The Use of Digital Story Telling and Other Media in Training and Skill-Building of Child Welfare Workers, Social Work Students, Mentors and Foster Parents: The Child's Voice Revisited

Incorporating the perspectives of children who have experienced out of home placement or institutional care has become an important aspect of child welfare education and training. Digital story-telling, the capture on video of... [ view full abstract ]

Incorporating the perspectives of children who have experienced out of home placement or institutional care has become an important aspect of child welfare education and training. Digital story-telling, the capture on video of childrens’ and/or parents’ narratives, is a tool in child welfare training. Other forms of media are gaining attention as viable means to incorporate the child’s voice in developing services and service providers.  The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters Moscow and the Moscow State Pedagogical University of the Russian Federation, are collaborating to develop media-based training and education tools across the child welfare functions of child protection, prevention and out of home care that will be incorporated into curriculum development for social workers planning to work in child welfare and in mentorship training programs. With funding from the Eurasia Foundation, U.S. and Russian colleagues partnered to develop and exchange digital stories for use in the training and education.  Stories compiled by foster care youth in the United States, youth exiting institutional care in Russia as well as foster parents in the United States and mentors in Russia were developed.  This presentation will show digital stories, provide examples of how digital stories give voice to childrens’ perspectives and experiences and discuss the use of other media in curriculum development for training purposes in both the United States and in the Russian Federation. We will address how to effectively sustain knowledge building and the effort needed to disseminate shared knowledge.

Colleagues from both the Russian Federation and the United States will identify lessons learned and the potential for continued learning including the support of students, mentors and others interested in the field of child welfare to collaborate on curriculum development and faculty research in specific areas of mutual concern.