Answer: Vulnerable children and families are those who have experienced significant risk or challenges in their life. Examples of significant risk could be poverty, domestic violence, poor education and schools, lack of supportive relationships, etc. Our definition also includes children and families who have experienced traumatic events.

Answer: Yes, all children and families need to be resilient in order to bounce back from life’s challenges!

“The development process used to create YJT was both research- and consumer-informed and included researching and incorporating trauma-informed practices, reviewing literature specific to children and families involved in child welfare services, pilot testing the curriculum with families involved in the child welfare system, and incorporating feedback from a team of cross-disciplinary experts serving at-risk children and families” (Your Journey Together, 2015). The staff of DCRC continue to conduct research to build the evidence base for this program. These studies evaluate both the efficacy (does YJT result in positive changes for families) and the effectiveness (can community-based providers get the same positive results under real-life conditions) of YJT.

There is much guidance for the coach throughout the curriculum related to making the lessons and activities relevant for each family. In order to ensure that the curriculum is culturally sensitive, the coach needs to reflect on the guidance provided and review the curriculum in light of the individual and community characteristics of the families served. If indicated, the coach may want to consider having the program reviewed by a representative with cultural expertise from a specific community.

 The YJT Coach can certainly use information included in YJT for all children. In order to meet the specific needs of children with special needs, the coach could make adaptations that would be most appropriate to meet the needs of the particular family.

When you purchase a kit, you will be given a password to access the portal.

Yes. While much of the content relates to families with young children ages 4 weeks to 6 years old, there are resources available to support families with children up to 18 years old. These resources can be found in the YJT coach portal.

YJT lessons are designed to be delivered to parents/caregivers only. Each lesson does include leave-behind activities, many of which parents can do with their children in between sessions. Coaches may also assist parents in implementing some of the strategies that parents select for their children.

We recommend use of all 4 modules as best practice. However, Module 1 is the only required one. Whichever modules you choose to deliver, Module 1 should be delivered first. Module 1 is foundational because it introduces resilience.

No. However, Module 1 (Introducing Resilience) should always be delivered prior to delivering any other module.

Yes. The content of YJT can be delivered in individual (home or office) settings, in small or large groups or in some combination of ways. While the content in the coach guide is written in the voice of an individual session, the coach could easily design some activities for groups to reinforce the content of each lesson. There are key Power Point slides available for each module that can be accessed through the password protected coach portal. These slides would be suitable to use with groups of parents.

DCRC strongly encourages use of the DECA. Using a strength-based, reliable and valid tool provides valuable information to inform the implementation of YJT. More information regarding purchasing the DECA can be found here. If a program chooses not to use the DECA for any reason, handout 3.8 can be used to guide the child resilience-building plan.

All YJT lessons and strategies are written simply, but may require additional adaptations in order to best meet the needs of some parents. Activities and lessons can be easily adapted by the coach for parents who struggle with reading.

The YJT curriculum was not specifically designed for use with parents who struggle with mental health or substance abuse issues, and it does not replace treatment for these issues. Parents must be able to engage in 15 minute activities with a coach and follow-through with simple practice of selected strategies. Module 4 (Promoting Adult Resilience) would be an excellent addition to treatment in supporting parents who may be struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues.

YJT is designed to complement your existing resources, so you can use both as you see fit.

Yes, this curriculum is trauma-sensitive. Please click here for a document that explains YJT’s alignment with SAMHSA’s six principles of a trauma-informed approach.

Great! YJT has modules that can incorporate use of the DECA into the curriculum. We encourage use of the DECA with YJT, though it is not required.

YJT is designed to complement your existing practices, so you can use it in conjunction with the assessment you currently use.

Can I use the DECA-Clinical form (DECA-C) with the YJT curriculum?

We offer a number of different training options for YJT, and you can learn more by browsing our Professional Development section of our website here. You can also contact Debi Mahler, Director of Professional Development, at (610) 574-6141 or dmahler@devereux.org

Although YJT is not currently available in Spanish, we may be interested in partnering with you if your organization is willing to support funding translation services. Please contact yjt@devereux.org if your organization is interested.

The kit includes a YJT Coach Guide with 29 step-by-step lessons and parent handouts (266 pages), a Building Your Bounce: Adult Resilience Journal, Parent Guides and Strategy Resources – for Infants/Toddlers & for Preschoolers, and online access to videos, handouts and training materials

Yes, Building Your Bounce & the Strategy Resources are available to purchase on their own. Click here to view Building Your Bounce, click here to see the Infant/Toddler Strategy Guide, and click here to read about the Preschooler Strategy Guide.