Our Training Offerings

All training offered can be customized and quoted to fit your needs.

FLIP IT! (Devereux Center for Resilient Children)

Description: FLIP IT© is a strategy that offers a simple, kind, strength-based, commonsense, and effective four-step process to address children’s day to day challenging behavior using Feelings, Limits, Inquiries, and Prompts. Four, 90-minute sessions are delivered in a group setting by Devereux Center for Resilient Children certified facilitator(s).

Target Audience: Caregivers of any age child.

Positive Solutions for Families (Pyramid Model)

Description: Participants learn how to promote children’s social and emotional skills, understand their problem behaviors, and use positive approaches to help children learn appropriate behavior. Facilitators who are trained through Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning deliver six, 90-minute parent education sessions in a group setting.

Target Audience: Caregivers of any age child.

Starting Life Together (Based on NYS Parent Guide)

Description: Parents and caregivers, with children prenatal up to one year old, will receive a New Parent Kit and are invited to a 5-week discussion group to learn five key parenting behaviors that build a nurturing, healthy family and a strong, trusting, and positive relationship with your child. Each session is 90 minutes.

Target Audience: Caregivers of babies under age 1.

Building Your Bounce (Devereux Center for Resilient Children)

Description: As adults, we all want to be happy and to achieve in life. But where do we start? Life comes at us and knocks us down at times. This professional development series, created by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, is delivered in a group setting with professionals and/or caregivers. Building Your Bounce uses simple strategies to build and support adult resiliency so that we may better care for ourselves and the children in our lives. Group is offered in four, 60-minute sessions.

Target Audience: Anyone.

Your Journey Together (YJT)

Description: A strength-based curriculum designed to promote the social and emotional well-being and resilience of vulnerable children and their families. The focus is on empowering parents to promote safe, trusting, and healing environments—all key elements of a trauma-sensitive program. Devereux Center for Resilient Children trained facilitators deliver this program in a group setting over six, 60-minute sessions.

Target Audience: Caregivers of any age child.

24/7 Dad® (National Fatherhood Initiative)

Description: 24/7 Dad® is a voluntary, comprehensive fatherhood program designed to help men improve their parenting skills and fathering knowledge. The program focuses on building self-awareness, self-caring, parenting, fathering, and relationship skills. National Fatherhood Initiative Certified Facilitators deliver 24/7 Dad® in a group setting over a 6- or 12-week session; each session is 2 hours.

Target Audience: Especially appropriate for Fathers and Father figures.

Fatherhood Connection

Description: A 13-session support group and program in which fathers and father-figures will gain a stronger understanding of their roles and responsibilities, for the best interest of their children. Fathers and father-figures will be equipped with skill sets to become more confident & competent fathers, partners, and leaders in our community. Participants will also receive supportive services through Pro Action’s family support programs. (Mini sessions of 5, 6 or 8 weeks can be customized.)

Target Audience: Especially appropriate for Fathers and Father figures.

What You Do Matters! (Parents As Teachers)

Description: What You Do Matters is a 6-week series, sponsored by Parents as Teachers, that combines short parent-educator discussions with caregiver-child interactions. Each one-hour session focuses on a different topic and caregivers have an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions, and try out activities.

Target Audience: Caregivers of children Birth to Age 5.

All training offered can be customized and quoted to fit your needs.

Poverty Simulation

Description: Using a poverty simulation kit, participants role-play the lives of low-income families through a variety of scenarios. Some are receiving public assistance; some are disabled and others are senior citizens on Social Security. All are faced with the stressful task of providing basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four 15-minute “weeks”. Participants interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers, and others. A poverty simulation training allows participants to walk in the shoes of those facing poverty. The simulation enables participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their local communities. The simulation was designed to sensitize those who frequently interact with low-income families as well as to create a broader awareness of poverty among policymakers, community leaders, educators, and others. Requires at least 65 participants plus 22 volunteers. Simulation event is 2 hours, including overview, four, 15-minute simulated “weeks,” and debrief. Pricing includes preparation of materials, and training of volunteers. Does not include set up of tables and chairs at site.

Target Audience: Policymakers, community leaders, educators, and others who frequently interact with low-income families.

Poverty 101

Description: Poverty 101 is an interactive training that seeks to challenge stereotypes about poverty and ultimately give a better understanding of the mindset of those experiencing the realities of life in poverty. The training helps to assist professionals in effectively supporting and communicating with those experiencing poverty. The workshop curriculum includes the history of poverty, root structural causes of poverty, myths vs. facts, and how the differences in life experiences of the various social classes play a crucial role in determining prospects for success. The session concludes by making a connection between poverty and trauma, and how trauma can impact basic brain functions necessary to navigate and overcome poverty. Poverty 101 provides pointers on ways to challenge assumptions, broaden perspectives and build poverty competencies in participants. Session is 75 minutes.

Target Audience: Professionals who support and communicate with those experiencing poverty.

Resilience Film and Discussion

Description: Engage in a one-hour film, and 30-minute, “Community Café” conversation about how all of us can support people affected by early childhood stress & trauma. RESILIENCE: THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS & THE SCIENCE OF HOPE chronicles the birth of a movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities, who are using cutting-edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence, addiction and disease. Participants overwhelmingly report a changed mindset from asking, “What is wrong with you?,” to asking, “What happened to you?” Produced by KPJR Films, Directed by James Redford.

Target Audience: Community members, educators, therapists, and pediatricians.

Understanding N.E.A.R. Science Training

Description: How can we, as communities, address the crisis of Adverse Childhood Experiences and their long-term impact on public health? How can we understand and prevent trauma in children, families, and communities? How do we invest in protective systems that help families and communities heal? Understanding N.E.A.R. Science presents research on Neuroscience, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Resilience. Participants also learn the principles and practices for building Self-healing Communities. Trainers are nationally certified by ACE Interface. Core training is 1.5 – 2 hours. Customized modules can be added and may increase fee. A full-day “Training of Presenters” is available at a cost of $1,600 for up to 20 people if organizations would like to build internal capacity to deliver Understanding N.E.A.R. Science.

Target Audience: Community leaders, health professionals, educators, and policymakers.

Pyramid Model

Description: Pyramid Model builds upon a tiered public health approach to provide universal supports for all children to promote wellness, targeted services to those who need more support, and intensive services to those in need. Fidelity tools and data collection are a component of implementation. NYS has developed Preschool Pyramid Modules specifically for the New York State Early Childhood Education Workforce in alignment with the foundation principles of the Pyramid Model Framework for the Development of Social Emotional Competencies in Infants, Toddlers and Young Children. Primary content sources are the Pyramid Model Consortium and the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. The NYS Pyramid Model Modules present a conceptual framework of evidence-based practices for promoting the healthy social emotional development in children ages Birth through 8 by using targeted teaching of social-emotional skills. Training is delivered in three, 2-hour sessions.

Target Audience: Educators of children up to age 8.

Youth Mental Health First Aid or Mental Health First Aid

Description: Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services professionals, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, review typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.

Description: Mental Health First Aid for adults teaches people how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults ages 18 and older, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care if necessary. Topics include anxiety, depression, suicide, psychosis, and addictions. Expanded content now includes trauma, and self-care. Either group can be done entirely in-person during one, 6.5- to 8-hour session (depending on which course and breaks) led by one or two instructors. Or, groups may choose a blended option in which participants do a 2-hour online course, plus attend an in-person, instructor-led training lasting 4.5 – 5.5 hours depending on breaks. If the organization chooses printed versus electronic course materials, these will be added to the fee.

Target Audience: Youth Mental Health First Aid: Adults who regularly interact with young people. Mental Health First Aid: General public, especially those who interact with adults experiencing mental health challenges.

Enough Abuse

Description: The Enough Abuse Campaign helps adults understand how to protect children from sexual abuse. It is heartbreaking that so many children are victims of child sexual abuse, and experience its devastating impacts. There is a lot we as adults can do to protect them with the proper information and training. Several modules are available of varying lengths and for varying audiences.

• Enough Abuse: Strategies for Your Family and Community: Digest Module provides audiences with a brief and general overview of the problem of child sexual abuse using the public health strategy. This module provides a lot of general information about child sexual abuse in a short amount of time. It can be helpful to give audiences an overall sense of the issue. 60-90 minutes.
• Enough Abuse: Strategies for Your Family and Community: Social Conditions Module explores the question of what the social conditions are that allow child sexual abuse to flourish. 60 minutes.
• Enough Abuse: Strategies for Your Family and Community: Abusers Module focuses on who sexually abuses children, why they do it, and how adults can keep kids safe. 60 minutes.
• Enough Abuse: Strategies for Your Family and Community: Impacts Module focuses on what the impacts of child sexual abuse are on survivors and communities. 60 minutes.
• Understanding & Responding to the Sexual Behaviors of Children (URSBC) is an interactive workshop designed for parents, early education and care professionals and others who have contact with children and/or their families. 2 hours.
• It’s Not Just Jenna is an 18-minute video co-produced by Massachusetts Citizens for Children and Alvid Productions to educate middle and high school youth, their parents and other youth-serving professionals. The accompanying 62 slide