To earn the FDC, workers complete three requirements:
-FDC course-- 90-hour Empowerment Skills for Family Worker course, led by an official FDC instructor.
-Portfolio advisement – Work with a trained FDC portfolio advisor, who provides guidance to complete required portfolio work. For each of ten chapters:
- Responses to at least three “Activities to Extend Your Learning” from the Worker Handbook.
- Plan and carry out at least one skills practice for each chapter.
- Share this with your portfolio advisor and document it in the portfolio.
The portfolio culminates with three consecutive Family Development Plans the worker creates with one family, to demonstrate an ability to help a family choose and take steps toward goals.
-Examination – Pass written examination based on Empowerment Skills for Family Workers
Costs include a fee charged by the local FDC program (fees vary, averaging around $850), Empowerment Skills for Family Workers ($35) and a $250 credentialing fee.
To earn the FDC Leadership credential, leaders take the Empowerment Skills for Leaders led by an official FDC instructor and prepare a portfolio demonstrating the application of skills that they have acquired in training. The FDC Leadership Portfolio is comprised of three components:
- Prepare a plan and complete an Independent Learning Project for each of the five chapters of the Empowerment Skills for Leaders Series in collaboration with a colleague also attending the series who serves as your peer advisor. After you complete the project, discuss how it went with your peer advisor, and then ask her/him to write a paragraph offering strengths-based feedback at the bottom of the Plan form.
- Develop a plan to reach a personal goal of empowerment- based leadership, prepare a Leadership Empowerment Plan in collaboration with a peer advisor, and implement the plan for one month.
- After one month implementing the Plan, prepare a personal reflection on the progress and outcome of the plan describing steps taken, challenges encountered (and how you responded), and any future actions you’ll take as a result of the plan.
The FDC Leadership Credentialing Process:
Only FDC Leadership Instructors (those who have successfully completed a CTA FDC-affiliated Leadership Instructor’s Institute) may submit Empowerment Skills for Leaders portfolios for credentialing review.
National PONSI has recommended two upper-level undergraduate credits for earning the Family Development Leadership. To order a PONSI transcript to submit to a college or university, please contact FDC Program Manager Melanie Marante at CHHD-NationalFDC@UConn.edu.
The NYS Office of Alcohol and Substances Abuse Services has also approved the Empowerment Skills for Leaders Series for 30 clock hours of continuing education for recertification of practitioners with CASAC, CPS, and CPP credentials.