of whether or not the
						  worker is certified.
(B) The
						  assessment shall be in writing and reviewed with the employe. The employe shall
						  be given a copy of the assessment. A copy of the assessment shall be maintained
						  in the employe's personnel file.
(7) The county agency shall determine the
						  county agency's training year.
(8)
						  Ongoing certification of direct service workers, shall include the following:
(i) Documentation of completion of a minimum
						  of 20 hours of training annually. For direct service workers who complete the
						  CORE training during the county agency's training year, the county agency shall
						  prorate the number of required training hours that a direct service worker
						  shall take in the county agency's training year schedule.
(A) Training content shall be based on the
						  annual administration of an assessment of individual training needs and the
						  development of an individual training plan.
(B) Ongoing training, as identified in the
						  individual training plan, may be obtained through the training program,
						  provided by a county agency or obtained through another provider.
(ii) Courses from an accredited
						  school of social work which are successfully completed by a direct service
						  worker shall be acceptable in meeting the ongoing certification
						  requirements.
(iii) The county
						  agency shall maintain a record of training required for ongoing certification,
						  including the needs assessment, training plan and courses attended in the
						  employe's personnel file.
(iv) The
						  date of initial certification for grandfathered workers is June 30,
						  1996.
(9) The county
						  agency shall provide its direct service workers the opportunity to obtain
						  initial and ongoing certification status.
(10) The county agency may not allow an
						  employe who fails to achieve or maintain certified status to perform direct
						  service duties.