On a weekday morning in Penn Hills, near Pittsburgh, a young child welfare caseworker seeks guidance for a challenging family situation. She turns to Tara Thomas, a specialist at the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, who provides coaching through role-playing and practical advice on engaging with families under stress.
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, managed by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, operates training rooms across multiple counties including Allegheny, Philadelphia, and others. The center’s mission is to deliver research-informed training and technical assistance to all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Its main office is located in Mechanicsburg but its influence extends statewide.
“What makes us unique is that our people are out there listening to what counties need and helping them build the capacity to respond,” said Sarina Bishop, assistant director of the center.
Operating under an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth and Families, the center acts as a bridge between state policy and county-level practice. “We’re a bridge between the state and the counties,” said Michael Byers, director of the center. “We support the counties and the state with training, technical assistance, project management and evaluation. They’re our partners, and we move a lot of statewide initiatives forward on their behalf.”
The center employs nearly 140 staff members and works with numerous consultants from across Pennsylvania. Since 2014, more than 250,000 people annually have completed its course for mandated reporters of suspected child abuse.
Pennsylvania’s child welfare system is state-supervised but county-administered. This means each county delivers its own services based on local needs. “Each county has different needs, so we have to be flexible and responsive,” said Helen Cahalane, clinical associate professor at Pitt Social Work and principal investigator for Child Welfare Education and Research Programs (CWERP).
The center maintains several training sites across urban and rural areas so that social workers can access professional development without traveling long distances. Practice improvement specialists also visit agencies directly to help improve systems or recruit foster families.
Since joining Pitt in 2001, the center has expanded beyond basic training to include organizational development and initiatives giving youth and families input into system changes. “We don’t train and leave,” said Cahalane. “We train and stay involved.”
“If you build a stronger child welfare workforce, you build stronger families and communities. That’s really the heart of what we do,” Cahalane added.
One key initiative is the Pennsylvania Youth Advisory Board which brings together young people who have been part of the child welfare system for leadership development retreats at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown each summer. The Horizon Scholars Program also supports students who have experienced foster care.
In recent years, parent voices have been included in shaping programs—a shift designed to ensure family perspectives inform systemic change. “Listening to families is as critical as training professionals,” said Cahalane.
Research remains central at the center; simulation exercises adapted from medical education allow trainees to practice real-world scenarios before working with actual clients. “We were one of the first in child welfare to use simulation training,” explained Marlo Perry, research associate professor at Pitt’s School of Social Work.
The center collaborates on federal legislation such as the Family First Prevention Services Act by evaluating evidence-based programs aimed at keeping families together whenever possible.
Faculty research from Pitt informs practice at the resource center while feedback from practitioners influences academic study—creating an ongoing cycle intended to strengthen Pennsylvania’s child welfare workforce now led by many Pitt graduates trained through these programs.
