Mobilizing innovative policy, fiscal, and workforce strategies to support Wraparound, transform health care, and achieve positive outcomes for youth and families.
Built on evidence informed practice elements, the FOCUS Certificate Program is designed to enhance skills around care coordination/planning for child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health workforce. Over the course of the 12-month program, frontline staff and supervisors will gain immediately applicable skills and tools to support youth and their families across service systems.
Until now only available to state systems, the FOCUS intermediate care coordination model is open to child-serving systems and behavioral health organizations seeking evidence-informed practice that revolutionizes traditional case management practices.
The FOCUS Certificate Program consists of six days of highly interactive live virtual training, coupled with monthly individualized coaching support for one year (12 coaching sessions).
The FOCUS Certificate Program training series includes
Introduction to Intermediate Care Coordination 2 full days In this introductory session, participants will: – Gain an understanding of the critical components of the care coordination process to provide quality support and connections for families – Gain an understanding of where FOCUS Care Coordination sits within a system of care framework, including shared values – Practice the steps of the process to include: - Identify and understand the reason for referral and target behaviors for change - Identify relevant supports and resources the family has utilized or leaned on in the past - Elicit strengths within and around the family - Identify factors that contribute to the behaviors placing the youth at risk or causing strain for the family - Establish a vision of where the family hopes to be at the end of service
Supervision in Care Coordination: Use of Practice Improvment Tools 1 full day In this session, participants in supervisory roles will: – Accrue knowledge of instruments and tools available to gauge FOCUS fidelity and outcome progress (FOCUS Skill Inventory, Data Collection Points for plans of care, FOCUS Care Coordinator Responsibilities and Supervisor Response tool) – Utilize and embed practice improvement tools to ensure a more data-driven supervision process, clarity of communication with frontline workers, and model-aligned skill building across all staff
Engagement in the Care Coordination Process 1 full day In this training installment, participants will: – Identify barriers to engagement with families – Develop (self-awareness, communication, and active listening) skills around connecting with families and eengaging relevant supports and resources – Utilize and practice research-based strategies of engagement for increased positive outcomes for youth and their families
Trauma-Informed Crisis Response and Planning in the Care Coordination Process 2 full days Through attendance and participation in this training, trainees will: – Develop an understanding of the critical components of a crisis and safety plan – Understand what defines a crisis or safety issue within intermediate care coordination – Practice creatinga crisis plan that is useful to families
Coaching
In addition to the six-session training series, your team will also receive monthly coaching support from one of our expert FOCUS coaches. FOCUS coaching sessions are individualized to your team's needs and can include:
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Monthly reviews of your team's submitted documentation, including co-scoring of fidelity tools
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Live virtual support during field observations (meetings with family)
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Live virtual support during supervision sessions
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Use of Practice Improvement tools, a virtual workforce development platform that houses vital coaching and supervision tools and multimedia files, provides organized visual representations of scoring and data analysis, and fosters interactive model-related communications across your team
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Access to Innovativepractice.org, a virtual workforce development platform that houses vital coaching and supervision tools and multimedia files, provides organized visual representations of scoring and data analysis, and fosters interactive model-related communications across your team
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Ongoing data and evaluation support (including data reporting to target your organization's needs), technical assistance, consultation, and communication through email, telephone, or virtual platforms
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Participants who attend the entire FOCUS Certificate Program Training series can receive up to 30 CEUs.
Sample Training Cohort Schedule
(subject to shifts as necessary and as agreeable to all trainee teams)
Orientation Session
2-hour Orientation to System of Care (SOC) Principles/FOCUS Readiness
Session 4
Engagement in Intermediate Care Coordination
Sessions 1 & 2
Introduction to Intermediate Care Coordination/FOCUS
Sessions 5 & 6
Trauma-Informed Crisis Response and Planning
Session 3
Supervision of Care Coordination/Use of Practice Improvement Tools
12 months
Monthly Coaching Support
Cost/Funding
The cost for the entire six-session training series and 12 monthly coaching support sessions over one year period is $40,000 per six-member team. The cost is paid in two installments, one installment at registration (before the first orientation session). A team consists of no more than six staff: five frontline workers and one supervisor. Each team must have a supervisor that will oversee and support the work. This ensures that effective ratios can be maintained between supervisor and care coordinators. Variations in team constellations can be discussed. Please contact us for clarifications.
Cancellation Policy
In order for the cohort to be viable, there must be at least five participating teams. Your team pays nothing until there is an opening available, at which time you will be notified of availability on a first come-first served basis. Payment must be received in order to have a complete registration. Registration must be completed before the first orientation. Once your team’s registration is completed, we will work with you to accommodate for any changing or unanticipated circumstances.
Steps to Register
1. Identify your team of six staff to be trained, as well as a training lead who will be responsible for registering the team and be the main point of contact. 2. Contact our FOCUS national coaching staff to voice your interest and make initial contact with our staff. 3. Go to The Institute’s own learner management/registration system to register your team, create a profile for each team member, and pay your first installment. 4. Once your team is registered and paid, you will receive an “enrollment key” that will allow you to access the FOCUS certificate program curriculum and enroll in the training session series. 5. You will receive individual follow up communications from our FOCUS national coaching team to address any further questions or clarifications.