The third annual Virtual Expo supports workforce development and consists of materials and presentations around “Fostering a Healthy Workforce.” Whether learning as an individual or group, child welfare staff will have the opportunity to hear from experts, access valuable resources, connect new knowledge to their work, and identify goals for improving their own practice and the work of their teams.

Ensuring child welfare worker safety is a complex concern. Doing so encompasses not only taking measures to prevent the threat or reality of physical violence, but also promoting psychological and emotional safety, as well as resilience, within the workplace. A training simulation activity aims to mimic the conditions and content of a task that a worker will encounter while on the job. The innovation of simulation training for child welfare workers can also assist in developing vital skills and approaches that can prepare a worker for the threat or reality of physical violence. Simulations also lead to better outcomes for children and families. This session aims to highlight three different types of simulations that are being used throughout the country to train and build the skill of workers that both mimic the conditions and content that a worker will encounter while on the job.

The session will be followed by a half hour virtual session that will highlight a Center Universal Services Product: “Simulation in Child Welfare Training: Moving Beyond Role Play”. In addition, the session presenters will be on hand to facilitate virtual reflections about how to implement simulation labs, virtual labs, readiness assessments as pre-work to implementation, and other associated topics.