The Family Development Training and Credentialing Program (FDC) started as a major New York State initiative that provides frontline workers with the skills and competencies they need to empower families to attain a healthy self reliance and interdependence with their communities.
Since Sept 1996, FDC training has become available in communities across New York State to frontline workers from all public, private and non-profit service systems, e.g. home visitors, case managers, family resource center workers, community health workers, and program volunteers.
The FDC has been developed under a partnership between the New York State Dept. of State, Division of Community Services and Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, where the curriculum was developed. Cornell trains official FDC trainers and issues the NYS credential.
Under the leadership of the NYS Council on Children and Families, 14 state agencies working as the Interagency Work Group on Family Development advise the FDC. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is providing an incentive grant to Cornell and NYS to foster interagency communication and institutionalize the credentialing system.
With its interagency nature, the FDC is transforming the way agencies work with families - fostering collaboration, reducing duplication, and providing a way to streamline training for frontline workers. The FDC credential is recognized by all major family-serving agencies in New York State. The training program has been adapted for use in other states such as North Carolina, Alabama, and California.