The Academy: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Preservice Training for Child Welfare Professionals in Florida

Abstract The primary purpose of this research study is to develop and test the initial acceptability and feasibility of a novel preservice training for new child welfare professionals in the process of becoming certified child protective investigators (CPIs) and case managers (CMs). The secondary purpose is to conduct exploratory research on the training and support needs of new child welfare professionals to better understand the understudied context and ecological factors associated with early child welfare worker preparation and support. This research utilizes phases and strategies of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework (Aarons et al., 2014) and user-centered design (Lyon & Koerner, 2016) to guide the design and trial of this training intervention for child welfare professionals.