As you may know, Cristy Schlientz, founder of Innovative Teaching Systems, is an Individual Developer for the Teaching Family Model. One of the few people around the globe who is certified by the Teaching Family Association to train and certify youth agencies in the Teaching Family Model. When we start the site development process at a new youth agency more times than not the first question we get asked is ‘What is the site development process”? Youth Agencies want to know what they can expect in terms of getting certified in the Teaching Family Model. Since it’s such a common question, we wanted to address it here on the blog.

Initial Contact and Assessment

Certify in the Teaching Family ModelThe first step for getting certified in the Teaching Family Modelwould be to reach out to an Individual Developer like Cristy Schlientz of Innovative Teaching Systems and schedule a free site assessment. Not all Individual Developers offer a FREE on-site assessment, so please keep that in mind when making your decision for who you will use to help you certify in the Teaching Family Model. During the Site Assessment phase, this is what you can expect. We:

  • Use a standardized assessment tool to assess your agency’s strengths and program needs
  • Review all program information and supervision systems
  • Review of training provided to direct care staff and supervisors
  • Review of evaluation processes
  • Review of administrative systems such as policies and procedures, budget, personnel recruitment and hiring, financial resources, admissions procedures, records, etc.
  • Interview staff and youth utilizing standardized assessment survey instruments
  • Provide overview and explanations of the Teaching Family Model hallmarks, philosophies, goals, program components, elements, etc.

Once the Site Assessment is complete we are able to propose an Individualized Development Plan for your agency.

Preparation of an Individualized Development Plan

The outcome of a successful on-site assessment is our Site Assessment Report. The report is a summary of our findings from the on-site assessment. The reports shows:

  • Agency/program strengths
  • Identified Needs
  • Recommendations for Change
  • Proposed Service Delivery Plan

Once the report is completed we review it with your agency executives and together we finalize the plan. We collect any input from your agency executives and make sure it is incorporated into plan prior to implementation. Once the report is finalized we move forward in reviewing the following:

  • Related costs
  • Potential barriers
  • Training requirements
  • Staffing requirements or changes
  • Need for administrative and board support
  • Names and qualifications of agency service providers
  • Assignment of site coordinator to oversee the delivery of services from your agency

Following the successful negotiation of budget, timing, and the remainder of the items on the list above, it’s time to initiate Teaching Family Model certification training.

Teaching Family Model Certification Services

teaching family modelInnovative Teaching Systems offers many different services to our agency partners. Some agencies need to utilize all of our services, while others only need to train in a few different areas. Below are the Teaching Family Model services that we offer:

  • Pre-Service Workshop for supervisory, program & administrative staff
  • Pre-Service Workshop for all practitioners
  • Consultation Training for Supervisors and Administrators
  • Co-Consultation Visits to aid in the application of consultation skills
  • Train the Trainer Workshop for everyone involved in the delivery of training services
  • Evaluation Training for everyone who will be assigned to evaluate staff performance
  • Practitioner pre-evaluation training and evaluations (six month and/or annual)
  • Identification of outcome indicators and data collection
    methods
  • On-going monitoring and review of program implementation through total systems reviews
  • Phone consultation as needed to support implementation
  • Development and revisions of training materials
  • Organizational structure and job descriptions
  • Program & personnel policies and procedures
  • Licensing and accreditation
  • Program structure and organization
  • Strengths-based individualized treatment plans
  • Individualized motivation systems
  • Parent training and family reunification
  • Cultural competence
  • Management and leadership training
  • Other in-service training

Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what you can expect during the Site Development process. Because this process is so important, we wanted to provide you with more information on different areas of the Site Development process. We will be publishing Part 2 of the Site Development process next month, so stay tuned for that article. If you want to be notified when the article has been published, please consider subscribing to our blog.