Employee Training

The Boys & Girls Village program itself is a philosophy and a method of caring for children and their families. The program flows from the philosophy that the youth it serves have not yet developed the skills they need to live healthy and productive lives. Because the staff have the responsibility to provide an environment in which youth in the Boys & Girls Village programs can heal, learn and grow, the agency takes great care to properly train all staff in the BGV curriculum and philosophy upon hire and throughout their tenure.
In addition, the agency offers training for community members in Common Sense Parenting, a curriculum designed to help parents develop the skills necessary to effectively interact with their child and promote healthy, behavioral growth.
Boys & Girls Village also provides some of its workshops to outside agencies on a contractual basis. Please direct any questions to Jeannine Rose, Recruitment and Staff Development Manager, at (203) 877-0300, ext. 141.

Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI)

All staff participate in a week-long core training in the Boys & Girls Village philosophy and curriculum, as well as specialized training based on the population served. Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training (TCI) is one part of this comprehensive staff development program. Therapeutic Crisis Intervention is a crisis prevention and intervention model designed to help staff assist children to learn constructive ways to handle feelings of frustration, failure, anger and hurt. In addition, safe physical intervention techniques that maintain the dignity and safety of the staff and the child will help the child learn how to avoid crisis.
TCI is a competency-based training. All Boys & Girls Village employees are required to attend and pass the training within their probationary period. Direct care staff is also required to attend and pass re-certifications as scheduled for their programs throughout the year.
TCI training is conducted by a member of the Boys & Girls Village Training Department who has completed a Cornell University-sponsored Training of Trainers and is certified to train this course. TCI trainers are required to attend Cornell University sponsored updates every two years in order to maintain their training status.

Boys & Girls Village Social Skills Model

The Boys & Girls Village model is the second part of our comprehensive staff development program. The model that Boys & Girls Village trains staff to use with the children they serve is much different than traditional behavior modification programs. Our model trains staff to include teaching in each of their interactions with the children. Staff learn: effective ways to praise children; teach children how to handle new situations or situations that may present a challenge for them; how to correct problem behavior; and how to use crisis as an opportunity.
Training in the Social Skills is required of all Boys & Girls Village direct care employees. Staff is also required to attend re-certifications as scheduled through their programs throughout the year.
Social Skills Model training is conducted by specially trained staff who, in addition to holding a minimum number of certifications from Girls & Boys Town, USA, have also had extensive on-site training and experience with Model use.

Girls & Boys Town, USA Common Sense Parenting

The Girls & Boys Town, USA Common Sense Parenting (CSP) program complements all our programs by providing a complete training package for parents on the same skills used by our staff in on-campus programs. This class, designed for parents of school-aged children, has proven successful in many different homes. CSP teaches parents the practical tools needed to teach their children the social skills they need, while at the same time, helps to lower current levels of aggression. To date, more than 2,000 trainers are disseminating the program in organizations in 44 states and 12 foreign countries. Those organizations include schools, churches, counseling agencies, and the US Air Force's Family Advocacy program. If you are interested in common sense parenting classes, please contact Jeannine Rose.