Children’s Bureau of Southern California, a child abuse prevention nonprofit, has been named as a 2021 winner of the Association for Talent Development’s BEST Award.

The nonprofit is among 71 organizations from around the world receiving the award.

Children’s Bureau was recognized for its internal learning platform – Children’s Bureau University. After the agency’s workforce of nearly 500 employees transitioned to working remotely in spring 2020, the training and learning processes were also quickly shifted to a virtual platform.

To support the agency’s child abuse prevention, foster care, adoption and mental health programs, the internal university offers virtual self-paced and facilitator-led programs that focus on leadership development, work from home readiness, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Children’s Bureau is committed to supporting a true culture of learning through customized training programs for our staff and people leaders. This recognition has been so exciting and validating for our Children’s Bureau University team and learning community,” Children’s Bureau chief people officer Kymberly Garrett said. “Being a part of the 71 organizations recognized with this award is a highlight and we could not have achieved it without the full support of our executive and senior leadership teams. We will continue to strive for excellence through our meaningful staff engagement and development programs, and look forward to repeating this honor once again in 2022.”

The BEST Awards are the talent development industry’s most rigorous and coveted recognition.

“These 71 organizations are driving impact and solving business challenges through talent development practices, and they are doing it in innovative ways,” Association for Talent Development president and chief executive officer Tony Bingham said. “Senior leaders in these organizations understand the critical strategic role learning has, and they are committed to investing in the growth and development of their people.”

For information about Children’s Bureau of Southern California, visit all4kids.org.