Central California Training Academy
Common Core for Supervisors
Supervisor Core is a foundational training experience designed for newly promoted child welfare supervisors, though seasoned supervisors often find it equally valuable. This 10-day course equips participants with the essential skills, knowledge, and mindset needed to thrive in their leadership role and support their teams across the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
Aligned with the California Common Core for Supervisors, this training meets statewide requirements while offering an engaging and reflective learning environment. Through interactive activities, real-world scenarios, group discussions, and personal reflection, participants explore their leadership style, strengthen their practice, and connect training concepts to agency goals and values. Supervisor Core provides the space and structure for supervisors to grow with confidence and build a strong foundation for effective, informed, and compassionate leadership.
Supervisor Core Timeline
6 Hours
Goal: To demonstrate alignment with the California Integrated Core Practice Model (ICPM) as foundational to leadership and supervisory behaviors as you transition into your role of Supervisor.
This course focuses on the new role of a Supervisor in the environment they supervise. It explores:
- Your successes and challenges as a new Supervisor.
- The leadership behaviors detailed in the Integrated Core Practice Model.
- How to lead your team with an understanding of legislation and changing practice.
6 hours
Goal: To develop the ability to respond supportively and adapt your communication and behavior to complement those of the social worker.
This course focuses on the new role of a Supervisor in the environment they supervise. It explores:
- Your successes and challenges as a new Supervisor.
- The leadership behaviors detailed in the Integrated Core Practice Model.
- How to lead your team with an understanding of legislation and changing practice.
6 Hours
Goal: To develop skills in using inquiry and cultural humility to communicate openly and effectively in a way that facilitates understanding of trauma and individual differences.
This course focuses on quality supervision and concepts to improve open, respectful communication in a variety of contexts. It includes:
- The importance of supervision.
- Motivational Interviewing & Solution-Focused Inquiry.
- Communicating across differences.
6 Hours
Goal: To develop the ability to engage staff through the use of common, fundamental coaching skills.
This course focuses on the development of your coaching skills. It includes:
- Coaching skills and models.
- How to incorporate coaching into supervision.
- Practice with skills, models, and providing effective feedback.
6 Hours
Goal: To apply the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) within casework supervision to monitor progress toward desired outcomes.
This course focuses on data-driven decision making using a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approach. This course explores how you can navigate the use of data to support fair and equitable treatment of families. The training content and activities will guide you through:
- Navigating and troubleshooting data and performance issues using a solution-focused, continuous quality improvement approach.
- The leadership and social worker behaviors detailed in the Integrated Core Practice Model.
- The use of data as a tool to support culturally responsive practice and fair and equitable treatment of children and families.
6 Hours
Goal: To set, communicate, measure, and reinforce expectations related to performance to bring out the best in your team.
This course focuses on how to guide staff performance. While we may engage from time to time in the disciplinary aspect of performance management, supporting staff performance is ongoing and multifaceted. It includes setting and reinforcing expectations, ensuring that staff are sufficiently trained to meet those expectations, reducing performance barriers, and employing strategies for accountability.
6 Hours
Goal: To apply and support critical thinking skills and cultural humility to strengthen collaborative assessments.
This course focuses on critical thinking skills and cultural humility to strengthen collaborative assessments to support you in your new role as a supervisor. We will also identify strategies to recognize our own biases and address biases that we identify in our team’s practice.
6 Hours
Goal: To demonstrate strategies that ensure collaborative decision making with children, youth, and families.
This course will review tools for setting expectations with staff for consistent, high-quality consultations. We will learn how to facilitate balanced decision making by applying the concepts of critical thinking, neutralizing bias, and incorporating the voice of family and youth.
6 Hours
Goal: To develop ability to strengthen and develop your team’s ICPM Behaviors and skills by using the activities described in the Common Core Field Activities Guide.
This course focuses on how you can support the ongoing development of your staff, both individually and as a team. It includes:
- How to use the field activities to promote development in new and experienced staff.
- The stages of team development and strategies to support successful team development.
- How social worker ICPM behaviors are strengthened by your use of ICPM leadership behaviors.
3 Hours
Goal: To continually strengthen your supervisory practice by creating your professional development plan, which operationalizes the values of the ICPM.
This course provides a review of key concepts in the Supervisor Core and addresses ethical responsibilities of leaders. In addition, as the series ends, supervisors engage in crafting individual professional development plans for their ongoing training.