Since the mid-1990s, NAFI/NFI's Training and Consulting Group has been in the forefront of providing training and consulting to public and private organizations in the field of human services. The group has helped many agencies, schools and organizations develop a philosophical and practical framework in which to establish and monitor positive, mission-driven norms that shape their cultures. Additionally, the training group provides technical assistance to organizations facing challenges in managed care, education, leadership, organizational commitment and their overall quality of service. NAFI/NFI has also assisted organizations in such areas as homelessness, mental health, hospital care, police community training, adult corrections and juvenile justice. NAFI/NFI designs each training to fit the specific needs of the organizations it serves.
 

The following are examples of NAFI/NFI’s Training and Consulting Projects:

Youth Link

NAFI's Youth Link Initiative offers it's acclaimed Youth & Police Initiative training(YPI) in high-need communitites across the country to enhance police officers understanding of the beliefs, values and experiences of local youth, while ensuring that youth develop a genuine regard for the challenges that police officers face on the job. Within this context, YPI provides structured dialogue, team building and role playing scenarios that allow all participants—youth and police—to tackle the real and hard issues of crime prevention and community policing. Embedded in this approach is building stronger relationships with minority communities with particular focus on adolescent teens from the Latino, Asian and African American communities. Over the past five years, NAFI has given this intensive, scenario-based training to over 700 police officers and youth in 10 communities.

NAFI/NFI contracted with the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families, to develop and implement an eight-week, core curriculum for all state youth workers in New Hampshire. The trainings were conducted four times a year and were also offered to private vendors working with children, youth and families in the state with curriculum competencies spanning over twenty subjects.

NAFI/NFI created a multi-phased Normative approach training for Northwestern Human Services Academy, a 242-bed school for adjudicated adolescents, to help management and staff build a mission-driven program with a capacity to create and implement an ongoing training curriculum for new employees.

NAFI/NFI contracted with the County of Alameda (CA) Probation Department to help its troubled youth detention facility and school build a positive Normative environment.Training focused on creating a mission-driven culture of open communication, to empower residents and staff to develop positive, pro-social norms to enhance learning and growth.

NAFI/NFI conducted an extensive, statewide training in New York to teach caretakers of sexually aggressive youth to work effectively with this challenging population.

NAFI/NFI spent two years working with this agency in Westchester County, New York. Westhab manages shelters for the area's homeless families and adults. NAFI/NFI helped Westhab to create Normative communities within its residential facilities. Emphasis was placed on developing after-school programs for youth. NAFI/NFI’s work included the implementation of a Needs Assessment, collaborative planning and extensive training, and the development of an in-house trainer body to perpetuate the agency's success.

NAFI/NFI has played an important role in helping Police Corps, a national organization committed to the advanced training of college-educated cadets who will serve on community patrol, develop a broad network of training academies. Graduates receive special training that emphasizes leadership, integrity and effective communication and are then deployed to work with youth and families in high-need neighborhoods throughout the country.

NAFI/NFI has partnered with Boys & Girls Harbor, a leading social services agency in Harlem, New York, to operate a high-impact school for suspended students reentering the New York City public schools. NAFI/NFI's role has been to train teachers and counseling staff to form a Normative community where students realize their role in the school’s success. We also have provided consultation to other large public school systems including New York City and Boston.

Resources

 Youth & Police Initiative Brochure

Building Normative Communities: An Overview

Leadership Quotes

Changing the Culture of Homeless Shelters

Outside Agency Trainings