Description

PROJECT/SYSTEM/PROGRAM OVERVIEW

• The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is in the process of replacing their current system, LINK, in order to comply with the federal rules for a Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) herein referred to as CT-KIND (Kid's Information Network Database), to receive federal reimbursement, and to update the technology used by agency staff to promote efficiency and improve family outcomes. The CT-KIND Project Team is a collaboration of Business, technical and vendor staff who are in the process of system planning, design, development, testing, conversion, implementation, and initial maintenance related to the replacement of LINK with CT-KIND. This work will allow Connecticut to continue work associated with the state's expansion of the human services modernization effort of leveraging technical infrastructure and existing enterprise service infrastructure for integration with CT-KIND, and the sun-setting of LINK. The agency is currently committed to developing the next generation CCWIS and has invested significant resources to ensure that Connecticut has efficient, economic and effective tools to aid our Child Welfare Staff, Providers and the children and families of Connecticut.
• The agency exited a federal consent decree in 2022 and there are currently a number of initiatives that will help support sustaining the progress and achievements made by DCF. DCF is shifting to a prevention framework under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) and has also developed a CT Child Safety Practice Model. The project is using a hybrid version of the Scaled Agile Framework for enterprises (SAFe) agile methodology for development efforts and is working with a vendor to implement a child welfare solution.
• DCF works in collaboration with the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (BITS) who provide technical expertise and services as well as an information systems infrastructure to the agency and its roughly 3,000 employees. BITS strives to improve continually improving technology services that are cost-effective and of the highest effectiveness and quality.

SCOPE OF WORK

• The candidate will serve in the capacity of a Senior Training Specialist collaborating with the technical and business staff on the CT-KIND Project in support of business processes for CT-KIND. This will require the candidate to analyze and complete documentation and training materials for CT-KIND in the area of child welfare, which includes: working collaboratively with the technical and vendor staff, regional and central office staff, DCF's Academy for Workforce Development (AWD) and community partners; participating and/or facilitating LEAN events or Business Process Mappings to map out business processes to streamline and reduce inefficiencies; assessing business readiness and participating in organizational change management activities; coordinating with social work staff for system development and design; coordinating closely with internal and external users; and, participating in communication and business readiness activities.
• The candidate may also be required to analyze and document policy, legislative and/or practice changes (as they pertain to training needs) and work with the policy, legal and/or change management divisions at DCF.
• Specifically, the candidate will be responsible for working with the project team, DCF staff, the AWD, community partners and interested parties to ensure training materials align with the new system and the content is relevant to the users and meets the business needs and criteria necessary for Child Welfare staff including but not limited to:
  • The analysis of business processes, change management and business organizational readiness initiatives to support the development of training materials for CT-KIND.
  • Works with the project sprint teams to fully engage the business partners to ensure a proper business functionality in the new system is documented and conveyed clearly to the users through different training methods.
  • Facilitation of focus groups, meetings, presentations/mapping events and/or design sessions.
  • Outreach to community partners/providers, including data exchanges/interfaces, for internal and external training needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

Specific Services Required:

• In the role of the Senior Training Specialist, the following services are minimally required.
• Proven ability to provide training materials/plans, guidance and expertise for IT/other projects in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Experience with piloting and testing Instructor Lead Training and self-paced course work.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to present/train on business and technical value, including collaboration with community partners/agencies.
• Must have very strong abstract thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Must be able to assess learning styles, training methods and needs of the users.
• Designs and develops work products such as instructor-led and web-based training curriculum, job aids, presentations, videos and announcements/newsletters.
• Identifies business trends and needs utilizing real data and staff feedback for training purposes.
• Communicates key insights and findings to team members.
• Deliver training in person, remotely and/or in collaboration with project and AWD staff for small (5-10 participants) and large groups (25+ participants).
• Assist with needs analysis, design, and development of training courses for agency staff, including instructor-led training, web-based training, job aids, and user guides.
• Evaluate effectiveness of training material and content delivery methods; identify and implement improvements as needed.
• Coordinates session logistics in collaboration with the CT-KIND Training Team and AWD.
• Ability to analyze training needs for CT-KIND Implementation and Post-Implementation requirements.
• Assist with the overall development of the training strategy and plan for the Project.
• Track and manage all training related risks and issues.
• Work closely with the Organizational Change Management (OCM) team to ensure all OCM analysis is utilized to support the best possible training approach, and participate in Business Organizational Readiness (BOR) activities.
• Assist with overseeing the vendor training deliverables.
• Excellent communication, presentation, collaboration, writing and interpersonal skills.
• Must be very organized, proactive, self-motivated and self-directed, and able to perform with minimal supervision.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

For this position, the candidate shares experience and intelligence in the field of child welfare/human services with the team to plan and accomplish goals, elicit customer/business feedback, as well as a provide training expertise and materials for internal and external parties. In addition, the agency requires an experienced professional demonstrating the following knowledge and skills:

• Bachelor's degree in human resource management, education, communication, social work or related field.
• Experience with Connecticut's child welfare policies and practices, including federal CCWIS regulations and compliance, preferred.
• Five (5) years or more experience designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating corporate learning materials and programs.
• Previous experience with government programs and agile development is a plus.
• Experience with e-learning software (such as Articulate) and learning management systems (Saba) preferred.
• Excellent understanding of adult learning and instructional design principles, best practices, and learning sciences particularly in the areas of training and facilitation methods.
• Ability to clearly convey concepts and strategies in verbal/written communications; able to simplify complexity and develop valuable and focused trainings.
• Must have proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, SharePoint and Outlook.
• Must possess excellent communication, organizational, and facilitation skills, and attention to detail.

ADMINISTRATIVE CONSIDERATIONS

• APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: An instructional design portfolio and/or equivalent collection of work samples (Articulate Storyline, PowerPoint, Storyboards, Training Materials, etc.)
• Work Schedule: 30-40 hours per week - Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM. Hybrid-remote schedule.
• **20% on site is required.
• State Resources and Oversight: This position is specific to the CT-KIND Project which is a division under the DCF Bureau of Strategic Planning. The selected candidate will report directly to the
• CT-KIND Training Lead, Elizabeth Stokes, DCF Program Supervisor.
• Security/Privacy Considerations: Comply with Vendor Qualification, DCF Child Protection Background Check, FBI Fingerprint Background Check and DCF Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreement
• General/Miscellaneous: N/A