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Competency Rewrite Purpose

Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center and our partners have determined that our current competencies should be revised to ensure that they are relevant to today's child welfare practice and applicable to multiple child welfare roles and positions.

What is a Child Welfare Competency



  • Competencies are defined as a broad statement of knowledge, values, and skills necessary to the performance of child welfare professionals.
  • The emphasis of a competency is on the practice behavior a child welfare professional would demonstrate as they near the completion of the learning process.

Competency Guide
Competency Rewrite Guide
Competency Definitions

Why Do Competencies Matter



  • Identifies the fundamental knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully carry out child welfare practice
  • Establishes consistent definitions and markers
  • Focuses on desired outcomes
  • Supports performance management- recruitment, interviewing, selection, professional development, and performance appraisals
  • Facilitates organizational and systemic continuous quality improvement
  • Ensures that training, transfer of learning, and technical assistance is aligned with competent practice

PA Child Welfare Competencies Flywheel with Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being in the Center. To the right are Practice items: Engagement, Assessment, Teaming, Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring and Adjusting. To the left are the System Factors of: Advocacy, Law and Policy, Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness, and Professionalism. The outer rim is labeled Systemic Factors and Practice with arrows indicating that work can flow in either direction.
Assessment Teaming Planning Implementation Monitoring and Adjusting Professionalism Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness Law And Policy Advocacy Engagement

Competency Listing with Behavioral Indicators & Tasks



  • What are Behavioral Indicators?
    Behavioral Indicators are observable behaviors that individuals employ when they are demonstrating a particular competency. Behavioral indicators should be specific and descriptive for assessment purposes as they are utilized to determine progress toward achieving a particular competency.

  • What are Tasks?
    Tasks and behavioral indicators, while related, are quite distinct. In the most concrete of terms, behavioral indicators demonstrate how one acts or conducts oneself while tasks are specific activities or pieces of work. In evidencing a specific competency, certain behavioral indicators are exhibited and supported through the performance of particular tasks

Thank you for reviewing the drafted Pennsylvania Child Welfare Competencies.