October 2021

Empowering those who support educators: a Q & A with Hannah Riddle

Hannah Riddle de Rojas shares what she’s looking forward to in her new role as TARSS Project Manager as well as her reflections on the importance of early childhood.

In our latest staff Q & A, Hannah Riddle, TARSS Project Manager, shares her goals for the Trainer and RBPD Specialist Support (TARSS) program and her reflections on the importance of early childhood.

What was the educational and career journey that led to your current role at CEED?

I’ve worked in the early childhood arena for about a decade. I’ve held a variety of positions including educator, center director, trainer, and adjunct faculty. I joined CEED in 2019 as part of the Early Childhood Program Quality team, conducting Parent Aware classroom observations using the CLASS® tool. At that time, I was a newly minted mom transitioning out of an operations role at SolBe Learning, an early childhood program that I co-founded in Boston, MA.

You recently took on a new position at CEED with the TARSS program. Can you talk a bit about your role as TARSS Project Manager.

I’m thrilled to be in the position to serve the trainer and relationship-based professional development (RBPD) community. I’ve been a trainer for the past seven years. I train in English and Spanish and have conducted trainings in most parts of the state. I believe that I can bring insight into this work that can strengthen the offerings of the TARSS program.

My role includes providing support to trainers and RBPD specialists who reach out to us via phone or email. Because this project is new at CEED, we are currently creating systems to support the workflow, especially as more team members join us. This means that I also do a lot of organizing and strategizing around what we need to accomplish in the next weeks, months, and years.

What is the difference between the work of trainers and the work of RBPD specialists?

Trainers offer classes to early education professionals on a variety of topics that are outlined in Minnesota’s Knowledge and Competency Framework. These classes serve to give educators new information, teach new skills, and help meet licensing and other requirements. RBPD specialists are coaches and mentors who have sustained relationships with educators. Through coaching and mentoring sessions, RBPD specialists support educators in reflecting on their teaching practice as well as identifying their strengths and opportunities for growth. CEED has expertise in providing training and RBPD support, so our team understands what both roles entail. In addition, CEED has evaluation expertise which can help guide the direction and development of supports to the field.

Trainers and RBPD specialists have a uniquely powerful role in the field of early education. Many early educators come into the field with little formal preparation for the complicated work that they do. Trainers and RBPD specialists are often able to introduce insights and knowledge that empower educators and facilitate their growth. My dream is that the TARSS program aids trainers and RBPD specialists in claiming that power and seeing their impact.

What do you wish more people knew about early childhood?

I wish more people were well-informed about the society-wide benefits of collectively investing in our children. There is magic that happens when children are in truly high-quality environments—and the benefits of those early experiences ripple through society. So often, I feel that our national conversation misses or minimizes the importance of the early years. Despite that, research in the fields of both neuroscience and economics supports the idea that there is no better time than early childhood to invest resources in a human being.

Did becoming a parent change your perception of the early childhood field?

Becoming a parent hasn’t shifted my perception of the field. Instead, it has helped me to better empathize with the issues that face families—for example, finding affordable child care or navigating the differences between how we raise our children and the expectations of child care programs.

What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of work?

I spend a lot of time with my little one, Bruno. I also love to bake. I make tequeños (a Venezuelan snack) and some type of dessert weekly. It could be chocolate chip cookies, banana muffins, brownies, cheesecake, or tiramisu—YUM!

Alyssa Meuwissen and colleagues awarded multiyear grant for new reflective supervision study

Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD, and colleagues will study the effectiveness of a reflective consultation-plus-training program for child welfare workers.

Research Associate Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD, is part of a team that won a multiyear grant from the Sauer Foundation. Meuwissen will lead a study to evaluate the impact of a reflective consultation-plus-training model of professional development on child welfare workers. She is working closely with Kristin Johnson, LGSW, IMH-E® Infant Family Specialist, of KayJay Consulting, LLC, and Jessica Hoeper, LISW, IMH-E® Infant Family Specialist, of Ray of Hope, LLC, to design and implement the project.

Reflective supervision, also known as reflective consultation, is a mode of relationship-based professional development. It is widely used in the field of infant and early childhood mental health, where research has shown it can help prevent burnout and improve workers’ effectiveness. Child welfare workers are also at great risk of experiencing secondary trauma and burnout. The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare conducted a 2016 Child Welfare Workforce Stabilization Survey of child welfare professionals in Minnesota and found that 83% of respondents had experienced secondary traumatic stress. The survey also revealed that 53% of respondents had actively sought employment outside of their current position within the previous year, and 22% intended to do so within the following year. In addition to being costly for agencies, high workforce turnover affects outcomes for families and children.

Meuwissen’s new study will explore how child welfare professionals—and as a result, the people with whom they work—can best reap the benefits of reflective supervision. This work builds on a previous study done by Meuwissen and her colleague Mary Harrison, PhD, LICSW, IMH-E®. While a few child welfare agencies in Minnesota have implemented reflective consultation (several of them working with Teya Dahle, MSW, LICSW, IMH-E®, who is also consulting on this project), the practice has not become widespread.

Reflective supervision consists of regular meetings between a trained supervisor or outside consultant and a supervisee or group of supervisees. Conversations in these sessions focus on supervisees’ emotions and perspectives. They explore supervisees’ relationships with the people whom they serve and with colleagues. These conversations also take into account the viewpoints and relationships of the adults and children with whom supervisees work. Reflective supervision sessions emphasize building on strengths and managing challenges. The sessions are a safe place for frontline workers to process the distressing emotions that arise in their work.

For this study, the project team will work with the staff of a county social service agency in Minnesota. Johnson and Hoeper will provide reflective consultation to both the agency’s supervisors and its child protection workers. Training on topics related to mindfulness, coping, and stress will also be integrated into the reflective consultation model.

“There are really two parts to implementing the reflective supervision program at this agency,” explains Meuwissen. “The first part is to build a culture of awareness and support of reflective supervision. To do so, we’ll provide evidence-based training about the effectiveness of reflective supervision.”

In this way, people at all levels of the agency will understand the value of reflective consultation, increasing organization-wide support for this model of professional development.

“Second, our experienced consultants will meet regularly with both agency supervisors and child protection workers,” Meuwissen says. “Supervisors will receive reflective consultation for one hour a month. Child welfare workers will attend monthly sessions that begin with 15–30 minutes of training and skill-building activities. They’ll learn strategies such as mindfulness and diaphragmatic breathing that will help them to identify and manage the emotions associated with their work. Following these activities, workers will break into small groups for an hour of group reflective consultation.”

Reflective consultants Johnson and Hoeper will make adjustments to training and reflective supervision sessions based on feedback from participants. Participants will have multiple opportunities to share their thoughts both in person and anonymously through surveys.

“We’ll gather data every step of the way,” says Meuwissen. “The data will help us in two ways. First, we’ll be able to make informed adjustments to optimize our program while it’s happening. Second, we’ll discover whether this is a feasible and effective program model for a child welfare agency.”

At the close of the program, which will span about a year and a half, Meuwissen and her colleagues will conduct interviews with each participant to understand their overall perceptions of the program. Finally, Meuwissen will present the study’s findings and recommendations to participants and collect further feedback from them. She will incorporate this feedback into the study’s conclusions, which she will publish as a report as well as disseminate as a podcast.

“We want to know from participants: did this experience reduce their secondary traumatic stress and burnout?” says Meuwissen. “Did it increase their empathy, perspective-taking, and reflectiveness when they worked with clients?”

Meuwissen hopes that this study will demonstrate the benefits of reflective supervision for child protection workers®benefits that also flow to those with whom they work.

“Our goal with this project is to support child welfare workers so that they can better support children and families,” she says.

CEED, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare launch new podcast

We’ve just launched a new podcast with colleagues at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. Learn more about Early Development and Child Welfare and subscribe with your favorite podcast app or listen on CASCW’s website.

Early Development and Child Welfare is a new podcast series co-created by CEED and our colleagues at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW). The series of 10 episodes covers a range of important aspects of child development and child welfare work. Subscribe for free with your favorite podcast app or listen on CASCW’s website.

“Infant mental health practitioners, social workers, and early childhood educators will find these podcasts useful and informative,” says Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW, director of outreach at CASCW. “This content is also highly relevant for justice system workers like judges, guardians ad litem, and case managers. These child welfare professionals are asked to make recommendations for children and families, yet they may need more information on the basics of attachment or child development.”

A pair of headphones on a yellow background

The podcast format was chosen for its ability to deliver information in bite-sized segments that can be accessed while on the go. Both CASCW and CEED offer in-person and online professional development opportunities; however, the professionals who make up the podcast’s likely audience are often busy to the point of being overstretched.

“Practitioners want and need access to the latest research and best practices, but they don’t always have time to download, print, and read literature, or to sign up for an intensive course or training,” says Gehringer. “We hope that listeners can catch an episode in the car driving to or from visits with families, or perhaps listen while taking a walk.”

She adds that episodes can also be used as learning tools for child welfare units to spur discussion both within teams and with community members.

“These podcast episodes are a great resource for professionals who work directly with children and families, such as child care providers, educators and social workers,” says Ann Bailey, PhD, director of CEED. “They also cover core aspects of child development in a way that’s accessible for people who, perhaps, work with families only occasionally but still find they want to be better informed about the research and science of early childhood.”

Gehringer notes that several themes resurface again and again throughout the 10 podcast episodes. These themes include building relationships and understanding the cycle of rupture and repair; describing developmental, cultural, and infant mental health lenses for use in different fields; self-assessment and critical thinking; and parallel process, a fundamental principle of reflective supervision.

“We ask parents to establish trust and foundational feelings of belonging and dignity with their children,” Gehringer explains, speaking about the concept of parallel process. “We, as child welfare workers, need to do the same with parents and families in order for them to make progress, believe we are supporting them in their parenting endeavors, and ultimately heal.”

Frontline workers, in turn, depend on their supervisors to provide reflective spaces where workers can “process all the trauma in front of them so that they can better connect with parents and families,” says Gehringer. She points out that child welfare and social workers, as well as people who work with families and children in other contexts, experience high rates of secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout.

Early Development and Child Welfare recognizes this reality while underscoring the vital importance of this work.

“We do this work to keep families together, intact, and healthy, and to build resilience and healthy attachment,” says Gehringer. “This podcast series is really nice for regrounding people in the ‘why’ of the work.”

Early Development and Child Welfare is supported in part by the Minnesota Department of Human Service Children and Family Services Division. An audio introduction to the series and the first episode, “Attachment and foundations of self-regulation,” are available right now. Additional episodes will be released twice a week.

Episode titles and topics will be:

Attachment and foundations of self-regulation

Faith Eidson, LMSW, interviews Marva Lewis, PhD, to discuss the impact of early caregiving relationships on a child’s ability to self-regulate.

The effects of stress biology and toxic stress

Kristin Johnson, MSW, interviews Salam Soliman, PsyD, to discuss the effect that elevated levels of stress have on the developing brain and how child welfare workers might help mitigate stress levels through providing resources to at-risk families.

Applying a cultural lens to child welfare work

Tanika Eaves Simpson, PhD, and Amittia Parker, LMSW, MPA, PhD, explore the importance of being able to acknowledge and engage with diverse cultures in the child welfare field.

Applying a developmental lens to child welfare work

Christine Cole, LCSW, IMH-E, interviews Kristin Irrer, IMH-E, to discuss how recognizing the various developmental needs of children is crucial for child welfare workers in order to appropriately engage with youth and families

The importance and process of early childhood screening

Kate Waltour, MSW, LISW, talks with Anna Paulson, MEd, and Janell Schilman to discuss the referral and evaluation process when there are concerns about a child’s development and when screening is required through the Child Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Embedding knowledge into practice: CEED’s Supporting Early Social and Emotional Development Credential

Faith Eidson, LMSW, interviews Kim Eckel, the founder of Footbridge for Families, about the process for obtaining SESED Credential and how the program has impacted their approach to Child Welfare

Cultural perspectives from child welfare workers: A panel

Tanika Eaves Simpson, PhD, interviews Andrea Penick, LMSW, and Cassandra Thomas, LMSW, to discuss how their unique cultural perspective(s) influence their work in child welfare.

Applying an infant mental health lens to child welfare work

Faith Eidson, LMSW, talks with Sarah Shea, PhD, about how using an Infant Mental Health (IMH) framework in Child Welfare work can benefit young children and their caregiver(s).

Early brain development

Christine Cole, LCSW, IMH-E, and Kathleen Thomas, PhD, delve into the topic of early brain development and it’s reliance on adult interaction.

Applying a neuroscience lens to child welfare work

Kristin Johnson, MSW, interviews Daniel Berry, EdD, to explore the interactions between genetics and the environment on a child’s brain development.

Training and Trainer Evaluation Tool (TTET) trainer talking points

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) released its new Training and Trainer Evaluation Tool (TTET) on July 1, 2021. TTET allows trainers and stakeholders to collect valuable information from training participants. DHS now has talking points for trainers to refer to when instructing trainees on using the TTET.

Download the TTET trainer talking points