Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

September 6, 2022                                                                                                                     Volume 1, Issue 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dear CD team,

As we come into the month of September, I have visited most of the offices in the state – only a few more to go! In my conversations with all of you, my last message to everyone has been “thank you.” I am so grateful for all of the work you each do every day for the kids and families of Missouri. Each day you continue to strive to meet the prime directive – to help people! Thanks to all of you for all you do!

With that gratitude in mind, I encourage all of you to celebrate Child Welfare Worker Week from September 12 – 16. Please, have some fun to celebrate your accomplishments! You certainly deserve recognition for all your hard work. How you celebrate is up to you, but here are some suggestions:

• Office luncheon (or at least a group snack)
• Team building activity
• Themed dress down days (Cardinals and Royals gear are always fun!)
• Giving team members tokens of appreciation

We would love to see how your office celebrates Child Welfare Worker Week! Please send your photos to Ashton.Kever@dss.mo.gov.

Thanks again for all you do!

Darrell

We are CD Podcast In Episode 8 of the We Are CD podcast special guest Bill Bott joins the CD leadership team to Check-in on progress that has been made since the launch of the CCU. The CCU has helped reduce caseloads significantly, but there is still room for improvement. With time and continued willingness to learn and grow, he anticipates that caseloads will be at or below 6000 by the one year anniversary of the CCU.  We hope this episode is beneficial for all of our team members. As always, we thank you for the passion and dedication you all continue to display - your tireless work does not go unnoticed. Remember, you can now earn education credits for listening to the podcast through your ESS portal. To ensure you get credit enter the name and date of the podcast in the, "my development screen." LISTENING TIP: If you would like to listen to this podcast while traveling or working, just open this e-newsletter from your work email and click the link to listen!

Back to School Reminder

Please listen to this important message from Deputy Director, Sara Smith. 

Prevention and Safety

Online System for Child Abuse & Neglect Reporting Reminder

As we head into another school year, it’s important to remember that teachers and school personnel make up our highest percentage of mandated reporters. Over the next month, we will see an increase in call volume to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. This will likely result in longer wait times for callers. If you receive feedback at your local office regarding longer wait times, please encourage mandated reporters to report online.

Making a report online:

• Keeps the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline open for additional calls
• Helps avoid wait time on the hotline
• Offers a convenient, flexible option to report
• Allows you to report no matter where you are
• Fulfills your legal requirement to make a report
• Allows you to save up to 5 reports for 72 hours

Recruitment

Help Us Choose a New Slogan

CD Team Members – we need your help!

The Children’s Division needs a new slogan to help us with recruitment and advertising. A slogan is a simple, memorable catchphrase that helps tell others who we are and what we do. The slogan should be unique, so try to steer clear of ones that are already being used by companies such as “Heroes work here” (Disney) or “Be a champion for children” (variety of companies). If you have ideas for a slogan, please send them to Christine.E.Steele@dss.mo.gov by September 15 for consideration!

Legal Aspects

Lunch and Learn Opportunities

It’s a busy time for Legal Aspects and we have lots of exciting news to share. First we are launching a new virtual class available the first Tuesday of each month beginning September 6, 2022 at noon. These classes will be an opportunity to have an informal conversation with the Legal Aspects team about a specific topic. Please email the Legal Aspects team at: CD.LATRAININGTEAM@dss.mo.gov with any suggestions for topics, or questions you would like to submit ahead of time. Please register ahead of time on the ELC in order to receive training credit for attending, and see below for our upcoming schedule for dates, times, and topics for the upcoming Lunch and Learns.

Intranet Page Updates

You also may notice that the Legal Aspects Intranet page has been recently updated. We are excited to announce that we’ve updated the resources available on this page, including videos and resources we have highlighted in our trainings that are now easily accessible on the website. If there is something you would like to see featured on our intranet page please reach out to CD.LATRAININGTEAM@dss.mo.gov.

Upcoming Training Schedule

The following is the Legal Aspects schedule for August, September, October. To access the trainings, click on the course ID listed below. 

If you have trouble enrolling in a legal aspects course, please contact CD.latrainingteam@dss.mo.gov. For trouble enrolling in other courses please contact, Christina.L.Persall@dss.mo.gov.

We Want to Hear From You!

If you have something you would like to share in the next newsletter issue, please email Ashton Kever at ashton.kever@dss.mo.gov. 

Our Mission: Empower Missourians to live safe, healthy, and productive lives.

Note: Replies to this email address will not be monitored.