Riverland Community College Owatonna Campus image

The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy would like to announce the selection of the Southeast Regional Learning Center in Owatonna, in partnership with Riverland Community College and the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance (MNPrairie) located in Steele County. The primary training space will be located on the Owatonna Campus of Riverland Community College.

MNPrairie is a county human services agency created through a joint powers agreement that provides the full array of public human service programs for Dodge, Steele, and Waseca counties. This new MNCWTA regional learning center will provide child welfare training for county agencies and tribes throughout the southeast region of Minnesota.

Through legislation that passed in 2019 calling for the establishment of the Training Academy, it was determined that four regional learning centers and a metro-based training facility were to be created. Currently the Northwest Regional Learning Center, located on the Detroit Lakes campus of Minnesota State Community and Technical College, is complete and ready for training. The Southwest Regional Learning Center in Marshall was recently announced, as well as the Northeast Regional Learning Center in Duluth. Renovations at both locations are underway and in-person training will start in May.

The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy is a collaboration between the Child Safety and Permanency Division at the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Our mission is to train, develop, and support the skills, expertise, and wellbeing of Minnesota’s child welfare workforce while nurturing a commitment to equitable child welfare practice. Learn more about our history here, and visit our website anytime: www.mnchildwelfaretraining.com.

The Training Academy is currently recruiting candidates to apply for the regional trainer position for the Southeast Learning Center. Stacey Steinbach is the Regional Training Supervisor overseeing all four regional sites. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us.