Rainbow Days Training
Connects
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April 20th - Youth Experiencing Homelessness: How Did We Get Here?
Dr. Darius Campinha-Bacote, PsyD, HSP and Certified Trauma Therapist
April 27th - What is Trauma and What Can We Do to Heal?
Dr. Marcia Baker, Ph.D., LPC, LCDC, ACPS
May 6th - Suicide Prevention: The Intersection of Suicide, Substance Misuse and Mental Health
Mitchell Moore, BAT, LCDC, ADC, ACPS
May 13th - Vaping: The New Social Phenomenon
Julie Stevens, MPS, ACPS, ICPS
May 18th - Helping Support Families During COVID
Dr. Marcia Baker Ph.Dl, LPC, LCDC, ACPS
May 25th - The Disease of Addiction
Gyna Juarez, MPA, ACPS
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Virtual CBSG Program Facilitator Training
Kids’ Connection, Youth Connection, and Kids’ Connection, Too (collectively known as the CBSG® Program ) are unique, interactive, multi-cultural curriculum-based prevention interventions that teach high-risk children and youth ages 4-17 a set of essential life skills: skills to help them learn how to cope with difficult family situations (which include Adverse Childhood Experiences), resist negative peer pressure, set and achieve goals, and refuse alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
This training is designed to fully prepare schools, community-based organizations, churches, juvenile justice divisions, volunteers, and other youth service professionals to fully implement the CBSG Program with fidelity.
Those completing this training will receive their choice one of the CBSG Program Facilitator manuals:
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Kids’ Connection for ages 4-12 in Schools and Communities
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Youth Connection for ages 10-17 in Schools and Communities
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Kids’ Connection, Too for Ages 4-15 in Homeless & Domestic Violence Shelters, Group Homes & Other Transitional Living Environments
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I HAVE: Relationship Skills |
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I HAVE meaningful relationships and people who care about me. |
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“Connection is the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they give and receive without judgment, and when they derive substance and strength from the relationship.”
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Relationships and Connections Defined:
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The state of being related or interrelated; the relation connecting or binding participants in a relationship. - Merriman Webster
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The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected; a relationship in which a person, thing or idea is linked or associated with something else. - Oxford Languages
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Relationship skills are the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. They include communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating with others, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, as well as seeking and offering help when needed. - The CBSG® Program
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Personal Reflection:
It was a cool fall evening in 1982 when a group of 7 elementary aged children and I sat in a circle and began what has become an almost 40-year journey of making “connections.” A combination of knowledge and instinct led me to naming our program, and first curriculum, Kids’ Connection. Although I was developing the weekly sessions as we went at the heart of what we were offering was the opportunity for kids to connect with one another and build relationships. Due to similar life experiences and feelings, they discovered they were not alone. They discovered there were many kids like them who had felt scared, lonely, and responsible for the problems in their families. Over time they began to trust me and each other as “safe people” who could be trusted with family secrets which had never been verbalized out loud. They began to understand that asking for help indicated strength, not weakness.
It was not until years later when Brené Brown articulated our early experiences, and we had the words to describe a core component of what became the Curriculum-Based Support (CBSG®) Program - CONNECTIONS.
“We are hardwired to connect with others; it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.” Brené Brown
And to personally embrace the truth of Brené’s observation, we need look no further than how we all experienced the impact of “lost connections” during the Pandemic.
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The CBSG Program I HAVE Domain Core Components:
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Building Meaningful Relationships: As adults we typically have a pretty good understanding of our different types of friend and family relationships. We are able to differentiate between casual relationships and those few individuals we can trust with our innermost thoughts and feelings. This skill was learned both through knowledge we acquired and trial and error. Kids need to learn and have a safe place to practice making friends, trusting others (and themselves), and building healthy relationships. As kids grow into adolescents the need to belong and connect with their peers can be such a driving force it can cause them to make poor choices. Sessions 7 & 8 in Kids’ and Youth Connection, and Unit 3 in Kids’ Connection, Too include many activities and discussion questions exploring how to make and be a friend and improve family relationships.
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Communication: Listening and speaking well are not skills which necessarily come naturally to kids. Contributing factors to this fact include lack of role models skilled in good communication, possible speech or communication disorders, lack of attentive listeners in their lives, traumatic experiences, and increasingly, the use of technology (e.g., texting to someone who is in the same room with you!). In Group, kids are given the opportunity to learn empathy, attentively listen, take turns, pause for introspection, and watch for nonverbal cues.
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Working Cooperatively: Have you ever been in a situation where someone viewed cooperation as you doing what they told you to do? This is compliance, not cooperation. Real cooperation is when people work together to achieve desired results, people helping one another out to achieve a common goal. Working cooperatively is the ability to balance our needs with the needs of others. Giving and taking, compromising, doing your part and teamwork = cooperation.
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Resolving Conflict: Watching how conflicts and disagreements are handled at home is our first training ground in conflict resolution. Which of these were familiar to you as a child?
- Healthy conversations with mutually agreed upon decisions
- Respectful debate
- Pros & Cons considered for all involved
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- Shouting and name calling
- Blaming & Shaming
- Dictatorship
- Tense silence
The good news is, no matter what we may have experienced in our early years, conflict resolution is a skill that can be learned. In group, participants learn conflict is a natural part of life which can be resolved while respecting others and their viewpoint, understanding “how” something is said is as important as “what” is said (tone and body language), and practicing self-calming techniques to help lower tension and frustration.
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Helping and Seeking Help: Growing up as a native Texan and with the family messages I received, being self-reliant, independent, and “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” were just what you did when faced with a problem or difficult situation. In our culture, asking for help is often described as having “to swallow your pride.” In group we emphasize the importance of asking for help and define it as an act of strength and courage, not a sign of weakness. By equipping participants with the skills of identifying who and how to ask for help we are giving them a critical skill needed to be successful in life. I often say if this is the only skill they remember and consistently practice, then we have been a successful facilitator!
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Identifying Safe and Caring People: I was first introduced to the idea of “safe, trustworthy[KD2] people” from my friend Jerry Moe, Founder and National Director
s of the Children’s Program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. His description of safe, trustworthy people goes beyond what is traditionally taught e.g., “stranger danger.” Safe, trustworthy people characteristics include: 1) trustworthiness—they do what they say they will do and keep confidences; 2) they are good listeners—sometimes the best help is an attentive heart and shoulder to cry on; 3) they are appropriately responsive to feelings, show empathy and caring; 4) they offer support and encouragement; and 5) they have no personal agenda in being there for you. NACOA Resources
One Caring Adult
“Every child who ends up doing well has had at least one stable
and committed relationship with a supportive adult.”
Center for the Developing Child
Recently I watched an inspiring video by Josh Shipp in which he describes the importance of the power of one caring adult. Josh states:
“Every kid is one decision away from being a statistic.” and
“Every kid is one caring adult away from being a Success Story.”
Perhaps you can identify at least one caring adult in your life who made a difference. Perhaps you know of a child or adolescent for whom you have made a difference. However, often we may never know the profound difference we make in a child’s life. For many years we ended our facilitator training with this poem. I hope it is an encouraging reminder you do not have to do everything, and you are not alone!
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Cathey Brown, CBSG® Program Developer
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Major Message Infographic |
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Summer Symposium ... coming soon! |
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Be on the lookout for our Summer Symposium schedule and registration! |
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Logic Models
We are excited to unveil our new Outcomes Approach and Theory Approach Logic Models for the CBSG® Program. These Logic Models represent the latest research and short and long-term outcomes of the CBSG® Program. We believe these will be helpful resources for your grant and fundraising applications, in recruiting new partners, and having concise documents outlining the theory and benefits of the program. If you have any questions, please let us know.
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We Need You ... on Camera! |
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We are seeking programs and facilitators of the Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG) Program to video short testimonials about the impact the curriculum and support group setting has made on you, the children & youth you serve, your organization, and your community.
We are also seeking programs and individuals who have had positive experiences during any of our Rainbow Days Training or workshop events. You can share from our new virtual workshop series or something from farther back in our in-person training days.
Find out exactly what we are looking for.
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