About Training and Curriculum Development
The Training and Curriculum Development unit develops and delivers professional development training and educational programs for a large portfolio of sponsored projects with governmental agencies, school districts, and community-based organizations. By developing targeted curricula and facilitating engaging training sessions, this specialized team provides learning experiences that align with community needs, public sector goals, and regulatory requirements. With a strong commitment to professional development, lifelong learning, and community education, the team ensures that its programs not only strengthen internal workforce capabilities but also promote broader knowledge-sharing and civic engagement, enhanced service delivery, pathways into higher education, and more informed and empowered communities.
Signature Programs
- The Institute on Protective Services (IPS) helps to protect adults and older adults from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment by providing education and support to Pennsylvania’s network of Area Agencies on Aging, adult protective services, law enforcement, and other community partners statewide. This year, IPS celebrated its 23rd year of partnership with Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging.
- The Institute on Adolescent Sexual Health (IASH) delivers three health programs to middle- and high school-aged youth across the commonwealth, including the Teen Outreach Program (TOP), the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), and Elevatus. Each of these programs focuses on positive youth development and evidence-based sexual risk avoidance education and is available through grant funding from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health (PADOH). In FY26, this team will start implementation on a fourth PADOH-funded adolescent health program.
- The Certified Investigators (CI) Program is responsible for overseeing training, certification, ongoing education, and quality assurance for Certified Investigators in Pennsylvania and Delaware. CI professionals are equipped to conduct thorough investigations into critical incidents of abuse and neglect, thereby playing a pivotal role in safeguarding the well-being of individuals with developmental disabilities and older adults.
- The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Bureau of Human Services Licensing (BHSL) Programs includes contracts to provide Basic Civil Investigations training to BHSL staff, 100-hour training for Personal Care Home Administrators (PCHAs), as well as ongoing enrichment training for Personal Care Home Administrators and Bureau of Human Services Licensing staff.
- The Medication Administration (MA) program, through a contract with Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services Office of Developmental Programs, provides Pennsylvania’s MA Train the Trainer course. This program facilitates safe medication administration through standardized processes and practices, strengthens the workforce by developing essential skills, and reduces reliance on the limited pool of licensed healthcare professionals for medication administration in eligible licensed provider settings.
- The Sheriff and Constable Training Program develops and delivers professional training for certification to Constables, Deputy Constables, Sheriffs, and Deputy Sheriffs for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) in partnership with Temple’s Criminal Justice Training Program (CJTP). The training curricula include basic training, continuing education and legal updates, firearms basic training, and annual firearms qualification, as well as instructor training, instructional materials support, and course evaluations.
Training and Curriculum Development Impact in FY2025
More than 270 training & educational programs facilitated
10,000+ learners served
12 conference or public presentations reaching 2,500+ professionals in the field
Collaborative partnerships with 3 TU departments and 53 community partners
CEPD in Action
A Regional Partnership for Investigative Excellence
This year, the CI Program was engaged by the Delaware Department of Developmental Services to assess Delaware’s Department of Developmental Services (DDDS) to learn about their supports and services delivery system to assist in improving their CI Program with a consistent message to their providers and investigators. Based on this assessment, DDDS contracted with CEPD to create a Certified Investigator Manual unique to the DDDS system to provide investigators with a consistent process of conducting investigations and to develop and facilitate in-person Initial Certified Investigator training in Delaware. The success of the partnership has already yielded significant outcomes, and DDDS has contracted CEPD to develop a CI Recertification program, a continuing education training suite, and a Quality Review program over the next several years.
Bringing Lived Experiences to the Forefront of Practice
The Pennsylvania Department of Aging approached CEPD’s Institute on Protective Services to develop and facilitate a Valuing Lived Experience training series. This training included a 2-hour asynchronous prerequisite module and three live, virtual training sessions on the following lived experience groups: Community re-entry (following incarceration), Mental Health, and substance use disorders. The live training sessions included panel discussions with both people with the lived experiences of being part of these populations, as well as with professionals who work with these populations. For the mental health session, CEPD staff interviewed the panelists with lived experiences and created a video from those interviews that was shown as part of the training session. This allowed panelists who may not have felt comfortable participating otherwise to be part of the discussion and share their experiences. This training has been well-received and has had an impact on both the attendees and the panelists.
