Preservice and Professional Development Topics from DCRC

It’s that time of year when programs begin to plan for pre-service training for the fall.  The Devereux Center for Resilient Children is offering a wide variety of trainings that can excite, inspire, and educate staff in an effort to start the year off right.

Professional development opportunities include:

DECA-P/DECA-IT Overview or Implementation Training – These trainings are designed for programs who plan to use the DECA for Infants and Toddlers Program and/or the DECA Preschool Program Second Edition.  Participants will learn about the importance of resilience and how to implement our strength-based assessment and planning systems in their programs and with families.  These trainings can also support programs who work with children birth through five years old.

DECA-P/DECA-IT Program Refresher Training – Customized to meet your program’s needs, this 1-day session can offer a review of the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program Implementation process or focus on a few areas that need more attention.  If your program has transitioned from the DECA Preschool First Edition to the DECA Preschool Second Edition, we can provide a training that highlights the new elements of the DECA Preschool Program Second Edition!

DECA-P/DECA-IT Program Advanced Planning Training – If your program has been trained on the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program and is looking for more support on using assessment results for planning, this 1-day training is for you!  This training provides a brief review and then focuses on using assessment results to plan at the classroom/group level as well as for individual children who may need additional support.

DECA-P/DECA-IT for Family Service Workers/Home Visitors – Looking to support home visiting staff with the tools to utilize the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program in their work with families?  This 1-day training can provide support for Family Service Workers and/or Home Visitors in understanding how to use aspects of the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program in their work.

DECA-P/DECA-IT Local Program Mentor Training – This training is for programs looking to provide internal capacity to provide on-going workshops and technical assistance on the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program.  Leave this training with the skills and materials helpful in supporting direct care staff on the use of the DECA-P/DECA-IT Program.

DECA-Clinical Training – This training provides a foundation for using the DECA-C, a behavior rating scale that assesses both protective factors and behavioral concerns of young children, ages 2-5.  Designed for participants who meet Level B User qualifications.  For more information about Level B User qualifications, please contact Debi Mahler at dmahler@devereux.org.

DESSA and DESSA-mini Training – Interested in learning more about our screening and assessment system designed to promote resilience of school-age children?  This training will introduce the DESSA Comprehensive System for use in schools, after school programs, and a variety of other settings.  This training can be delivered via webinar or live in a 1-day format.

Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: Activities to Promote Resilience of Preschoolers at School and Home – This 1-day training is for any program (those familiar with the DECA Program, as well as those who do use DECA resources!).  This training focuses on everyday activities that can be used to teach social and emotional skills both within the classroom and for use by families in the home. Participants will leave this session understanding how everyday activities—when used in meaningful, intentional ways— are powerful teaching tools!

FLIP IT Training – This 1-day training can compliment the use of the DECA Program or can be a stand-alone training to support children (ages 3-8) with challenging behavior.  FLIP IT teaches staff about four supportive steps that can be used to help young children learn about their feelings, gain self-control and reduce challenging behavior.  When faced with challenging behavior, don’t FLIP OUT, just FLIP IT!  On-line learning course on FLIP IT is also available at www.netsmartu.com/FLIPIT.

Facing the Challenge Training – This 1-day training also offers more on the topic of challenging behavior in young children.  Included in this training is more on what is challenging behavior, what is developmentally appropriate behavior, why do children misbehave, prevention strategies, behavioral planning, and intervention strategies. Video vignettes and case studies will be used to illustrate key points.

Building Your Bounce: Promoting Adult Resilience Training – This training/workshop/keynote can provide an educational and inspirational start to the school year.  Using the Devereux Adult Resilience Survey (DARS) and journal published by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, this workshop is a fun way for caregivers to recognize the importance of their own resilience and how it relates to their ability to provide quality care to the children they work with.  Get ready to reflect, laugh, and have fun!  Also, new for this year, ask us about Building Your Bounce for leadership teams!

Technical Assistance and Distance Learning – The Devereux Center for Resilience Children can offer coaching and/or distance learning sessions on any of our assessment tools and/or topics related to the social and emotional health of young children.

Would you like to schedule professional development in your local community?  Want to learn more about workshop and keynote presentations on topics like these?  Please contact Debi Mahler, Director of Professional Development, at dmahler@devereux.org or (610) 574-6141 for more information.

For a listing of the 2014 National Professional Development Events, visit our website.