Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare

Chapter 1: Introduction 7

The coaching described in this toolkit is

formal; it is focused, goal-oriented, and

performance-driven.

The toolkit describes coaching approaches and models that can
be used for the following purposes:

 Newly employed staff learning county protocol and procedures.

 Career practitioners who want to improve current practice or
learn new skills.

 Agency leadership who seek organizational growth.

The need for coaching in child welfare services

Social workers must constantly use critical decision-making skills as
they face a multiplicity of needs and issues when working with
families. Implementation science researchers claim that “human
services are far more complex than any other industry” (Fixsen,
Blasé, Naoom, & Wallace, 2009, p. 531). When making a program or
practice change in the field of child welfare, all practitioners must
adopt the change. The practitioner is the focus of the change itself
(Fixsen, et al., 2009). Child welfare staff need advanced critical
decision-making skills that cannot be taught in a one-time training.