{"id":32412,"date":"2025-12-17T08:30:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/?p=32412"},"modified":"2026-06-24T17:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:58:09","slug":"formacion-en-supervision-de-calidad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/quality-supervision-training-supports\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfC\u00f3mo pueden las agencias de protecci\u00f3n infantil apoyar una supervisi\u00f3n de calidad?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What I hear time and time again is if you have a good, supportive supervisor, whatever that means to each individual, that\u2019s really what drives the most employee success and the best employee experience.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Amy Davidson, Deputy Director, Summit County (Ohio) Children Services<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Effective supervision is essential to the effectiveness of the child welfare workforce. Quality supervision ensures that caseworkers have necessary skills and knowledge to accurately assess family strengths and safety concerns, make sound decisions, and develop and implement effective service plans.2<\/sup><\/a> Supervisors support the well-being of staff, help caseworkers manage secondary trauma from being exposed to child and family crises, create boundaries to protect personal time, and help staff advance in their careers.<\/p>\n

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Supervisors also may serve as mentors and coaches, assist on hiring panels, conduct performance reviews, and be involved in the administration of policy and practice changes. In sum, effective supervisors are equal parts educators, administrators, emotional supporters, case managers, and champions of their staff.<\/p>\n

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The supervisor\u2019s role is critical throughout a workers\u2019 time in an agency. Studies have documented the importance of supervision to employee retention in the first year,3<\/sup><\/a> as well as for staff who have been in their job for five years or more.4<\/sup><\/a> An analysis on supervision in child welfare, behavioral health, and social work found that effective supervision is related significantly to positive outcomes for caseworkers.5<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Anecdotal research<\/a> also demonstrates that support from supervisors matters, but supervisors also need to be supported in order to succeed in their positions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Supervisor turnover<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

In a study of more than 30,000 child welfare caseworkers (based on data from 46 states from 2003 to 2015), about 20% of supervisors left the job every year with the average tenure at 2.5 years, and in most states, supervisors carried their own caseload.6<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0This data does not reflect the additional turnover and related strain placed on supervisors during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the so-called \u201cgreat resignation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retaining supervisors can be challenging for many of the same reasons that caseworker turnover<\/a> is so high (excessive workload, trauma, burnout). High rates of staff turnover during and shortly after the pandemic increased stress on supervisors. That contributed to a higher than typical number of supervisors exiting their positions, which in turn led to more people with less tenure and experience moving into supervisory roles.7<\/sup><\/a> Additionally, many highly skilled caseworkers may have opted to remain in their frontline positions instead of welcoming the added responsibility of being a supervisor.8<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

To support retention, child protection agencies provide training for supervisors on topics ranging from human resource matters to reflective supervision practice. In addition to training, agencies looking to retain supervisors and strengthen their practice offer supervisors additional support, such as peer networks and self-care resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Training for supervisors<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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Training is a go-to strategy to support the child welfare workforce. A competency-based training approach ensures trainees are learning the specific knowledge and behavioral skills required to perform the functions of the job. An organization first must identify supervisor job competencies \u2014 specific statements of awareness, knowledge, or skill that will be achieved \u2014 so that these competencies are adequately represented in trainings. The curricula then should include learning objectives that reflect specific dimensions of each competency. A robust menu of training opportunities is necessary to build supervisory competence and advance the professional development of supervisors over time.9<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Supervisor onboarding<\/h3>\n

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Some jurisdictions have created programs for new supervisors to build knowledge and peer support. Colorado<\/strong>, for example, launched a New Supervisor Academy: Foundations in Leadership<\/a> course in 2022 (see box).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Strengthening supervisor training in Colorado<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0New Supervisor Academy: Foundations in Leadership<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0Colorado<\/strong>\u00a0explores both the adaptive and technical elements of leading in child welfare. This six-week, 49-hour learning experience includes an orientation, adaptive leadership workshop, pre-work and technical sessions, small group meetings, an independent project, and a closing session. All participants are expected to read the Supervisor Manual prior to the orientation. The training is led by the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect.<\/p>\n

Eighty-four people participated in the\u00a0New Supervisor Academy<\/em>\u00a0in state fiscal year 2025. Post-training knowledge test scores averaged 80.4, a 17-point improvement over the pre-test average of 63.5.<\/p>\n

According to participants, the Independent Learning Project and 3-day Adaptive Leadership Workshop were the most effective portions of the\u00a0Academy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Minnesota<\/strong> plans to launch a new supervisor onboarding<\/a> pilot in 2026. Designed for supervisors within their first year of the job, the training includes two courses with a mix of virtual and in-person sessions to cover the technical, supportive, educational, and administrative aspects of supervision. These programs build on the core supervisory training model in their jurisdiction. Some new supervisor trainings also are covering topics such as adaptive leadership, leading from the middle, and how to focus on empathy.<\/p>\n

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Ongoing training<\/h3>\n

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Supervisor training in child welfare should cover a variety of topics including leadership, practice model implementation, evidence-based practices, critical thinking, and management strategies. Examples of ongoing training include:<\/p>\n