Certificate Program
Certificate Program for Family Development and Case Management Summer Institutes for Head Start Programs
2021 dates TBA
We are on the Head Start website of providers of family development certificates. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/professional-development/article/certificate-associate-degree-programs-database
Yes, we will hold the Summer Institutes this year online. The classes will be available to you online via ZOOM. You can take the quizzes online.
California State University Certificate in Family Development for Family Workers in Head Start Programs Based on the HHS/ACF Office of Head Start PFCE Goals and Relationship Based Competencies
The Office of Head Start created the Parent, Family Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework to guide the work of local Head Start programs in their relationships with families. The OHS first published the Relationship Based Competencies (RBCs) in IM-12-05 and these were updated in 2018 with the addition of the new goal on leadership and advocacy, and changes in the RBCs. The RBCs are the knowledge, skills and actions that family workers need to implement the PFCE framework.
The Center for Community Futures conducts educational programs in family development that enable you to acquire the knowledge and skills described in the RBCs. Social work faculty and practitioners describe how social work theory and practices can be used to accomplish the RBCs. The content of these classes is based on the RBCs for Head Start family workers so it is directly related to your job. You can take any of these classes without participating in the full certificate program, or without registering for college credit. These classes can also provide Continuing Education Units for MFTs and LCSWs.
In collaboration with the California State University East Bay (CSUEB), the Center has designed a certification program for family workers based on the PFCE and the RBCs. The certification program enables family workers to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in all of the topic areas covered by the RBCs. There are four separate classes. Each is eligible for 2 college-semester credits from CSUEB. After completing the four courses (8 credit hours) the Certificate in Family Development is automatically issued by the California State University East Bay (CSUEB).
Most people will complete the four classes for the Certificate over a fifteen-month to eighteen-month period. You take the class in June at CSU or at your agency location (contact Jim for details), then do the homework/fieldwork class related to it over the following fall/winter. Then you take the second class in June of the following year, and complete the homework/fieldwork course related to it. Each participant who completes the four classes will receive the Certificate in Family Development from the California State University East Bay. CSUEB is a fully accredited institution. The 8 college credits are transferable toward an A.A. or B.A. degree. Everybody who has tried to transfer credits from CSUEB to their local university has been successful.
Each class is described below.
I. Basic Skills for Family Workers 1. Online instruction and small-group work. Course # EPSY 820C (click for required Contract Form). It is 2 semester credits. This class provides skill training on one-half of the RBC areas. This class covers the RBCs related to: culture, engagement, assessment, goal setting, and intervention including interventions in family crisis situations, leadership and advocacy, and data. These are PFCE Goals 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9. After each goal is discussed, the participant will take a true/false exam consisting of ten to twenty questions. All those who have attended the class will have the knowledge needed to pass these exams.
II. Professional Portfolio: Homework and Fieldwork, Part I. Course # EPSY 821C (click for required Contract Form). It is 2 semester credits. This will be completed back home after the first online training event. You will use your experience to develop answers to about 17 questions to demonstrate your competence on the RBCs covered in the first course. The homework is based on the information and interventions you learned in the class.
III. Basic Skills for Family Workers 2. Course # EPSY 822C (click for required Contract Form). It is 2 semester credits. This second Summer Institute class provides more skill training. This class covers the remaining RBCs. There are five goals covered. Their focus will be on working with families, coordinating and integrating services, family connections to the community, foundations for professional growth and transition from Head Start to Kindergarten, (PFCE Goals 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10).
IV. Professional Portfolio: Homework and Fieldwork, Part II. Course # EPSY 823C. It is 2 semester credits. Back home, each individual will answer 18 questions based on what they learned in the class, and will also develop:
An Autobiography (1-2 pages) and
Professional Resource File (A list of the agencies and other resources you use.) You send us the table of contents of your resource file, not the whole file.
After completing these four classes, the candidate will automatically receive the Certificate in Family Development from CSUEB. Each of these four elements is described in greater detail below.
The source of the RBCs is: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (2018). Relationship-based competencies to support family engagement: A guide for early childhood professionals who work with families. For more information about this resource, please contact: PFCE@ecetta.info | 1-866-763-6481
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/no-search/rbc-sfe-guide-pro-work-with-families.pdf The RBCs that are covered in each class/goal area are listed below.
SKILLS RELATED TO THE PFCE RELATIONSHIP BASED COMPETENCIES
For FAMILY WORKERS IN HEAD START PROGRAMS
NOTE: The goals are presented in a sequence based on faculty recommendations.
I. THE FIRST CLASS. Basic Skills for Family Workers 1.
This is a four-day course via Zoom. CSUEB Course # EPSY 820C (click for required Contract Form). It takes place on at Cal State University East Bay.
INTRODUCTION - Overview of Head Start PFCE Relationship Based Competencies
A True/False quiz at the end of each and every discussion of a goal based on the information presented in the workshop ensures that each participant is meeting core competency requirements.
Either during the class or after the class, students who want college credit may select either a pass/fail option or a letter-grade option. About 90% choose the letter-grade option. So far, of the 800 Head Start Family workers who have completed these classes, the only students who chose the pass-fail option were students whose first language was not English.
_____________________________________
II. THE SECOND CLASS. Homework and Field Work Part I. CSUEB Course # EPSY 823C (click for required Contract Form) (2 semester credits). Next, while at home and at work, the candidate will complete 17 statements of competence that are based on the subject matter and RBCs covered in the first class. These statements are written by the family worker in her or his own words for each of the topics listed below. Each of the statements of competence is developed through self-study and fieldwork. The questions ask how you used or applied the knowledge that you learned in the course in your work with families. Your answers to these question are descriptions of what you do as you work with families. The questions:
PFCE Goal 2. Self-Aware and Culturally Responsive Relationships
Describe the philosophy of YOUR HEAD START program and the services it provides.
Describe 4 activities (2 internal and 2 external) in which you have worked with other program staff.
Describe 3 ways you served as a productive team member in your agency.
Obtain statement from supervisor that you are performing recording keeping and reporting tasks correctly and in a timely manner.
Describe your participation in strategic planning, program self-assessment or another effort to improve program services.
Describe your agency’s outreach and recruitment programs, and enrollment procedures. Be sure to describe your part in these.
Describe your work with a family of a culture different than your own. Be specific about HOW you learned and WHAT your learned about the family’s values, beliefs, traditions, cultural influences, make-up and circumstances. Be specific and give examples about how you used your knowledge of and sensitivity to their culture as you interacted with them for purposes of engagement, assessment, or goal setting. (If you ONLY do enrollment, describe that. If you do more than enrollment, then go beyond enrollment.)
PFCE Goal 1. Positive Goal Oriented Relationships.
Describe the engagement process with a family with whom you have worked. You may want to refer to course material on the 16 steps of engagement (although it is not necessary to comment on each one). How did you help this specific family feel welcome, safe and respected by building trust?
Write an assessment for this same family using the assessment guide provided in the workshop. If your agency uses a specific assessment tool like a genogram or ecomap, please include a copy of it.
Using the Family Partnership Plan or Agreement, describe an intervention plan with this same family. Write down the goal(s) they have decided to achieve. Describe how at least one of these goals satisfy the SMART criteria, (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Timely.)
PFCE Goal 3. Family Well-Being and Families as Learners
Describe at least 3 examples about how you have provided or coordinated training and/or educational opportunities for parents on one or more of these topics: the importance of healthy relationships and support networks; or contributes to self-sufficiency, or reaches goals around education or career training.
Describe how you have helped parents connect with each of the following: opportunities that support safety, financial literacy, health and family wellness.
Describe 3 methods you have used to promote and support parent involvement and leadership throughout the program.
Describe a family situation in which you applied your knowledge of mental health to ensure holistic service delivery. List 3 specific pieces of information you used to help the family.
Describe your work with a family in crisis. Include descriptions of the following:
Your assessment of the situation;
The steps you took to ensure the safety of all involved;
The factors you considered when deciding to intervene or to refer to others;
The options and resources available to address the crisis, and the consequences of their use;
3 ways in which you supported the family in making decisions and taking active steps to resolve the current crisis and to be prepared to address future crises.
PFCE Goal 7. Leadership and Advocacy.
Give two examples about how you worked with families to plan how to advocate for their children’s development and family well-being in other early childhood and family services settings.
PFCE GOAL 9. Data Drive Services and Continuous Improvement.
Give two examples about how you used family well-being data to inform decisions and methods for supporting families
Most statements will be one to three pages. No one-sentence statements, please!
We find that students provide more complete answers if they repeat the question at the top of each statement.
E-mail your first two or three statements to jmasters@cencomfut.com and I will let you know if you are on the right track.
_______________________________________
III. THE THIRD CLASS. Basic Skills 2 for Family Workers. The second 4-day program. CSUEB Course # EPSY 822C (click for required Contract Form) (2 semester credits). This takes place online via Zoom.
Opens with: Overview of the PFCE Framework and the Relationship Based Competencies
The Center for Community Futures conducts both Summer Institutes (Basic Skills 1 and Basic Skills 2) each year.
You may take either “Basic Skills 1” or “Basic Skills 2” first. “1” is not a prerequisite for “2.”
We have simply divided the Relationship Based Competencies into two groups. It does not make any difference which class you take first.
IV. THE FOURTH CLASS. Homework and Fieldwork, Part II. Autobiography and Professional Portfolio: CSUEB Course # EPSY 823C (click for required Contract Form) (2 semester credits). After attending Basic Skills 2, the candidate while at home and at work will complete an additional 18 statements of competence, written by the family worker in her or his own words, one for each of the topics listed below. Each of the 18 statements of competence is developed through self-study and fieldwork. Here are the 18 questions or topics for statements.
PFCE GOAL 4. Parent Child Relationships and Families as Lifelong Educators.
Describe 3 ways in which you provided training for parents in how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children.
Describe 3 ways in which you assisted parents as adult learners to recognize and address their own literacy goals.
Describe 3 ways you have supported parents in engaging in literacy training.
PFCE Goal 8. Coordinated, Integrated and Comprehensive Services.
Describe a family situation in which you applied your knowledge of health or mental health to ensure holistic service delivery. List 3 specific pieces of information you used to help the family.
Describe a family situation in which you applied your knowledge of disabilities to ensure holistic service delivery. List 3 specific pieces of information you used to help the family.
Describe a family situation in which you applied your knowledge of child development to ensure holistic service delivery. List 3 specific pieces of information you used to help the family.
PFCE Goal 5. Family Connections to Peers and Community.
Describe a parent group at your site.
Explain how the group was formed, how participants were recruited and how long they’ve been meeting. Next, describe group dynamics or interactions among the participants and facilitator(s).
Tell something about parent leadership emergence and development.
Describe your role or participation in this group.
Explain how you helped a specific family to develop connections to peers and community through an approach other than a parent group at your site.
PFCE Goal 6. Family Access to Community Resources.
Describe 3 methods you used to identify needs and potential community resources that you used after learning about a family during a home visit.
Describe 3 ways you advocated for a family -- and 3 ways you supported them to advocate for themselves within their community.
Describe from beginning to end a case conference/meeting you facilitated with members of the community and the family to promote service integration.
PFCE Goal 10 Foundations for Professional Growth.
Describe 3 ways in which you have utilized the knowledge and skills of your supervisors to develop professionally.
Describe in one thousand (1000) or fewer words your use of family support principles, theories, practices, and code of ethics in specific situations with families.
Describe 3 ways in which you have utilized technical assistance resources (consultation with another agency or a consultant or a faculty member in a class you were taking) to improve your competence.
Describe 3 decisions you have made based on your knowledge of family support principles, theories, practices, and/or the code of ethics. The decisions you describe should have contributed to your professional development.
Define the term “professional boundaries.” Describe a family situation in which your professional boundaries were challenged. Describe your decision-making process and action(s) and justify your action(s).
Describe your agency’s policy regarding confidentiality. List at least five exceptions to the general rules of confidentiality.
Write a plan for termination and/or transition of services for a family. This can be an actual family you worked with or a made-up example.
Autobiography. For this homework class, the participant will also prepare an autobiography of no more than 750 words. It will articulate an awareness of self and ethics as they impact on work with families, and identify and reflect on personal values, experiences, and biases that facilitate and/or present barriers in working with persons different from herself/himself.
Resource File. For this homework class, the participant will also prepare a file listing community resources that will be used by the participant during her/his career in family development. It provides information candidates find valuable in their work and contains reference material about other agencies or about theories and methods of family development. The creation of the file provides candidates with an important experience in locating resources and articulating their own view of their work in Head Start. Material can be arranged in any one of many creative ways (e.g. bound in a notebook, or put in folders in a file box, or entered as a database in a computer). It should be professional looking, manageable in size and legible. It should be easy to add, delete or update information. It should be portable; i.e., it can be carried to-and-from a work site, to a home visit or to a meeting. The Resource File may include, for example:
Directories used for referral and placement.
Memoranda of Understanding with other agencies
Descriptions of other agencies’ services and eligibility requirements.
Blank application forms, data entry-tools.
Lists of websites, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
PLEASE SEND US ONLY THE TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR YOUR RESOURCE FILE AND NOT THE RESOURCE FILE ITSELF.
After completing these four courses, the candidate will automatically receive the Certificate in Family Development from the Department of Human Development at the California State University East Bay. Each of the four courses is two semester credits. Completion of all four course therefore produces 8 college credit hours from CSUEB, which is a fully accredited institution. Transfer these for use in your A.A. or a B.A. program and, with permission of your faculty advisor, for use in a Graduate program.
Pricing for Certificate in Family Development: Currently, the California State University credit fee is $134 for each semester credit hour, or $268 for 2 credits, and it may be increased at any time.
Make the $268 checks for Cal State University East Bay college credit fees payable to: CSUEB (California State University of the East Bay). You must do a separate check for each class you take from CSUEB. You must give Jim Masters the reg form and checks because the forms and checks for the entire class must all be sent to Cal State as one package.
Mailing address:
Jim Masters
Center for Community Futures
P.O. Box 5309
Berkeley, CA 94705
E-mail jmasters@cencomfut.com
For credit card payments or for other questions call Jim at 510.459.7570
To sign up for info regarding Basic Skills Summer Institutes, click here.