RCCW

RCCW Fayette County "Race Matters" Training 2014

Purpose of training: Implementation of Race, Community and Child Welfare (RCCW) action step, to deliver Fayette County based education and dialogue on race disparity in child welfare to frontline staff who are the most critical gatekeepers to services and court involvement for Fayette’s County’s children and families of color. We believe this education will assist our community in reducing the disparate placement of children of color in out-of-home-care in Fayette County.  Together, the trainings will engage approximately 120 Fayette County based, Department for Community Based Child Protective Services’ Ongoing, Investigative and Recruitment & Certification staff. In addition, members of the RCCW Fayette County will be invited to participate.

Timing of training: From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 6 & 7; December 2 & 4; January days TBA.  Each 2-day training session will offer 12 CEUs from the Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) Training Branch.

Co-Facilitators and Training Curriculum: Dr. LeChrista Finn (Kentucky State University) has agreed to serve as a training facilitator for an adapted and extended version of the Race Matters Institute's Toolkit - see the 2-day agenda and resources below. Ms. Marion Gibson (RCCW Co-Chair) and Dr. Randolph Hollingsworth (Assistant Provost, University of Kentucky) will offer customized sessions that focus on Fayette County in particular. Mr. Larry Johnson (a foster parent) and Ms. Rebecca DiLoreto (RCCW Co-Chair) will present scenarios from their personal experiences growing up in Fayette County.

Performance Objectives: Training participants will commit to two days of training, and will...

• gain knowledge and application of the "Race Matters Toolkit"

• explore the history of race/racism in our country, and learn that it was constructed by human beings and can be de-constructed/undone by people.

• identify strategies and resources to increase personal and agency awareness of structural inequities and conscious and unconscious biases, as a tool to improve outcomes for children and families.

• learn how persons who work in institutions often function as gatekeepers to ensure that the institution perpetuates itself. By operating with anti-racist values and networking with those who share those values, and maintaining accountability in the community, workers will become agents of institutional transformation.