advanced professional training, inc.
                              2121 N. Royer St., Colorado Springs, CO 80907 (719)648-0236

inquiries@yourtraining.net.


Advanced Professional Training was founded in 1994 and incorporated in 1996. apt began as an on-site training workshop provider and evolved into a computer based training (CBT) developer for Direct Care personnel in Youth and Family Services agencies and other non-profit organizations. The client-server version of our Working With Youth series, first released in 1996, provides training to a student enrollment of more than 2,500 Youth Care workers in eight U.S. states.

apt's origin was in response to market dynamics within the Child Care segment of the Human Services industry. The annual growth rate of the segment, about 4% in the late 1980’s and presently 7%, has been accelerating every year for the last 12 years and is projected to continue to accelerate. The placement, treatment, and education of  “troubled” youth is the fastest growing sub-segment of Child Care for both societal and genetic reasons. apt's original focus was on training the personnel who work in this sub-segment. The company has since expanded its efforts into the training requirements of other non-profit industry segments which have been under served by on-line technology. Although non-profits operate in many different capacities, some parallels can be drawn in training needs. Paramount among the similarities is the need to train a large number of staff and volunteers while faced with significant scheduling difficulties and financial limitations. The following discusion of the situation in Youth and Family Services agencies is representative of many other types of non-profit organizations.

The mounting demand for effective and economical training in Youth Care is due to multiple factors:

      ·        The rapid increase in the number of “troubled” youth

     ·        A dramatic rise in the severity of their psychological and emotional problems

      ·        Progressively higher turnover rates among Child Care Workers

·        The creation of national accrediting bodies for Child Care

·        Trends toward “managed care” and “privatization” including for-profits

·        Multiple nationwide incidents of maltreatment leading to injury or death

·        Sharp increases in regulatory training requirements for Direct Care personnel

Many agencies are experiencing difficulty reacting to these dynamics and cannot afford to meet the growing training requirements using traditional modalities. Training of Direct Care personnel is required by regulation, vital to the effectiveness of treatment programs, and essential to the safety of youth and adults. Many youth in care have a background of neglect, abuse, drug use, criminal activity, and/or gang involvement. Rising costs are fueling a trend toward managed care, similar to other branches of health and medicine. Treatment organizations are required to demonstrate progress in preparing youth to return to normal, or at least less expensive, living arrangements. As the need for quality, results oriented treatment services for youth has expanded, so has the demand for quality, results oriented training. Direct Care personnel can not be expected to provide adequate care and rehabilitation services to clinically difficult youth with little or no training. This training must be delivered repetitively at frequent intervals due to rapidly increasing staffing needs coupled with high turnover.

The turnover rate in Child Care creates significant training issues. In 1996, the DoL reported that the average tenure of a Child Care worker was only two years due to high stress and relatively low pay. More recent informal polls of agencies working specifically with troubled youth indicate that the average tenure may have fallen to less than one year. Labor Department data shows that two thirds of all workplace violence occurs within the health care and social services industries! Training has the potential to decrease the violence and stress by preparing Direct Care personnel to avert or defuse dangerous situations. By doing so, a superior training program can help attact and retain Direct Care personnel. However, the economy as well as efficacy of training is crucial as funding agencies apply increased pressure to justify fees.

A trend toward the geographic dispersion of Youth and Family Services agencies creates additional training problems. Many single "campus" style agencies have expanded through the addition of satellite campuses, group homes, foster care, and/or other services; sometimes spaning multiple cities and counties or even several states. CBT can relieve these problems by providing high quality, consistent training over wide geographic areas in a very economical manner. Our World Wide Web application provides global access for training and administration with no requirements for special software or hardware; anyone who can "surf the web" can be a student, anytime, anywhere.

Our goal is to provide high quality, widely availability, low cost training through technology; in short:

BETTER CARE THROUGH BETTER TRAINING


all material copyright Advanced Professional Training, Inc. 1996-2004

 

 
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