Transferring training to child welfare practice: Individual and collective efforts

The transfer of training to practice constitutes an ongoing challenge in child welfare services. Many efforts to understand and promote training transfer address the concept as an individual-level behavior. This study suggests that training transfer is both an individual and collective process. The study involves a survey at two time points of 214 workers from child welfare agencies who attended a training program. Principle components analysis identified two meaningful sub-components within the concept of the training transfer. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the influence of individual-level and contextual factors on both components. Findings suggest that to promote collective training transfer and enhance both individual and group performance, child welfare administrators may need to strengthen supervisory support and to promote positive work climates in which trainees can discuss training concepts and work together to apply them.