Contact Community Services, Inc. facilitates trainings concerning social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues for school personnel, youth workers, mental health providers, parents, students, and other community groups.

SCHOOL-BASED TRAINING AND CONSULTATION SERVICES

We specialize in social emotional learning (SEL), providing training, consultation and support to schools and school district personnel to address social, emotional, behavioral and mental health barriers to learning.

Contact trainers can help you develop specific strategies to accurately assess student needs, develop action plans that effectively manage student behavior, and create school-wide systems to support staff and improve school climates. The programs we present are evidence-based and yield measurable outcomes.

Most of our school-based training is offered through our Central New York Social Emotional Learning Institute (cnysel.org), including:

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a systematic approach to preventing and responding to school and classroom discipline problems by developing school-wide systems to support the staff; creating consistent expectations and discipline for students; promoting positive behavior. Members of our staff act as coaches to many local schools implementing PBIS.

• Student Targeted Aggressions Replacement Training (START), a cognitive-behavioral intervention program for chronically aggressive students in K-12th grades. Its goals are to improve social skills, anger control and moral reasoning skills.

• Functional Behavioral Assessment/ Behavioral Intervention Planning (FBA/BIP), a process for determining the reason behind the behavior and then creating an action plan for addressing those findings.

For information about other trainings and workshops or for information about consultation services, contact Susan VanCamp, director of school-based services, at svancamp@contactsyracuse.org , or 315-2512-1400, ext. 122.

CRISIS RESPONSE AND SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION NETWORK

The School Violence Prevention/Crisis Response Team Network meets three times a year to bring together teachers, support staff, school administrators and representatives from community agencies that provide services to schools. Two-hour network meetings feature speakers from schools, law enforcement and community and government agencies. Topics have included: de-escalation strategies; targeted interventions for students with behavior challenges; bullying; adolescent depression.

COMMUNITY-BASED TRAININGS

• Mental Health First Aid
  It is estimated that one in four Americans will have a diagnosable mental disorder at some point in their lives, according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s report on mental health. Many others will face mental or emotional distress that requires support and self-help measures. Yet many of us remain reluctant to talk about mental health and are afraid to offer help because we are not sure what to do.

  Mental Health First Aid, a 12-hour training, presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders, introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and discusses common treatments. You will learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

  For information about attending Mental Health First Aid training contact npierce@contactsyracuse.org .

• Children 1^st.
  Separation and divorce are tough on couples, and if children are involved, the difficulty increases exponentially. Children 1st! is a six-hour class for parents in divorce, separation, or custody disputes. Certified, trained professionals cover topics including adult emotion/psychology, child emotion/psychology, and the legal process/alternatives. The program is certified by the New York State Parent Education and Awareness Program.

  Children 1st is a program of Contact and its affiliate, the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Onondaga County. More details about Children 1st are available at the MHA website.

  Registration for Children 1st! must be done by phone. For more information, including payment options and eligibility guidelines, call 315-445-5606, option 1.

• Acknowledging, Accepting and Alleviating Anger
  This course will teach participants to use anger in ways that will be constructive and healthy for themselves, loved ones, and co-workers. This six-session class is facilitated by certified social workers and therapists whose expertise includes trauma, family violence prevention, and relationship enhancement.

  Acknowledging, Accepting and Alleviating Anger is a program of Contact and its affiliate, the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Onondaga County. More details about this class are available at the MHA website.

  Registration must be done by phone. For more information or to register, call 315-445-5606, option 1.