Florida is investing in the people who protect its children. Over the past several years, the Florida Certification Board (FCB) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) have reshaped how child welfare professionals are trained, hired, and credentialed. Here’s what changed, where supervisors and child advocate managers fit, and how to meet your CCWS or CCAM training and continuing education requirements.
What’s changed
2020
A first-in-the-nation standard for child advocates
The Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program and the FCB certified 384 Child Advocate Managers, making Florida the first state to establish uniform standards for independent child advocates.
2022
A credential for supervisors
The FCB launched the CCWS as part of a broader effort to improve outcomes by building the skills of front-line child welfare supervisors. It satisfies section 402.40, Florida Statutes, which calls for competent direct supervision of child welfare staff.
2025
A new two-stage certification program
The FCB introduced a Child Welfare Certification Program that moves new professionals from provisional to full certification, and is working with DCF as it transitions to a new academy model for pre-service training.
Now
DCF’s Florida Academy
DCF’s Florida Academy for Child Protection and Family Resilience is rebuilding pre-service training around retention, standardization, and modernization, bridging the classroom and the field.
Now
Wider pathways into the field
Under DCF’s Enhanced Workforce Program, agencies can hire people with eligible experience without a bachelor’s degree, and the FCB accepts those hires for provisional certification.
January 2026
Updated CCAM standards
The FCB’s current CCAM standards took effect, including 40 hours of continuing education a year tied to four performance domains.
Every one of these changes depends on strong leadership. New workers are only as supported as the supervisors and advocate managers who coach them, review their work, and keep them in the field.
Certified Child Welfare Supervisor (CCWS)
The CCWS is the FCB’s credential for professionals who supervise child protective investigators, case managers, licensing counselors, and other direct child welfare staff. It’s built on 27 competencies in four performance domains. To earn it, candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree, complete 40 hours of content-specific training, complete 1,040 hours of supervisory work after training, pass four rated field observations and a case file review, and pass the CCWS exam. Once certified, CCWS holders complete 20 hours of continuing education a year, related to at least one performance domain.
Our CCWS series is built to the FCB’s domain-by-domain training minimums, 40 contact hours in all:
| Performance domain | FCB minimum | Our course |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership | 10 hours | Leadership for Child Welfare Supervisors (10 contact hours) |
| Managing Performance | 14 hours | Managing Performance for Child Welfare Supervisors (14 contact hours) |
| Communication Skills | 8 hours | Communication Skills for Child Welfare Supervisors (8 contact hours) |
| Professional Child Welfare Foundation | 8 hours | Professional Child Welfare Foundation for Supervisors (8 contact hours) |
Certified Child Advocate Manager (CCAM)
The Guardian ad Litem CCAM is the FCB’s professional-level credential for Child Advocate Managers, who coach and manage the volunteer advocates at the center of each child’s multidisciplinary team. Initial training for the credential is the Guardian ad Litem Office’s own Child Advocate Manager training program. After that, the FCB’s current standards require CCAMs to complete 40 hours of continuing education a year, related to at least one of four performance domains. The requirement is waived for the first renewal, CE hours can’t repeat within a credential period, and the credential renews every June 30.
Our CCAM series covers one performance domain per course, 10 contact hours each, for 40 contact hours in all:
| Performance domain | Our course |
|---|---|
| Child Advocacy Management | Child Advocacy Management for Certified Child Advocate Managers (10 contact hours) |
| Volunteer Coaching, Relationship Building, Management and Support | Volunteer Coaching, Relationship Building, Management, and Support for CCAMs (10 contact hours) |
| Court Preparation and Participation | Court Preparation and Participation for CCAMs (10 contact hours) |
| Legal, Ethical and Professional Responsibilities | Legal, Ethical, and Professional Responsibilities for CCAMs (10 contact hours) |
Stay informed
We’ll share updates on child welfare credential requirements and new courses as they happen.
Join our mailing listSources
- Florida Certification Board: CCWS Standards and Requirements
- Florida Certification Board: CCAM Standards and Requirements (effective January 2026)
- Florida Certification Board: New Child Welfare Certification Program
- Florida Certification Board: Enhancing the Workforce Programs
- Florida DCF: Florida Academy for Child Protection and Family Resilience
- Guardian ad Litem establishes professional certification for Child Advocate Managers (July 2020)