Butler Institute For Families

Western Workforce aims to improve the workforce and organizational health at pilot sites in Colorado, Wyoming, and Tribal Nations in North Dakota through a multi-level intervention.

Project Timeframe: October 1, 2008 – September 30, 2014

Project Summary:

The Western Workforce Project is designed to create and test a workforce assessment and intervention model focused on organizational health. The overall goals and approach of the Western Workforce are to:

• Develop, conduct, and test a comprehensive organizational health assessment
• Develop an intervention model to address workforce issues, initiated and designed by teams at each site
• Build a learning culture at each site through the development of “learning circles”
• Provide professional educational opportunities by offering BSW and MSW traineeships at all sites and integrating stipend students into site teams

The U.S. Children’s Bureau (Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services) awarded funding for five National Child Welfare Workforce Initiatives in October 2008. The Butler Institute for Families University of Denver, in partnership with the Native American Training Institute (NATI), was awarded one of these five-year cooperative agreements.

Through the Western Workforce Project, the Butler Institute and Native American Training Institute work collaboratively at child welfare sites and institutions of higher learning in Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota.

Partners:

University of Denver Butler Institute for Families (Project Lead) and the Native American Training Institute, Bismarck, North Dakota. The following project sites have been chosen to represent a range of organizational and geographic realities in the western U.S.

• Denver County (Colorado), Department of Human Services (DDHS); Metro State College and University of Denver
• Casper, Wyoming, Department of Family Services, and University of Wyoming
• North Dakota Tribes: Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (Three Affiliated Tribes), Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; University of North Dakota, Turtle Mountain Tribal College, and Minot State University

Funded/Sponsored by:

Western Workforce is a Comprehensive Workforce Project Funded through a Cooperative Agreement between the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver and the U.S. DHHS/ACF Children’s Bureau, Grant #90CT0146.

Contact Information: Linda.Metsger@du.edu or (303) 871-2910

Print this Infographic (PDF)

Print this Infographic (PDF)

We have designed and created the following instruments for this project. Please contact Linda.Metsger@du.edu or (303) 871-2910 if you would like more information on these instruments.

• Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment (COHA) Instrument
  • A validated instrument used to assess organizational climate and culture within an agency.  It includes individual, unit, and organizational scales measuring a variety of areas research has indicated impact organizational climate and culture.
• Learning Circle (LC) Surveys (at multiple time points):
  1. LC Survey for Coaches
     • An instrument coaches use to assess fidelity to the Learning Circle model.
  2. Denver LC Outcome & Monitoring Survey_Supervisors
     • An instrument completed by supervisors (LC Facilitators) to assess the fidelity to the learning circle model and the effectiveness of the model.
  3. Denver LC Outcome & Monitoring Survey_Staff
     • An instrument completed by Learning Circle participants to assess the fidelity to the learning circle model and the effectiveness of the model.

• Design Team Survey
  • A periodic survey completed by Design Team members to assess the overall functioning of the Design Team and its impact on agency functioning.

The following training was designed, developed, and delivered to support this project’s implementation. Please contact Linda.Metsger@du.edu or (303) 871-2910 if you would like more information on these products.

Training:

• Building a Learning Organization: Laying the Foundation
• Learning Circles Facilitator’s Training

We have designed and created the following products for this project. Please contact Linda.Metsger@du.edu or (303) 871-2910 if you would like more information on these products.

• Learning Circle Manual (PDF)
  •  A how-to manual containing the background, principles, approach, and corresponding forms to support a learning circle project.

• Design Team Manual (PDF)