Guidebook: Standards for Trainers
The following standards have been developed to further the vision of a future where children and families do not lose hope, but instead, receive the mental health care they need, when they need it. It provides standards for Better Todays. Better Tomorrows. presenters, specifically the need for trainer expertise, how trainings should be planned, methods for ensuring engagement and facilitation of strategic partnerships for the trainings and requirements for outcome evaluation.
General Standards
Expertise
- Presenters at partner sites will be competent in the field of mental health. Consumers, family members, and advocates will work with a team, including licensed mental health professionals, to design and present trainings.
- The content of the trainings will be accurate and reflect the most recent scientific evidence regarding mental disorders in children/youth.
Planning
- Presenters at partner sites will be competent in the field of mental health. Consumers, family members, and advocates will work with a team, including licensed mental health professionals, to design and present trainings.
- The content of the trainings will be accurate and reflect the most recent scientific evidence regarding mental disorders in children/youth.
Engaging/Facilitating
- Partnerships will be formed to ensure: 1) local residents, including consumers and advocates, support the trainings; 2) local mental health professionals, family members and youth participate in the training presentation; and 3) a spectrum of the community understands its obligations to the mental health of children and youth.
- Presentations will be varied, interesting and accurate.
Evaluating
- Data Reporting will be accurate and timely.
- Performance Assessments will be administered in a timely manner by partner sites based on standards established by Better Todays.
- Evaluation of these standards and their usefulness will be conducted annually by Better Todays. in consultation with partner sites.
This section divides the standards for expertise, planning, engaging/facilitating and evaluation into separate categories to further explore each topic.
Expertise
Expertise
- Presenters at partner sites will be competent in the field of mental health. Consumers, family members, and advocates will work with a team, including licensed mental health professionals, to design and present trainings.
- The content of the trainings will be accurate and reflect the most recent scientific evidence regarding mental disorders in children/youth.
Presenters
- Instructor teams will include licensed mental health professionals, family members, consumers and advocates.
- The licensed mental health professional on the team will have prior experience in the field of mental health, preferably working with children and families.
- Instructors will have prior experience with the technology of providing training to adults.
- To obtain initial standing as a Better Todays trainer, instructors must obtain 24 hours of training by ISU in person or electronically.
- In order to maintain standing as an instructor of this program, instructors must obtain no less than 18 hours of annual training provided by ISU in person or electronically.
- Instructors are expected to pursue other training opportunities, specifically concerning children’s mental health issues.Instructors that do not meet and follow these standards shall not present training using this program name or materials.
- Instructors that do not meet and follow these standards shall not present training using this program name or materials.
This document was developed, in part, with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the State of Idaho, and Idaho State University. However, the contents herein do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the State of Idaho or Idaho State University. The contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of any funding agency.