Social Services Association awards Cumberland DSS for virtual training program partnership

By Staff Report, posted Sep 3, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com

Cumberland County Department of Social Services Director Brenda Reid Jackson (front, second from left) with members of the DSS staff at the annual Social Services Institute in Hickory, N.C. The North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services (NCACDSS) awarded the Cumberland County the 22nd Annual Innovation Award for External and/or Non-Traditional Partnerships category for large-sized counties for “Social Work Simulation Training,” a program in partnership with the University of Utah.
Photo provided by: Cumberland County

The North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services (NCACDSS) awarded the Cumberland County Department of Social Services (DSS) a statewide award for a virtual training program in partnership with the University of Utah.

The NCACDSS presented Cumberland County the 22nd Annual Innovation Award for External and/or Non-Traditional Partnerships category for large-sized counties during the annual Social Services Institute (SSI) held Aug. 6 – 8 in Hickory, N.C. The award recognizes external and/or non-traditional partnerships that bring together organizations to solve complex problems that cannot be tackled solely by the local Social Services agency.

The Cumberland County DSS program “Social Work Simulation Training,” is a partnership with the University of Utah implementing cost effective, real-world virtual social work training to support staff for critical child and adult protective social work duties in the community.

Cumberland County DSS Performance Management Division Director Heike Hammer was recognized for her ability to research, seek out and form a partnership with the University of Utah. Hammer and the university partners conducted a workshop on the virtual training at SSI, which was attended by 100 participants. The theme of the SSI was “A Century of Lighting the Way,” as the NCACDSS celebrated 100 years of the SSI.

Cumberland County DSS previously won Best Practice Awards at the SSI in 2017 and 2019 as well as a 7-year streak of consecutive awards from 2009 – 2005. For more information about the NCACDSS, go to ncacdss.org.

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