The Cumberland County Department of Social Services (DSS) has partnered with the University of Utah to elevate levels of training for protective services and social work staff members with the use of the Virtual Social Work Training software.

The software, developed by the University of Utah, will enable new social workers to practice skills in safety and risk assessment, family engagement and critical thinking in a risk-free simulation environment.

The goal of the training is to significantly improve how social workers can prepare for real-world challenges using a simulation environment, prior to entering social work on the job. The Virtual Social Work Training software offers flexible, engaging and efficient learning experiences that are results-driven and tech-savvy.

Another goal of the training is to improve staff retention by providing skills training prior to entering the field of social work and to help the University of Utah’s research to social work practice.

“The Cumberland County Department of Social Services has always welcomed partnerships and opportunities to ensure our staff members have the latest and greatest skills training and best practices experiences,” said Heike Hammer, Cumberland County DSS Performance Management Division Director, in a press release.

For more information about Cumberland County DSS, visit cumberlandcountync.gov/social-services. For more information about the University of Utah’s Virtual Social Work Trainer, go to https://vswt.utah.edu/partner-with-us/.