Effective supervisors are an essential component in the successful outcomes of children and families involved in the child welfare system. In addition to front-line worker competencies, the Minnesota Child Welfare Practice Framework provides eight areas of competency for supervisors. The competencies that guide the practice of supervisors bring consistency and set high expectations for leadership in the field to support staff in their complex work with children and families.

Given that supervisors must be able to integrate numerous skills and areas of knowledge, the Supervisor Competencies have been written to reflect the complex and often multi-dimensional nature of supervision in child welfare practice. In this article we will focus on the competency of Human Resource Management.

Human Resource Management asks that supervisors understand and adhere to the procedures, regulations, and laws related to hiring, disciplining and terminating staff, and performance appraisal. An example of this competency is: Identifies and understands available resources, and builds and maintains effective working relationships with a network of systems, including tribes.

Refer to pages 18-19 of the Minnesota Child Welfare Practice Framework to review all competencies related to human resources management, and consider ways to develop your own knowledge and skills. Following are several resources to explore.

  • The Minnesota Human Rights Act - The Minnesota Human Rights Act is the state law prohibiting discrimination in Minnesota and is enforced by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Learn more about one of the strongest civil rights laws in the country.
  • Support Employees Living with Mental Illnesses - The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) provides resources to help employers help their employees who are living with mental illnesses.
  • Radical Candor Blog - The Radical Candor blog provides articles and resources on how to engage in strong feedback processes with employees.

If you have discovered other resources for developing competencies in Human Resource Management, please share! Email us at info@mnchildwelfaretraining.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

The Minnesota Child Welfare Practice Framework is a series of competencies that help child welfare professionals define and demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understanding across a number of different practice areas. In Minnesota, child welfare practice is guided by this practice framework, which offers outcomes, values, principles and skills necessary to promote child safety, permanency, and well-being.