Building Cultural Competence in the Child Welfare Workforce: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Abstract

Cultural competence training has been suggested as one way to help address the over-representation of children of color in the child welfare system. This article describes findings from a mixed-methods study of specialized training in cultural competence knowledge, attitudes, and skills for experienced caseworkers in public child welfare. Results indicate training participants had statistically significant increases in knowledge across all topic areas related to cultural competence. Of particular note is the increase in participant knowledge of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and related changes in working with families and individuals.