Impact
Equity
Grant Programs
Responsiveness
Growth
Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning 2019-2020 Annual Report
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Credits Executive Director: Amy Perez Design: Kelly Cunningham Writer/Editor: Marisa Osorio Copy Editors: Alan Rubenstein Rebecca Brown Cesarani and Dawn Picken
The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) provides online and on-campus degree and certificate programs that meet the needs of students who are looking to finish a bachelor’s degree, earn a master’s degree or certificate in a specialized field, advance in the workplace, or change careers. CUNY SPS offers fully accredited degree and certificate programs for students who want the flexibility and convenience of online education.
Table of Contents Message from Dean John Mogulescu, Senior Associate Dean Tracy Meade, and Executive Director Amy Perez ............... 4 By The Numbers ............................................ 6 Program Snapshots ....................................... 8
Measuring Program Successes .................... 20 Rapid Responses: COVID-19 ....................... 26 Racial Equity Commitment ......................... 30 Development of NEW Grants Office ....................................... 32
The Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning (PEWL) is an integral unit of CUNY SPS. The mission of PEWL is to provide individuals the opportunity to advance their careers through professional course work, and help organizations achieve their goals with custom workplace learning programs.
PEWL partners with City and State agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector to provide research-based learning practices, develop innovative programs, and identify needs and gaps across their workforce. We also lead credit-bearing initiatives within CUNY SPS. Our programs have served more than 200,000 workers since 2006.
Management Team
First row, l-r: Amy Perez, Marisa Osorio, Adyna Gamboa, Jennifer Chand, Vicki Caruana; Second row, l-r: Michelle Attles, Tanja Carter-Searls, Dawn Picken, Dorothea Nixon, Clarke Griffith; Third row, l-r: Claudine Campanelli, Jennifer DePalma, Edwina Nuñez-Gordon, Michael Schultz, Marlowe Paraiso; Fourth row, l-r: Lawrence MacLean, Rebecca Brown Cesarani, Anita Staeheli
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Letter from the Dean
Messages from Senior Leadership The arrival of the first CUNY SPS Professional Education and Workplace Learning (PEWL) annual report is an exciting step forward.
Dear Friends: I am delighted to present the first Annual Report of the CUNY SPS Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning (PEWL), reflecting its work in the 2019-2020 academic year.
John Mogulescu, Dean, CUNY School of Professional Studies
This Report is a wonderful introduction to our PEWL unit, which was established in 2006, and serves as a successful training arm for a number of City and State agencies and other organizations. PEWL administers certificate programs and courses, and creates customized workplace learning programs to help people advance in their careers and improve their effectiveness on the job. With the unit’s expertise in research-based learning practices and online as well as in-classroom curriculum development and implementation, it is uniquely positioned to respond to organizational learning needs and support change management initiatives swiftly and effectively.
In documenting the important work of the PEWL unit this past year, we are now in a position to share the office’s accomplishments beyond our stakeholder audience. The report is full of inspiring content, not the least of which is getting to know the unit’s talented management team and professional staff at our partnership sites.
Tracy Meade, Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Innovation
In 2019-2020, PEWL managed and implemented a portfolio of $31.7 million in grants and contracts, developing and running training programs for such City and State agencies as the New York City Department of Homeless Services, the New York City Administration of Children’s Services, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and the New York City Department of Correction, as well as such private organizations as the Central Park Conservatory, among others.
I would like to congratulate Executive Director Amy Perez and the entire PEWL team for their ability to quickly and successfully transition to remote work in response to COVID-19, as well as their response to the moment by convening a racial equity committee to address the impact of racial violence and ongoing injustices the Black community faces. The PEWL team is remarkable. Their many accomplishments contribute to the visibility and impact of CUNY SPS. I thank them all for their commitment and passion.
I am happy to share the accomplishments featured in this Report, and I hope that you will enjoy learning more about the CUNY SPS Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning in the following pages.
I am truly excited and honored to share PEWL’s first-ever annual report! The creation of this report, and the sizable work it highlights, would have not been possible without the support, vision, energy, and ingenuity of so many of my CUNY SPS colleagues. Since her arrival at CUNY SPS in 2018, Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Innovation Tracy Meade has provided on-going guidance and leadership to drive our unit’s work forward.
Sincerely,
John Mogulescu Dean, CUNY School of Professional Studies
The number of programs and the essential nature of their responsibilities, along with the recent addition of a grants office and evaluation function, are very impressive.
Amy Perez, Executive Director, PEWL
The PEWL leadership team, highlighted in the following pages, is a dynamic group of passionate, innovative, and gifted training professionals who keep me motivated and grounded each day. A very special thanks goes to PEWL’s Writer Marisa Osorio, the author and creative genius behind this report. Last but certainly not least, I am deeply appreciative of PEWL’s team of more than 200 program staff members who have worked assiduously through the pandemic. I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of you for your steadfast professionalism and commitment to the work under these most unparalleled conditions.
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By The Numbers During this fiscal year, PEWL:
Administered
263 Courses
Provided
1,202
(instructor-led training or synchronous online)
Session/Cohorts Served
44,669
Unique Participants And Has Served
200,000+ Learners since 2006 6 | Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning 2019-2020 Annual Report
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Snapshots: Grant Programs
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Snapshots: Grant Programs
Edwina Nuñez-Gordon, Program Director
NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Models of Practice Program
NYC Department of Correction (DOC) Training Academy
Edwina Nuñez-Gordon, Program Director Inception year: 2019 FY20 budget: $932,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 42
Clarke Griffith, Program Director Inception year: 2019 FY20 budget: $1,200,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 3,672
PEWL collaborated with The NYC Department of Homeless Services to design, develop, and implement a portfolio of learning programs, 11 in total in FY20, known as the Models of Practice (MOP). The goal of MOP is to formalize and streamline agency-wide operations, standards, and metrics for client service delivery in each of the agency’s 10 program areas (e.g., Single Adult Intake & Assessment, Behavioral Health Shelters, Families with Children Shelters, Employment Shelters, Drop In Centers, etc.).
Our partnership with the Department of Correction supports the agency’s mission through the development of learning programs for uniform and non-uniform staff. In FY 20, PEWL developed Instructor-Led Training (ILT) leadership courses, eLearning modules, On-the-Job Training (OJT) scenarios, and other programs and workshops.
NYC Emergency Management Coastal Storm Plan (CSP) Training Michael Schultz, Senior Program Manager Inception year: 2005 FY20 budget: $63,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 386
Michael Schultz, Senior Program Manager
The Coastal Storm Plan (CSP) training program has existed for nearly 15 years. The program is targeted primarily towards NYC agency staff who are assigned a role in the CSP evacuation and sheltering system and require training to perform the necessary tasks. The program is also available to state, federal, NGO, and private partner organizations that provide support to these operations.
NYC Human Resources Administration Office of Child Support Services CUNY Training Program Anita Staeheli, Program Director Inception year: 2007 FY20 budget: $3,200,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 275
Anita Staeheli, Program Director
Clarke Griffith, Program Director
Central Park Conservancy (CPC) Urban Park Management Certificate & Urban Park Leadership Program Clarke Griffith, Program Director Inception year: 2017 FY20 budget: $154,590, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 16 Our partnership with the CPC Institute for Urban Parks began in 2017 to help the Institute share its expertise in urban park management with a broader audience by expanding professional development programming to park professionals across the country and internationally. PEWL and CPC partnered to develop: •
The Urban Park Leadership Program brings together senior-level urban park professionals from around the country and internationally for an experience of learning, network building, and creative problem-solving. Originally offered as a a five day in-person program, it was changed to a nine month online program in Spring 2020. The program features web-based professional development experiences and a series of self-paced online modules, live workshops and seminars.
•
The Urban Park Management Certificate is a fully online, self-paced, professional non-credit certificate program for current urban park managers, focusing on practices critical to the care and management of urban parks.
In support of NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) employee learning and performance support goals, the program develops new training courses and procedures. The program maintains and delivers an ongoing training calendar, including a rotation of existing courses.
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Snapshots: Grant Programs
Adyna Gamboa, Program Director
NYC Administration for Children’s Services Workforce Institute (ACS WI)
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator
Adyna Gamboa, Program Director Inception year: 2014 FY20 budget: $19,485,687, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 9,354
Dawn Picken, Senior Program Director Inception year: 2018 FY20 budget: $100,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: Due to COVID-19, the program was paused prior to the FY20 cohort of 20 accepted Learners.
The Administration for Children’s Services Workforce Institute (ACS WI) provides ongoing professional skills development to direct service staff and supervisors at ACS and its many partner agencies across the child welfare and juvenile justice sectors. ACS WI is a partnership between among ACS, PEWL, and the Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work. In FY20, the program delivered 111 courses to more than 9,354 participants.
NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Energy Management Institute Michelle Attles, Program Director Inception year: 2009 FY20 budget: $1,355,041, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 188
Michelle Attles, Program Director
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ (DCAS) Energy Management Institute (EMI) was designed to build a community of skilled agency energy professionals who can contribute towards New York City meeting its ambitious energy and emission reductions goals for municipal buildings. The target audience includes building operators, facilities management staff, energy managers and analysts. EMI offers topical competency-based training instructed by experienced practitioners in the energy management field. EMI courses and workshops focus on improving the skills of DCAS supported agency employees responsible for implementing energy efficiency measures.
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Dawn Picken, Senior Program Director
CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator is a learning program designed for mid-level cultural workers from historically underrepresented groups working in New York City’s cultural institutions. It is intended to provide a professional development opportunity that will help to strengthen the management skills integral to career growth and mobility and to build a diverse network of peers who can support one another as they develop into future leaders. Threaded throughout the program is an examination of systemic prejudices that exist and a process for challenging inequities, in order to foster a more inclusive arts community.
Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity Program Management Forum Dawn Picken, Senior Program Director Inception year: 2012 FY20 budget: $176,400, tax-levy Number of Learners Served: 30 The Program Management Forum is a professional leadership development program consisting of the Managing for Innovation course (MFIC) and the Agency Partners workshop as well as an alumni network. The goal of the program is to help provider partners and agency partners enhance their skills as program directors, using the Program Director Competency Model, developed by CUNY SPS. The alumni network seeks to maintain and foster connections and networking opportunities among past participants and provide opportunities for sharing best practices.
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Snapshots: Grant Programs
Rebecca Brown Cesarani, Senior Program Director
NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Training Technology, Distance Learning and Direct Training Services Program
NYC Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Staff Learning and Development Program
Rebecca Brown Cesarani, Senior Program Director Inception year: January 2010 FY20 budget: $3,645,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 25,136
Tanja Carter-Searls, Program Director Inception year: 2019 FY20 budget: $1,007,873, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 5,272
PEWL provides more than 25,000 OCFS state, local district, and provider agency staff statewide with mandated training on topics designed to promote health and safety among children, youth, and adults. The primary training audience includes child welfare and adult protective services caseworkers and supervisors, as well as foster/adoptive parents.
NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Financial Independence Now (FIN) Program Rebecca Brown Cesarani, Senior Program Director Inception year: January 2018 FY20 budget: $200,000, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 181 PEWL provides shelter staff, including case managers, housing specialists, and shelter leadership, with practical strategies for providing financial coaching to shelter clients. The program increases clients’ access to free offsite financial empowerment services via a referral process, in an effort to help them save money and transition to permanent housing. The DHS FIN case managers course and DHS FIN shelter leaders course are provided to approximately 200 staff annually.
Tanja Carter-Searls, Program Director
The goal of the DSS DHS Staff Learning and Development Program is to develop comprehensive policies and procedures and deliver a new employee training program at the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). The DHS Operations 101 (DHS Ops 101) training program is a major project that is part of the Staff Learning and Development Program. DHS Ops 101 encompasses courses on how to operate and maintain DHS funded facilities and programs. This key initiative consists of six areas of focus: Maintenance, Fiscal, Security, System Overview, Vacancy Control, and Priority 1 Incidents. Each area of focus contains specific courses that align with the program’s scope. The audience for this initiative is DHS and provider agency staff across various levels and roles. Methods of delivery include eLearning, Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT), blended learning, classroom training, and train the-trainers (T3s).
NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) Anti-Bias Trauma Informed Training Initiative Dorothea Nixon, Program Director Inception year: 2019 FY20 budget: $1,168,691, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 53
Dorothea Nixon, Program Director
The Anti-Bias and Trauma Informed (ABTI) training initiative will be delivered to 17,000 staff within DSS, the Human Resources Administration (HRA), and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). The goal of the ABTI training is to expand agency staff awareness and knowledge of how individual and structural bias, racism, and trauma influence behavior and decision-making in the workplace. The dignity-centered service training provides tools to adjust negative patterns of thinking, mitigate bias, and work toward the agency’s goal of achieving a more equitable social welfare system.
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Snapshots: Grant Programs
NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Family Development Credential (FDC) Jennifer DePalma, Senior Program Manager Inception year: 2011 FY20 budget: $53,025, grant-funded Number of Learners Served: 64
Jennifer DePalma, Senior Program Manager
The Family Development Credential (FDC) program is a national initiative developed and administered by the University of Connecticut (UConn), which emphasizes empowerment and family support in delivering human services for frontline workers and supervisors from public, private, and nonprofit service systems. PEWL offers the non-credit, professional development FDC training in partnership with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), which invests in nonprofit capacity building by funding a wide range of programs to ensure that youth, families, and communities receive high-quality services. To receive credentialing: •
Frontline workers must complete 90 hours of classroom instruction (Empowerment Skills for Family Workers), create a portfolio demonstrating understanding of concepts learned throughout the course, and receive a passing score on a 50-question standardized test administered by UConn.
•
Supervisors must complete 42 hours of classroom instruction (Empowerment Skills for Leaders) and create a portfolio.
Snapshots: Tax Levy and Other Programs
Families Forward Demonstration (FFD) Project Marlowe Paraiso, Program Director Inception year: 2017 FY20 budget: $1,210,652; grant funded Number of Learners Served: 95
Marlowe Paraiso, Program Director
Families Forward Demonstration (FFD) is an innovative public-private partnership to help noncustodial parents (NCPs) qualify for in-demand, higher paying jobs in order to fulfill their child support obligations. Core program services include high quality occupational training and employment services, financial counseling, and support navigating the child support process. The program also addresses barriers that prevent NCPs from participating in employment and training-related activities. The goal is to help NCPs fulfill their child support obligations and increase the overall well-being of children and families.
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Snapshots: Tax Levy and Other Programs
Claudine Campanelli, Program Administrator Vicki Caruana, Academic Program Manager
Advanced Certificate in Project Management
Advanced Certificate in Immigration Law
Vicki Caruana, Academic Program Manager Inception year: 2005 Number of Learners Served: 77
Vicki Caruana, Academic Program Manager Inception year: 2005 Number of Learners Served: 91
The Advanced Certificate in Project Management provides online instruction to develop students’ capabilities for leading projects. By teaching students to apply globally recognized project management standards, techniques, and practices, the program seeks to respond to employer demand for people who can deliver projects of a specified scope on time and within budget, as well as to prepare students for roles as project managers in a variety of fields. CUNY SPS delivered courses in an online format to 77 enrolled students during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters.
The Advanced Certificate in Immigration Law presents students with current U.S. immigration law and seeks to provide them with the knowledge they need to work with immigrant populations, advocate on behalf of immigrants, and gain insights into the lives of an internationally diverse community. Led by practicing immigration law attorneys and judges, the courses cover both applicable law and the ethical and legal restrictions on the practice of law to those working with immigrants. CUNY SPS delivered courses in both classroom-based and asynchronous online formats to 91 enrolled students during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters.
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College Now (CN) and the Early College Initiative (ECI) Vicki Caruana, Academic Program Manager Inception year: 2014 Number of Learners Served: 315
Children’s Program Administrator Credential (CPAC)
Child Development Associate Certificate (CDA)
Claudine Campanelli, Program Administrator Inception year: 2006 Number of Learners Served: 39
Claudine Campanelli, Program Administrator Inception year: 2012 Number of Learners Served: 134
Developed by The New York State Association for the Education of Young Children, the CPAC is a credential for current, early childhood program directors to become more effective leaders or who require course work to meet the accreditation standards. CPAC training also benefits new directors interested in administrator certification, as well as the next generation of early childhood education leaders who require preparation as administrators.
Offered in partnership with the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI), the Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate from CUNY SPS is the only comprehensive credit-bearing Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate offered in New York City.
CUNY SPS offers 18 one-credit courses in leadership and management in the area of early childhood. The 18 credits earn students the Children’s Program Administrator Credential awarded by New York State.
The program provides the required coursework as well as advisement, writing support, portfolio creation assistance, career services, and classroom observation and feedback to students in pursuit of the Child Development Associate credential. Four college courses were offered in the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020.
College Now (CN) and the Early College Initiative (ECI) Programs are part of CUNY’s Office of K-16 Initiatives. The office is tasked with creating innovative pathways for NYC Department of Education (DOE) students to envision and achieve success by offering them college-readiness programming.
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Our Impact:
Case Studies and Q&A with Jenn Chand
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A mission-critical goal for PEWL this year was to establish standardization across programs to define our impact to our stakeholders, their employees, and the people they serve. Jennifer Chand, hired in November 2019 as PEWL’s Program Evaluator, has been charged with building the framework and leading our work in this area.
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Our Impact Case Studies and Q&A with Jenn Chand
Q &A
What brought you to PEWL? I came to CUNY SPS seeking to work in a higher education setting. I was impressed with the scope of workplace training that PEWL provides to the New York City workforce. I had worked on PEWL’s training project with the NYC Office of Child Support Services from 2013 to 2017. When I returned from two years abroad, I knew that this was an organization, unit, and supervisor I would work for again in a heartbeat.
How does your work further the mission of PEWL?
with Jenn Chand “I was impressed with the scope of workplace training that PEWL provides to the New York City workforce.”
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My main role within PEWL is to create systems and structures that allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of our training programs, thus ultimately assessing PEWL’s effectiveness in achieving its mission. Our training programs are designed to help our partner agencies achieve specific organizational goals and it’s important to understand if these objectives are being met. By measuring training impact and outcomes, we can showcase the efficacy of our work, highlight the value we bring to our partners, and further our mission within the New York City and New York State workforce by attracting new partners.
What are some of the successes you’ve experienced in your short time here? We first established a centralized system for tracking and reporting training outputs such as the number of individuals trained and courses we offer across our entire portfolio of training programs. This is critical for understanding our reach as well as the wide range of courses and course formats we offer as a unit. A protocol for collecting qualitative and quantitative data for individual programs on an annual basis was also established. These annual reports provide PEWL management, our stakeholders, as well as the CUNY SPS administration, insight into the year’s achievements and challenges in a format that’s easily accessible. With regard to evaluation, one of our main goals has been to implement consistent, standardized evaluation practices across the portfolio. As part of this, our agency partners can now expect to receive systematic reporting on training programs, which goes beyond mere numeric data to provide actionable insights and recommendations. This is not to say that we weren’t doing this before, but this practice has been brought to scale across the unit and presented to our stakeholders as a value-add and key deliverable. One of our goals for FY21 is to ensure all learning programs evaluate training impact in addition to student satisfaction surveys and pre-/postknowledge assessments.
Tell us about yourself. I am second generation Guyanese American, born and raised in Queens, where I lived through my undergraduate years. I attended St. Johns University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematical physics. After that, I landed my first job with AC Nielsen BASES, analyzing consumer product data for market research purposes. From there, I meandered, trying my hand in different industries with data analysis being the common thread. I worked at NYU, analyzing student data and then moved on to freelance projects in healthcare, legal products, and even a brief stint with Standard & Poor’s. At that point, after considering all the places I’d worked, I realized an educational setting was the place for me and I finally landed at CUNY SPS. I can say with total honesty, that after all that searching, I’ve finally arrived. I completed a master’s degree in TESOL at Hunter College in 2017, which launched me into two years of living and teaching abroad, just prior to joining PEWL as program evaluator. My partner and I lived six months in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 18 months in Tokyo. We also traveled extensively throughout the region. It was an amazing experience that expanded my world view and allowed me a glimpse into cultures and lives I would not normally be privy to.
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Our Impact Case Studies and Q&A with Jenn Chand
Examples of our Impact Department of Cultural Affairs CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator A Level 3 post-course evaluation was conducted on the CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator program to identify any changes in participants’ practices in the following areas: Confidence in communicating with a diverse group of peers, subordinates, supervisors/executives, and visitors at work Application of management skills addressed in the program, including effective communication, project management, and understanding program budgets Professional goal-setting and leveraging the peer network of program participants Information sharing with and overall impact on the participants’ organizations and teams Between six and 16 months after completion of the program, online surveys were administered to all course participants and their supervisors. Survey topics included exploring which skills participants had gained in the program and were applying at their workplaces; how participants were applying their new skills and knowledge in their workplace; the impact of peer learning activities; obstacles to utilizing program learning and skills; overall organizational impacts of the participants’ involvement in the program; and participants’ career growth and decision-making after the program. In order to collect more detailed anecdotes about the topics covered in the survey, PEWL also conducted one 90-minute focus group with participants who had attended the pilot and session 1 of the course.
Overall, 100 respondents participated in the evaluation, out of a total of 147 course participants and supervisors. The resulting 68 percent response rate was notably high, particularly considering the significant time gap between some participants’ completion of the program and the evaluation (more than a year after the pilot session of the course). Further, participants and supervisors were overwhelmingly satisfied with the program overall, with 90 percent of participants reporting that the program was a worthwhile use of their time and 94 percent agreeing that the program addressed the topics they wanted to learn about. Notably, 94 percent of supervisors would recommend the program to others.
“I’m using techniques and skills from CreateNYC literally every day – could not be more grateful for that experience,” said a former program participant. 24 | Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning 2019-2020 Annual Report
NYC Office of Child Support Services With our partnership at the NYC Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), the two-part Customer Service Blue Book: Case Review Seminar and Quality Control Workshop trainings introduced a new approach to trainer-facilitated classroom learning centered around case review for caseworkers and supervisors with advanced-level case review skills. Agency management identified 12 experienced staff in the Customer Service unit and requested a training that would move them to the “next level” of advanced case review practices by improving their case investigation skills, their agility in navigating through cases on the agency’s case review system, and their ability to identify, problem-solve, and resolve complex case issues independently. The training also aimed to boost caseworkers’ willingness to share information with one another and solve complex case issues collaboratively in order to raise the quality of their case reviews. A separate session was offered for six supervisors to improve their ability to conduct case reviews of their staff ’s work and to provide meaningful feedback to help their staff improve. While previous PEWL trainings delivered foundational concepts and information with staff, this trainingwas unique in its focus on sharpening
the case review skills of staff who had already mastered foundational skills and whose case review expertise was likely beyond the expertise of the trainers. In order to leverage participants’ existing knowledge, all participants were asked to bring several interesting or complex cases to share with the group. PEWL facilitated in-depth discussions between the participating caseworkers and supervisors to enable them to solve case issues as a group. In order to identify any changes in caseworkers’ approach to case review and supervisors’ approach to communicating feedback to their staff after the training, we conducted phone interviews with all six participating supervisors three months after the trainings. The majority of supervisors reported that their staff were more thorough in their case reviews, took more time to investigate their cases, and reviewed individual screens in the case review system with a greater attention to detail.
was more confident and that their staff negotiated case issues more collaboratively after attending the training. Supervisors also reported that they had changed their approach to giving feedback after the training, as they felt more confident and prepared for these conversations with staff. Some supervisors noted that they had also changed their case review processes after observing others’ approaches to case review during the training. These outcomes supported the larger agency goal of increasing caseworkers’ and supervisors’ skill in conducting “holistic case reviews,” that is, investigating all components of the case in order to identify and resolve any overlooked issues or errors. Ultimately, these improved case review practices enable caseworkers to provide a better experience for the agency’s custodial and noncustodial parent clients, and ensure that the agency is effectively and accurately managing and disbursing child support monies.
Half of the supervisors also noted that their caseworkers were investigating their cases more independently without the supervisors having to prompt them to look for particular information. Individual supervisors reported that their staff
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Rapid Response to COVID-19
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Life changed drastically in March when New York City shut down in the wake of COVID-19. The pandemic spread rapidly through the area, closing businesses and schools, eliminating jobs for thousands, and forcing thousands more to figure out how to work from home. Our partners had to quickly transition their organizations to an online environment and, in many cases, very quickly redefine immediate priorities to ensure their clients and employees were supported in this new world. PEWL supported our partners move to exclusive online learning and the critical workflow shifts of our agency colleagues who needed to continue serving the city’s most vulnerable populations.
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Rapid Response to COVID-19
1
As the COVID-19 pandemic pounded New York City into a state of crisis and brought the economy to a halt, our team members sprang into action to support city agencies. Members from our partnership with the Department of Social Services and Office of Policy, Procedure and Training worked night and day to assist the Family Independence Administration Office (FIA). To keep up with the extraordinary increase in applications for cash assistance, SNAP (food stamps), and Medicaid benefits, city staff across agencies – staff not currently employed at FIA – were asked to halt their normal work and begin to interview New Yorkers in need.
“This experience showed us what we can do in a short amount of time,” Carter-Searls said. “We showed the agency some best practices and now they’re looking at us to take more of a leadership role. I’m so proud of my team. I can’t say it enough.”
Traditionally, this team has developed procedures and training materials to support employees at the Department of Homeless Services, and, in a matter of days, the group shifted priorities, learned the interview work of FIA, and created learning tools to support non-FIA employees. “We were flying the plane as we were building it,” Hulan said.
The team supported the city’s efforts by: •
Identifying critical content and instruction.
•
Converting a two-month instructor-led training into five eLearning modules that take approximately 2½ hours to complete.
•
Conducting two Webex sessions (one 7-hour session and one 90-minute session) to support eLearning and address cash assistance training questions. More than 300 Department of Social Services agency staff completed the training over a three month period, and additional requests for training continue to come in.
PANDEMIC
2
The CUNY SPS team – Program Director Tanja Carter-Searls, and developers/trainers Edie Young, Michelle Hulan, and Mylka Burgos – were asked to quickly marshal resources to support this huge effort.
COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS TOOLKIT
PLANNING GUIDE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS TOOLKIT FOR COMMUNITY-BASED, FAITH-BASED, AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY
The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) contacted Michael Schultz, senior program manager for emergency management, to develop a Pandemic Toolkit specific to COVID-19. The published toolkit is designed to assist community, faith-based, and other types of organizations in preparing for and responding to the effects of COVID-19. Schultz developed the toolkit to be adaptable to multiple types of pandemics, beyond COVID-19, that may arise in the future. This project is an extension of the work CUNY SPS conducted in 2015 for DOHMH – the Pandemic Influenza Toolkit.
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Led by Program Director Michelle Attles, the Energy Management Institute training program, in partnership with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), prepares city facility personnel to make energy-smart decisions that assist the city in meeting its goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Due to COVID-19’s impact on in-person learning, Attles was asked to move five courses that were in progress from in-person at the CUNY SPS campus, to the WebEx Training Center platform. The most significant challenge of transitioning the courses was to adapt content originally designed to be learner-centric (highly interactive and hands-on) for a vibrant virtual classroom. Once the decision was made to move the five courses online, Attles and her team delivered the first course on March 17, two business days after the campus closed.
Our Managing for Innovation course, led by Senior Program Director Dawn Picken and funded by the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, is a leadership development program designed to help nonprofit program directors understand and enhance the skills needed to operate NYC Opportunity-funded programs. This seven full-day program is traditionally offered in a face-to-face format where participants come together to learn and practice new leadership techniques through exercises, peer-to-peer learning, and small group coaching sessions. The program met once before the CUNY SPS campus closed. A condensed version of the program was offered live on Zoom. Participant feedback on the sessions were very positive as participants were eager to continue their learning.
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Our Commitment to Racial Equity
In June 2020, PEWL established the unit’s Racial Equity Committee. Initially, the Committee was formed in response to the publicized incidents of police brutality across the country and the desire to bring PEWL employees together. The Committee has met weekly since, discussing ways to improve and enrich the unit’s collective work environment. We see this Committee as an opportunity to enact change in order to improve PEWL’s approach to our work, and the implementation of that approach. The mission of PEWL’s Racial Equity Committee is to cultivate a culture where diversity, racial equity and inclusion are reflected and implemented in our policy, procedures, and practice. We are starting this crucial work by prioritizing five areas of focus for this coming year and are in the process of developing action-oriented goals for each: education, HR recruitment, workplace culture, professional development, and partnerships.
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The committee members are Je’nia Brown (Senior Program Manager), Rebecca Brown Cesarani (Senior Program Director), Edwina Nuñez-Gordon (Program Director), Clarke Griffith (Program Director), Dorothea Nixon (Program Director), Amy Perez (Executive Director), Dawn Picken (Senior Program Director), Tanja Carter-Searls (Program Director), Omari Williams (Facilitator), Elizabeth Whitman (Recruiter).
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Organizational Growth: Grants Office
“The Grants Office strengthens our ability to be responsive to our stakeholders’ shifting budget priorities and will support a comprehensive grant-writing effort, which will benefit the entire school. Lawrence MacLean and his talented team are well-equipped to take charge of this critical work.” – Amy Perez, Executive Director
The establishment of the Grants Office is one of the highlights of the fiscal year
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Organizational Growth Grants Office
The establishment of the GO within PEWL is one of the highlights of the fiscal year.
Led by Grants Officer Lawrence MacLean, the Grants Office manages all CUNY SPS grants and contracts, totaling more than $31 million. MacLean and his team members Viktoriia Chubirka, administrative coordinator, and Carmen Yaguachi, payroll and human resources manager, launched the office in January 2020. This dynamic team is responsible for all pre- and postaward administration of Research Foundation (RF) grants including payroll for 210+ RF employees, agreements and contracts, procurement, contract negotiation, and budgeting. Moreover, the GO supports pre-award and post-award grant activity led by faculty and staff across CUNY SPS. In fiscal year 2020, the GO administered a total of $31.7 million in RF grants, which include all of the programs PEWL manages and supports. Five years ago, the grant total was $8.6 million. “We’re a small team of three, but Carmen and Viktoriia have done great work in a short period of time,” MacLean said. “Adding a historic pandemic and the issues it caused on top of starting up a new team could have eliminated a lot of successes we’ve had. However, the team adapted extremely quickly to ensure work continued and I’m very proud of how seamlessly we were able to work from home.” Prior to joining CUNY SPS, MacLean worked at Educational Data System Inc., a national workforce development, talent solutions, and consulting company, where he served as finance manager. In this role, he managed all financial aspects of the company’s workflow – from proposal through contract closeouts – and oversaw a total annual budget portfolio of more than $30 million. He served as a chief financial adviser to program directors, senior management, and stakeholders on spending, fiscal policies, program performance, and the overall financial health of EDSI’s portfolio of grants and contracts.
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MacLean joined CUNY SPS in May 2019. He was attracted to the partnerships between CUNY SPS and city agencies related to workforce training, which is similar to his previous work. He also liked the broad portfolio of grants and sponsored contracts that CUNY SPS faculty and staff had or had the potential to win.
In fiscal year 2020, the GO administered a total of $31.7 million in RF grants.
“This motivates me to do my best work when assisting with budgets, planning, and the other aspects of grants administration,” he said. “I’m very proud to work for CUNY and SPS, specifically due to their missions of providing affordable and flexible education in the city.” Executive Director Amy Perez said the establishment of the Grants Office is a significant accomplishment for CUNY SPS. “It strengthens our ability to be responsive to our stakeholders’ shifting budget priorities and will support a comprehensive grant-writing effort, which will benefit the entire school. Lawrence and his talented team are well-equipped to take charge of this critical work.”
From left to right: Carmen Yaguachi, payroll and human resources manager; Lawrence MacLean, Grants Officer; Viktoriia Chubirka, administrative coordinator.
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Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning 2019-2020 Annual Report
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