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Title
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THE EFFECT OF NOVA UNIVERSITY'S LEVEL I AND IIA TRAINING ON CHANGING AND UNIFYING THE OPINIONS OF CHILD WELFARE WORKERS AROUND A CENTRAL FOSTER CARE PHILOSOPHY.
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Creator
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SIMON, RONALD DAVID, Florida Atlantic University
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Abstract/Description
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The development of the Nova Child Welfare Opinion Scale (NCWOS) has allowed an empirical and definitive measurement of child welfare worker values. The administration of the instrument to 396 foster care workers and supervisors has clearly illustrated that agency staff lack consensus on both the goals of foster care and the appropriate operationalization of that system. To help correct this situation Nova University developed Level I and IIA training which were administered under contract...
Show moreThe development of the Nova Child Welfare Opinion Scale (NCWOS) has allowed an empirical and definitive measurement of child welfare worker values. The administration of the instrument to 396 foster care workers and supervisors has clearly illustrated that agency staff lack consensus on both the goals of foster care and the appropriate operationalization of that system. To help correct this situation Nova University developed Level I and IIA training which were administered under contract with the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to all child welfare workers in the state. This study has shown that Level I and IIA training were extremely effective in producing opinion change among social workers toward acceptance of key components in the Nova foster care philosophy. Post opinion comparison of foster care workers and supervisors in treatment and control groups show that Level I and IIA training produced significant opinion change in five of six Nova child welfare opinion scales. Significant positive opinion shifts were measured among agency workers concerning: the role of foster parents; the effect and importance of providing training to foster parents; biological parent characteristics and capabilities; the desirability of providing visitations; and the effect of foster care placement on the emotional health, self-concept and behavior of foster children. Level I and IIA training were extremely effective in unifying the opinions of foster care workers and supervisors toward a comprehensive foster care philosophy. Analysis of pre-post treatment group scores indicate that on eight questions where pretest consensus (of ninety percent or more) was present, Nova training reinforced continued acceptance of these concepts, resulting in positive, though minimal opinion shifts. On five additional questions, statewide consensus was reached on the posttest where none had previously existed. The remaining twelve questions on the Scale all showed positive opinion shifts toward support of the Nova foster care philosophy, nine of which were statistically significant. The author cautions that some extent of the positive opinion change measured could be attributable to conscious and unconscious desires of respondents to please the trainers, and not necessarily reflect opinion change that will continue beyond the evaluation process. Future research in this area is strongly suggested and warranted.
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Date Issued
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1982
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11812
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Subject Headings
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Foster home care--Florida, Foster parents, Social work education--Florida
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Format
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Document (PDF)
