Staff Development Package for

new starter caseworkers

Greg Egan – Last Updated 6/9/2006

Major Resources used to develop this package:

• Staff Induction Checklist.
• http://docsonline.dcs.gov.au/induction/induction.htm
• Caseworker Job Description from DOCS Online.
• PPR New starter generic form from DOCS Online.
• http://docsonline.dcs.gov.au/ppr/ppr_index.htm
• CDC’s Training recommendations for new caseworkers form on DOCS Online.
• CDC Caseworker Assessment Report on DOCS online.
• CDC Website:
• http://docsonline.dcs.gov.au/learn_dev/cdc_index.htm
• Results of some questionnaires completed by caseworkers and managers.
• Informal interviews with staff around various issues and ideas within Liverpool CSC.
• A number of other reports and discussion papers not officially released were also
reviewed to help develop conceptual ideas for this document.
• Various research and literature which is to be included in a CD with this package as
well as other relevant resources or reports of interest for new staff.
• Child Protection Casework Core Competency List developed by Greg Egan.
 Staff Induction for new Caseworkers Prior to First Supervision:

1. Internal Staff Induction folder Given

- Given on First day of arrival.

Note: Could also add a Contains: All administration

extra section in induction
folder called: “Guide to
Internal Office
Procedures &
Resources.” – Covered
partly in the Internal
Office Manual.
-Other documentation as deemed relevant at time of induction.
-General Info Working Public Service eg: working conditions. tasks completed by
-Organisational charts first week.
-Staff Development Package (Under Training) - Greg
-Copy PPR new starter
-General policies eg: OH&S, Code of Conduct etc.
-Copy latest corporate info / plans / strategies
-Induction Checklist

2. Other Induction Activities

In any Order & and some areas could be done in groups if multiple staff started at same time.

-Staff member is introduced to all staff in office by a person selected by Management in the first week, and officially introduced at
first staff meeting.
-Staff member is booked in with the senior customer service officer or nominated person to have general office procedures &
administrative procedures explained.
-Staff member is booked in with specialists to have a general chat about their role and on any other issues selected by Management
at time.
-Staff member is booked in with office psychologist to have role explained.
-Staff member is booked in with the Legal officer to have role explained.
-Staff member is booked in with Client service manager to have a general chat about docs organisation overall. Also utilise this as a
way to officially welcome the new staff member into the office, and make them feel like they are part of a team.
 3. Activities Prior to first supervision:
Occurs within First 2 weeks

-Staff member is asked to complete the skills Audit Questionnaire and activities associated with it.
-Staff member is asked to complete KIDS online training as soon as they get a login for a computer.
-Staff member is asked to review Induction package as well as getting familiar with DOCS Online.
-Staff member starts to Undertake some suggested tasks within the skills list as a primary or secondary depending on the task and
under the guidance of the Manager or a trained caseworker or specialist and time available.
-Staff member is booked into CDC and local Induction training.

4. First Official Supervision:

(Occurs within first month.)

-By this time the new caseworker should have completed the activities from the skills audit questionnaire, and reviewed the skills list,
core competency list and PPR for new starter, and thought about what they bring to the job, and areas for further development.
Learning goals should be set down at this point, to be reviewed at the next supervision.
-The Manager should discuss training issues with the staff member and put a training plan into place with the caseworker until they are
able to start CDC, then modify it as required. This could be done in the form of a learning plan.
-An agreement around how supervision will be conducted should also be formed at this stage and a formal supervision agenda be
formed with the caseworker for future supervisions.
-Discussions around what the manager expects of their staff, and also what the new caseworker is expecting of their manager should
be discussed openly at this point and put into any relevant supervision agreements which could be typed up and put into the
caseworkers file.
-From this point Suggestions from the Caseworker core competency list and the core competency skills / knowledge development to
help guide to learning activities.
-Note: If Supervision was weekly in the first month this process could be spread out abit more over this period, though its better if it is
completed within the first 2 weeks to make sure it is done.
 Liverpool CSC Staff Development Package:

How Its Used:

1. Staff member completes skills Audit on self:

a.) What does this involve?

-Completing a questionnaire on what skills / knowledge they bring to the job from education, life experience and on job
training.
-Completing 2 Learning style Questionnaires, and reflecting on learning styles.
Reading through Core Competency List for a Child Protection Caseworker & Child Protection Caseworker Core
Competency / skills & knowledge Development tool: (For Managers & Caseworkers), & Comparing what they bring to job
with what they need to learn.
-Thinking about their career plan and where they want to be a few years from now, and what skills they may need to
develop to reach their goals.
b.) What will these activities achieve or assist with?
-This should start developing a caseworkers skill to be self analytical, of their strengths and weaknesses at a professional
and personal level as well as being able to identify areas for development. As the more self analytical a caseworker is the
easier it is to be able to identify training needs and direct them more efficiently down the right development pathways.
-This should start to get a caseworker thinking about the skills / knowledge they currently have developed throughout their
life and where they wish to go from here professionally. As well as starting to reflect on their preferred learning styles and
how these could be used to assist them in developing their skills in the current role.
-This should start to develop the caseworkers understanding of the skills / knowledge needed to do this job, and give them
ideas on how to develop these skills, and give them some guidance in taking more self initiative in their learning and
development.
-Managers should start to have a clearer idea of what skills / knowledge the new caseworker brings to the job, and what
areas they need to work on with the caseworker to develop them professionally. Inturn enabling them to create a more
effective PPR when the time comes to undertake this.
-Should help in creating an atmosphere of open communication & trust maybe able to be developed right from the
beginning with the new caseworker.
 Staff member completes skills Audit on self: (Continued)

Why the skills audit questionnaire / activities was developed:

-Exit surveys show that we as departmental staff are not always taking into account previous experience of new workers,
This skills audit is designed to make the caseworker think about what they bring to the job, and talk to the manager about
their responses to the skills audit questionnaire so that the manager is fully aware of what skills / knowledge the new
worker brings and then how to better target training more.
-From my own observations, and also talking to staff throughout the department we have real need to increase the ability of
new workers to be more self reflective in their practice, and in their own activities. This initial skills audit questionnaire, and
activities starts that process by making the manager analyze and assess themselves. By making more reflective
caseworkers we will create better caseworkers, and better professionals overall.
-Managers need to be aware of their workers career plans so that PPR can be better designed and targeted to meet the
workers needs. To do this we need to create an environment where caseworkers feel comfortable talking about their own
plans and goals. This processes starts that by allowing the new worker to talk openly about their background and where
they would like to end up.
-In training new staff we need to understand how they learn and absorb information better, so that managers can target
learning and development more efficiently. Plus by helping the caseworkers to understand their own learning styles they
are able to development themselves more effectively.

Core Competencies / CPCW Core Competency Knowledge / Skills

Staff Development tool & Form:
Why the Core Competencies / CPCW Core Competency Knowledge / Skills Staff Development tools were developed:
-Caseworkers and Managers need goals to aim towards in the caseworkers development and the Core Competencies will give
them the goals they need to aim towards. Up until now we have had no real clear goals to aim towards into developing a
caseworker.
-Managers are not all natural trainers, and caseworkers do not always know where to start in their learning, so the CPCW Core
Competency Knowledge / Skills Staff Development tool was developed to give some base ideas for managers and caseworkers
on how they could start to learn to build on their skill base to eventually meet all the core competencies.
-The Core Competency form was further developed to be used as a self reflection tool for the caseworker to fill in prior to every
supervision in the first 12 months, so that this could encourage self reflection, help guide learning, and also give the caseworker
and manager a clear understanding of the areas of development.
-These tools also help caseworkers overall develop a better understanding of the skills and knowledge needed to be a effective
caseworker, create a lot of self reflection, promote the use of initiative in learning, and share the learning around generally.
 2. After the initial Supervision session

-Taking into account workloads of the manager, managers should start thinking about training needs of the
new caseworker and structuring tasks around these learning goals taking into account departmental
restrictions on new caseworker activities.
-Managers and caseworkers could Utilise the core competency list & Child Protection Worker Core Competency
skills/Knowledge Development tool to assist in deciding which learning activities are more appropriate for the
particular caseworker, to assist them in meeting various learning goals set down in supervision.
-Buddy systems, and mentoring systems should be utilised where possible to assist staff in their learning.
-Caseworkers should be encouraged in the early days to take the initiative to assist in the development of their
own skills. Eg: If they identify a activity being undertaken within the office that could assist them in their
learning, they should be encouraged to approach the manager and discuss such ideas.
-The learning process should really start to be more structure right from this point onwards.

3. The First 12 months

- The Core Competency Form could be used as a way to monitor the Child Protection Worker Core Competency

skills/Knowledge Development tool of new caseworkers, and use in conjunction with PPR and the current
supervision form.
- Suggested way of form use: Caseworker reviews themselves and completes form prior to supervision each
month, then discusses this with manager and where they need to go from here learning wise. This will help with
them becoming more self analytical and also giving a good basis to start each supervision session on. A new
one will be completed each month and copy kept with manager and caseworker. (This will also take into account
the potential for staff to have multiple managers as new managers could clearly see where previous managers
had left off in the caseworkers development.)
- If the form is utilised as a basis for looking at skill development this will also assist the manager and
caseworker as a tool to be able to clearly note where a caseworker is at in their professional development and
also identify areas that need to be worked on.
 4. Overall Potential Benefits to using this staff development
program:
a.) Identifies early on skills / knowledge a caseworker brings to the job and their varying experiences, and areas
for development.
b.) Assists the manager and caseworker understand preferred learning styles of a new caseworker.
c.) Identifies early on potential career plans for new staff so that the new staff member has clear goals to work
towards.
d.) Creates a more open environment of communication between manager and caseworker in discussing
developmental issues.
e.) Teaches a new caseworker right from the beginning the importance of self analysis in their professional
development, and practice, and helps them understand the importance of reflective and constructive feedback
from their peers and supervisors.
f.) Can help Structure and guide the learning process of a caseworker more effectively within their first 12 months
to help them develop their skills and knowledge more broadly.
g.) Can help create a team atmosphere and team bonding with learning activities being spread out between
managers, trained caseworkers and specialists. Team members get to know new staff, and new staff get to know
their fellow workers.
h.) Caseworkers should feel more supported and guided in their training and development.
i.) Trained staff get to develop mentoring skills, and also have some work load lightened with work being
allocated to new staff as a training tool.
j.) May increase retention rates within a office.
k.) The tool has a degree of flexibility in it, in that caseworker and manager can decide what areas to focus on in
the caseworkers development and move from their.
l.) Gives new managers & acting managers ideas on how to train and develop caseworkers.

5. Overall Negatives of using this staff development program:

a.) This program is quite labour intensive and involves a lot more time being put aside for learning and training
within those first 12 months then current practices.
b.) It will require utilising more office resources overall to train a new staff member.
 Tools/Resources Used:
Overall Staff Development
1. PPR
Program Flowchart 1:
2. Area Supervision Form (Monthly)
Last Update: 18/8/06
3. Skills Audit Questionnaire (Completed first 2 weeks.)
& Learning style Questionnaire.
Works in conjunction with
4. Core Competency List & Form (Monthly) Induction Policies &
- Completed by caseworker reviewed in supervision. Procedures ,Supervision, PPR
5. CPCW Core Competency Skills/Knowledge & CDC.
Development tool.
Utilised for first 12 months of
6. CDC Assessment form. (End of CDC)
on job training.
7. Utilise office skills, mentoring and buddy systems.
8. Induction Checklist

Induction: Pre - CDC During CDC End of CDC End of 12

months:

By the time 1. Complete 1. Review current

1. Guide learning
CDC occurs a CDC skill base
using tools.
staff member Assessment utilising
Key concepts: hopefully has 2. Allocate tasks form. previous
started to related to CDC completed
1. Manager gets to know caseworker better develop their Training. 2. Review current core
through skills audit and learning style skills and skill base competency
questionnaires. In knowing & understanding 3. Review and
working on utilising this forms.
staff better we can better work with them, redirect
developing on assessment &
and structure learning, and improve learning plan 2. Identify areas
skills in the core previous
communication. as needed. for
competencies. completed
development.
2. Acknowledge prior learning & Skills brought core
to job. Utilise initial skill base where competency 3. Redirect
appropriate. forms. learning plan
in PPR.
3. Design a learning plan at this point in time. 3. Redirect learning
Start to undertake learning and 4. Final use of
Plan as
development of new staff. core
required.
competency
4. First PPR is designed from information forms.
gathered from skills audit.
 Overall Staff Development Program Flowchart 1.2:
Updated 30/8/2006
Staff Develop Kit breakdown

3.
1. 2. 4. 5.
Child Protection
Skills Audit Core Competency Caseworker Core Supervision Develop a Learning
Questionnaire and List & Form Competency / skills & Plan during first
Activities knowledge Development supervision
tool.
- The Core
In this activity:
Competency List gives - This is a tool used to -In the first -During the first
-Caseworker self a outline of the basic help give managers supervision all the supervision Manager
analyses own skills required of a and caseworkers information obtained and caseworker
current skill base, caseworker. ideas on how to start from the Skills Audit develop a learning
and learning styles, with developing a Questionnaire and plan or set learning
- The form is used as a
and compares to caseworkers skill activities can be goals from
extra tool where
core competencies base. discussed. information obtained
caseworker and
of a caseworker. in the skills audit.
manager can make -Supervision
-Self reflection notes on skill agreement put into -Learning goals set
involved here as progression. Could be place here. for next supervision.
well. reviewed monthly.
- Caseworker also 6. 7. 8. 9.
thinks about there
own career goals PPR Developed CDC Starts End of CDC Learning reviewed
here. against Core
Review using CDC
Competencies.
Assessment Form

- PPR Developed - Tasks allocated by

- Complete CDC End of 12 months
from information management to
assessment form, Complete a full review of
obtained from skills caseworker to meet
and then review core all core competencies
audit and also from individual learning
competencies in using the core
first supervision. goals and also CDC
conjunction with this competency form to help
learning goals.
to target areas of guide future learning &
development. modify PPR as required.
 Note: In first week casework
Staff Development Program Flowcharts 2 activity should be kept at 2
Last Update: 28/8/2006 casework related events at a
maximum so other relevant
If staff member from a Prior to Start & Week 1 induction can be completed.
different Office follow
staff movement Getting Staff Member set up at Work
procedures. Utilise Staff Induction Checklist & Staff Development
Package Included in
Procedures during this first week. this.
OR Prior to Start Date:
2. 4.
1. 3.
Manager to notify Organise appropriate support
Manager gets new staff Organise desk &
reception/security of new staff for first day, arrange an
member setup on SAP appropriate Clerical
staff members start date, Induction Folder &
HR so can logon on Equipment for new staff
details & organise appropriate documentation for
first day member.
appropriate security tags. the new staff member.

By First Day:

5.
Arrange Meetings with
appropriate staff & look
at Mentor options.
6.
Complete appropriate
enter on duty forms,
and obtain items from
Point 3 & 4.
7.
Nominate a Staff member
introduced the new
worker to staff & shown
around the office.
8.
New staff member to be
informed of relevant office
procedures / facilities.

By end of First week Staff Development Project

9. Obtain & Review Info on 10. Review key office policies

-OH&S Info & Risk Management -Code of Conduct & Ethics

-Emergency Response
-Workplace Injury Management Compensation
-Other Info deemed relevant.
11. Complete Skills Audit
-Computer Management Questionnaire & Activities.
-EE0, OHS, Protected discloses,
Resolving work place grievances
& Study Assistance Policy.
 Staff Development Program Flowcharts
2.1
Last Update: 29/8/2006
Week 2:
This week is spent completing the skills audit questionnaires and activities, and
continuing to get familiar with DOCS policies and procedures.

1. 2. 3. 4.
AND,
Complete Skills Audit New worker to review Review of Policies and OR Manager to set down
Questionnaire and their responses to the Procedures to continue in some learning activities
activities. Skills Audit this week.
For new caseworker to
Questionnaire and
undertake.
activities.

A time is book in with the caseworker to sit down and discuss the outcome of the
Skills Audit Questionnaire and Activities so that a learning plan can be put into
place for the caseworker. This meeting should occur within the first few weeks or
first supervision session. The Core Competencies and Core Competency Skills
Development tool are used as resources to help plan the relevant activities the new
caseworker is to start undertaking.
-If supervision was given weekly for the first month these activities could be spread
over several supervision sessions.
 Suggested Positive Outcomes if Program Used 1:
Outcomes for New Caseworker:

-CPCW’s will developed skills in a structure way, with guidance and support. (Development should
occur globally across all competencies due to a focus on developing them, instead of training being
ad-hoc.)

-Learning Goals can be more clearly set as we now have goals in the form of Core competencies to aim
towards.

-At end of 12 months areas for development will be able to be clearly developed.
CPCW’s moral and motivation should be higher as they have received a high level of guidance and
support in their first 12 months.

-Initiative in staff to seek out opportunities to learn and generally should increase due to the nature of
the program to encourage initiative and self learning.

-CPCW’S ability to self analyse and self reflect should increase due to the nature of the program, inturn
improving quality of supervision, and CPCW’s ability to learn.

-CPCW’S confidence should increase in undertaking day to day tasks due to constant feedback and
reflective discussions occurring during the learning process. Eg: So after 12 months CPCW’s should
be less reliant on managers due to having been initially guided in their learning to undertake tasks
correctly in the first place.

-Burnout and stress levels should be generally reduced in those first 12 months due to more structured
programs being put in place to support and train new staff and their progress being monitored.
 Suggested Positive Outcomes if Program Used:

Outcomes for Office:

-Practice should improve due to increase in caseworker skill level after that 12 month period.

-This process should also increase more experienced caseworkers skill base as they are being used to
help improve new caseworker skill bases. (Creating a custom course in mentoring and training for more
experience caseworkers would benefit this tool. Grade 7’s and specialists could also be put through this course
then as part of the requirements of their position.)

-Managers skill base in assessing the training and other needs of staff should increase due to the
generally use of the tool, and the mindset involved in its use. And the Manager should develop a better
understanding of their staff members through the tools use.

-This program works along side, and with PPR, Supervision and CDC.

-Takes into account multiple managers, as if the core competency forms are always completed then the
next acting manager should be able to review and look back on how the caseworker has been
developing.

-Program will prevent boredom as new workers will always be undertaking tasks of various sorts, to
meet there learning goals.

-Team dynamics should improve due to the utilisation of the office staff generally, to support the
development of new staff.

- Managers within a office will be better able to identify the overall skill base of their staff and being
thinking how to utilise them better.
 Other useful points for Managers:

1. Managers as a team should understand the skill base they currently hold within the office so that they can utilise
this skill base to assist in development of new staff, as well as knowing what resources they have available to
them generally. Overall know your staff, and have them know you, and overall organisational effectiveness
should increase.
2. Managers should encourage initiative in new staff, to help them build confidence and skills.
3. When allocating tasks think of how this task will develop a caseworkers skill base and meet their learning goals.
4. A caseworker should never undertake a major task for the first time on their own unless they have been exposed
to this as a secondary or been mentored in the processes prior.
5. Understand we assess clients all the time, and if we are good at this then we should be able to assess
caseworkers strengths and areas for develop just as well. As some of these skills are transferable.
6. The Major weakness is that this program is time intensive though can produce longer term beneficial results,
including potentially less staff turnover. As research on induction states that the more intensive the induction
process and initial training and support provided is the better that organisation is able to retain staff overall after
3 years.
7. Gibbs (2005) points out that some of the major reasons for staff burnout and turnover in the field of child project
is due to lack of adequate support and supervision for new staff. So inturn it goes without saying that the better
the support and training is the more likely we are able to retain staff.