DECA Program & YJT

DECA Program users understand the value and importance of family involvement. YJT significantly expands upon the DECA Program’s family involvement opportunities through offering much more structured guidance and support to the family engagement process. YJT can be used during home visits or in group workshops.

A Head Start Program Manager in Kentucky recently said

“…the fact that the two (DECA Program and YJT) could work together to support children and families was most appealing to us. So many times we end up with all of these separate pieces and we have to try and show staff how they work together…DECA and YJT did that work for us.”

YJT offers Head Start Programs a valuable resource to help meet the new Performance Standards. The DECA offers a research-based tool to assess and strengthen children’s social and emotional health, and the research-informed YJT lessons help to build on parents’ knowledge and provides opportunities to practice parenting skills to promote children’s learning and development.

Early childhood programs using the DECA Program can now engage parents in a structured resilience-building journey. YJT connects work being done in the classroom and the home to strengthen children’s social and emotional health and resilience.

Are you looking to:

Optimize the healthy social and emotional development and resilience of children
Reduce behavioral concerns
Improve family engagement & parenting practices
Strengthen collaboration between staff and parents

Your Journey Together offers programs step-by-step guided lessons that engage parents in the process of building the resilience of their child AND themselves! A comprehensive Coach Guide provides all of the tools a family worker needs to deliver the 29 YJT lessons. The lessons, called Stepping Stones, are organized into 4 areas:

Understanding Resilience
Caregiving (i.e. parenting) practices that promote resilience
Strengthening Children’s Protective Factors
Promoting Parent Resilience

Purchase the YJT Kit and Supporting Resources

Download an Informational Flyer for DECA Program & Your Journey Together

Want to know more? Contact Deb Alleyne at dalleyne@devereux.org or 863-368-1022.