The Children’s Trust Fund of CT and NVCC Partner to Offer New Family Worker Curriculum

Waterbury, Conn. - The Children’s Trust Fund of Connecticut has partnered with Naugatuck Valley Community College to offer the Family Development Credential (FDC) program “Empowerment Skills for Family Workers” as part of the nationwide movement to credential front-line human service workers in strength-based family support principles. 

The program seeks to promote independence from government support by empowering individuals and families to recognize their own strengths and to reach individually set goals. Federal and locally-provided services become stepping stones to self-reliance and individuals come to embrace their role in the local community.

The FDC curriculum was developed at Cornell University and has been implemented throughout the country at approximately 1500 accredited colleges and universities. More than 3,200 participants have already completed the FDC training program in Connecticut. 

The program also encourages cross-agency training to raise awareness of family support principles and to promote the networking of services. Agencies that have received credentialing report higher staff morale, lower turnover and decreased worker stress.

“We’ve made a commitment to have all direct services workers complete the FDC program” said Toni Hirst, chief administrative officer at New Opportunities, Inc. “We see an immediate impact in the employee when they understand that they are a leader in their interactions with their customers and within the organization. No longer is it acceptable just to identify the problem. FDC teaches them that they need to develop and recommend solutions.”

The Children's Trust Fund makes this credential available to NVCC through their affiliation with Cornell University and in collaboration with UCONN Center for Culture, Health, and Human Development.

To achieve the family development credential, workers participate in 90 hours of instruction over several months, led by an FDC instructor. Students prepare a portfolio that contains responses to activities and questions and plan and carry out at least one skills practice for each of the 10 lessons in the curriculum. After successful completion of the program, including a comprehensive test, participants receive 6 college credits from a credentialing university.