Evaluation Overview

NTI piloted the trainings in 9 sites in 2017-2018:

California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington, and the Cherokee Nation.

  • The training pilot for Child Welfare Professionals ended January 30, 2018 with over 6,000 participants and a completion rate of 73%. See Child Welfare Infographic.
  • The training pilot for Mental Health Professionals ended September 30, 2018 with over 2,500 participants.

Researchers with the University of Maryland School of Social Work evaluated the user experience, including satisfaction, relevance, ease of use, and infusion of adoption mental health competency in practice. At the systems-level, researchers evaluated the implementation and integration experience, including cost benefit. The evaluation found that participants of NTI experienced significant knowledge gains and reported specific ways they improved their practice as a result of NTI. Based on evaluation and feedback from the pilot, refinements have been made to each training in preparation for the national launch of NTI. Click here to see the list of lead contacts in each of our pilot sites.

Publications & Reports: NTI Training Effectiveness

1) Rudd Adoption Research Paper

In April 2019, the Rudd Adoption Research Program published a research paper, “Building an Adoption Competent Workforce: A Review of the National Adoption Competency” written by the Director of NTI, Dawn Wilson, the CEO of C.A.S.E., Debbie Riley, and The University of MD School of Social Work researcher, Bethany Lee.

 

2) Overview of Pilot Data Highlights for both Child Welfare and Mental Health Trainings

The following report summarizes NTI’s impact on the 2,403 mental health professionals and 5,163 child welfare professionals who piloted NTI and participated in the evaluation during 2017 and 2018. The pilot sites included: California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, and the Cherokee Nation.

 

Click HERE for Highlight of NTI Evaluation Findings Report

 

 

Funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Grant #90CO1121.
The contents of this website do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funder, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families, including the impact of loss and trauma on attachment, brain development, and behavior. NTI also provides strategies and tools that parents and caregivers can use to support their child’s healing and strengthening of attachment. NTI is also exploring the possibility of creating an adaption for parents/caregivers.

NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families, including the impact of loss and trauma on attachment, brain development, and behavior. This understanding can assist school social workers, school counselors, and educators to understand youth behavior in the context of the child’s early experiences and provide strategies to support the child, youth and family.

NTI has a new training adaption for educators: School-based Mental Health Professionals Training. Schools and school districts can get free resources to support the well-being of K-12 students!

NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families, including the impact of loss and trauma on attachment, brain development, and behavior as well as the connection between early adverse experiences and current functioning and physical and emotional health.

NTI is also exploring the possibility of creating an adaption for medical professionals.

NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families, including the impact of loss and trauma on attachment, brain development, and behavior. This knowledge will help inform permanency placement decisions.

NTI is also exploring the possibility of creating an adaption for court officials.

The Training for Child Welfare Professionals will assist CASA and GAL volunteers and staff to understand the impact of trauma, loss and grief, breaks in attachment, identity formation, on children and youth as well as the specific challenges experienced by transracial/transcultural families
Social workers interact with individuals and families who have experienced adoption in many different settings. NTI provides a foundational understanding on the unique and core issues of adoption to better meet the needs of children, youth and families in foster, adoptive, guardianship and kinship relationships.

Children and youth experiencing foster care and adoption are over-represented in RTCs and are often misdiagnosed or prescribed psychotropic medications for symptoms that relate to trauma experiences and unresolved loss and grief. NTI training will prepare staff to understand and address the issues relating to loss, grief, trauma, breaks in attachment, identity formation, etc.

Children and youth experiencing foster care and adoption are often misdiagnosed or over-prescribed psychotropic medications when their symptoms relate to trauma experiences and unresolved loss and grief. NTI will prepare staff to understand and address the issues relating to loss, grief, trauma, breaks in attachment, identity formation, etc... that children in foster care, adoption or guardianship may be experiencing. NTI also creates system change by improving collaboration between the child welfare and mental health service systems through aligned curriculum that uses shared language and provides understanding about the impact of loss and trauma on attachment and behavior.

NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families. NTI also creates system change by improving collaboration between the child welfare and mental health service systems through aligned curriculum that uses shared language and provides understanding about the impact of loss and trauma on attachment and behavior.

Adoption is a lifelong journey and the core issues of adoption can impact the family through developmental stages from childhood into adulthood.  NTI provides training to increase the knowledge, values and skills critical to understanding and supporting families post adoption to enhance family stability and well-being.

NTI provides a foundational understanding of the core issues impacting children and youth and their foster and adoptive families, including the impact of loss and trauma on attachment, brain development, and behavior. NTI provides strategies for addressing the loss and grief issues inherent in adoption (for all members of the triad) and how important is it to prepare families for developmental challenges ahead.

NTI provides staff across the child welfare continuum with free training that focuses on understanding the impact of loss and trauma on attachment and behavior. NTI provides effective strategies for working with children, youth, and parents to address the challenges that often lead to placement changes in foster care and disruption or dissolution in adoption.

NTI provides free online training that is consistent with FFPSA requirements for a skilled, competent, trauma-informed workforce and addresses several CFSR indicators. Because it is web-based, NTI is accessible to staff throughout your jurisdiction on-demand.

NTI also creates system change by improving collaboration between the child welfare and mental health service systems through aligned curricula that uses shared language and provides shared understanding about the impact of loss and trauma on attachment and behavior.

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