In support of the mission of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) and its Child Protection Training Academy (CPTA) program of training for IDCFS staff across the State of Illinois, the Simulation Facilitator of the DCFSCPTA at NIU will assume responsibility for providing coaching, support and training before and during the simulation experience to child welfare staff, inclusive of new and veteran investigators, placement workers, and intact workers. This will include facilitating debriefing for simulations, as well as providing orientation to roles. The Simulation Facilitator will assist the Associate Director/Lead Facilitator of the DCFSCPTA at NIU as necessary.
The position is housed in the area of Human Development and Family Sciences in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. The School has 14 full-time faculty members and three supportive professional staff and offers two undergraduate degrees and one Master's degree (https://www.chhs.niu.edu/facs/index.shtml) with specializations in Marriage and Family Therapy and Leadership in Aging Studies. The School also houses a Couple and Family Therapy Clinic and a Child Development and Family Center. Northern Illinois University is a Doctoral/Research extensive university with a diverse student body of over 17,000, located 65 miles west of Chicago.
Position Summary:
Working with the staff of the DCFSCPTA at NIU, responsible for providing coaching, support and training before and during the simulation experience to child welfare staff, inclusive of new and veteran investigators, placement workers, and intact workers.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Facilitation of Simulated Learning
Provide coaching, support, and debriefs with learning participants during residential, mock medical/multi-purpose lab, and courtroom simulations, such as:
Modeling examples of strengths-based feedback
Ensuring learning participants' skills are reflected on in a safe learning environment
Reviewing learning participants' concerns and discussing organic questions in the moment
Ensuring learning participants utilize and adhere to rule and procedure
Modeling examples of suggested phrases to complete investigative or casework process
Modeling examples of how to address safety concerns and how to mitigate
Training Support for DCFS Personnel
Provide training to support the preparation of DCFS Investigators, as well as DCFS and private sector Intact and Permanency staff in the classroom for the simulation education experience and work collaboratively with DCFS and University Foundations training facilitators to synthesize information learned in classroom as into skill based experiential learning.
Support field trainers or other Office of Learning and Professional Development trainers (if and when utilized) in the classroom as needed, modeling classroom management and delivery of content.
Coordinate with personnel from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning related to the facilitation of virtual simulation scenarios
Simulation Environment Manipulation
Prepare/stage residential labs, mock court room, and mock medical/multi-purpose lab for simulations.
Assist the Simulation Logistics Coordinator, Lead Simulation Facilitator and the Associate Director in ensuring actors are in place and learning participants complete all simulation experience tasks.
Work collaboratively with university partners, DCFS, and stakeholders in providing input as it pertains to the relevance and mission of the CPTA and the Department's ongoing use of simulations.
Northern Illinois University's vision is to be an engine for innovation to advance social mobility; promote personal, professional and intellectual growth; and transform the world through research, artistry, teaching and outreach.The mission of Northern Illinois University is to empower students through educational excellence and experiential learning as we pursue knowledge, share our research and artistry, and engage communities for the benefit of the region, state, nation and world.