Building Measurable Learning Outcomes for Court Professionals in Child Welfare

Spaulding for Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system. The organization is based in Michigan and provides foster care and adoption to families in the Metro-Detroit region. Spaulding for Children also develops programs and resources that support professionals working across child-serving systems, including courts and child welfare partners. Established in 1968 with the belief that every child is adoptable, Spaulding for Children today is a national leader in foster care and adoption, developing and providing parenting support, resources and training.

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Court professionals play a central role in child welfare outcomes, yet training this audience at scale presents unique challenges. The nonprofit organization needed a solution that could reach diverse roles across jurisdictions, without compromising consistency, accessibility, or accountability.

Specifically, the organization needed to:

• Convert deep subject matter expertise into effective online learning without internal instructional design resources
• Provide flexible, asynchronous access for busy court professionals
• Track engagement and learning outcomes to support evaluation and reporting requirements.

The objective was not simply to deliver content, but to support shared understanding and informed practice across the court system.

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Spaulding for Children selected ELB Learning® through a competitive proposal and interview process to support both course development and delivery.

Purpose-built eLearning development

• ELB Learning partnered with subject matter experts through a structured development process that allowed for review, refinement, and alignment at each stage. We designed and developed a five-module, self-paced online course, structured to take approximately two hours to complete.
• The course addressed best practices related to child and youth engagement, along with foundational concepts such as child development and the impact of trauma.
• Interactive and varied learning elements were intentionally incorporated to support learner engagement. 
• The training was developed with accessibility in mind, including closed captioning and compliance with applicable accessibility standards.
• The training was designed for reuse and portability, allowing Spaulding for Children to transition the materials to other platforms and partner systems over time.

Centralized delivery and tracking through the Rockstar Learning Platform

• The training was hosted on ELB Learning’s Rockstar Learning Platform, providing a single point of access for learners across jurisdictions. 
• The platform enabled registration and course completion tracking as the program expanded beyond the initial pilot audience. 
• Supported pre- and post-training data collection, helping Spaulding for Children meet evaluation and reporting needs. 
• The Rockstar Learning Platform allowed the organization to maintain visibility into learner participation while the training was active.

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The training has now been in use for a few years and continues to demonstrate meaningful results.

• Reach: Approximately 800 court professionals registered, with about 500 completing the training
• Learning outcomes: Evaluation results showed a significant increase in participant knowledge and confidence
• Satisfaction: Participants reported 4.4 out of 5 overall satisfaction
• Learner experience: Participants consistently noted the interactive nature of the training

The program began with a defined pilot audience and has since expanded to reach a broader group of professionals, supporting Spaulding for Children’s goal of making the training widely accessible across jurisdictions.

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