Visions For Tomorrow

Professional In-Service Training

Copyright © 2006

Visions for Tomorrow Professional In-Service  a two tier program.  The In-Service program is designed to educate the employees about VFT and what it provides for families and also to make VFT available to the families the agency services.

VFT for employees is a six hour in-service training session service, designed for professionals who work with children and adolescents that have a diagnosed mental illness or who have other special needs.

VFT Professional In-Service is similar in format to the course for caregivers of children and adolescents, but it is designed to address the needs of those who work with children such as teachers, counselors, mental health care workers, foster care professionals, juvenile center employees, and other professionals.

VFT Professional In-Service accomplishes two things:

1.  To educate Professionals about mental illness, the symptoms you might find

      in children and adolescents and how it affects the family dynamics.

2.  To demonstrate the validity of VFT and how to refer families to NAMI or 

      how to offer VFT through their own agency.

The purpose of the Professional In-Service Training session is to:

 1.  To educate the professional about the VFT curriculum and the format for its

       delivery;

 2.  To engage the professional in identifying ways in which VFT can become

       helpful to  families, 

 3.  To assist the professional in his/her interactions with the child and parents.

Once the professional has been trained, often times, the agency will desire to offer VFT to the same families their organization services.  It is at this time the second tier of the plan is initiated, with the agency contracting with the local NAMI Affiliate to offer VFT classes as an additional service.

VFT Professional In-Service can be offered in three different formats:

1.  Train the contracting agencies employees in a one day training session.

2.  Offer VFT curriculum to the families serviced by the agency by contracting

      with the local NAMI affiliate, as an additional service provided by the

      contracting agency.

3.  Provide both 1. and 2. as a package to the contracting agency.

VFT Professional In-Service is a Fee for Service program and is intended to be utilized as a fund raising vehicle for NAMI affiliates, while increasing their outreach and stigma busting efforts.

Where VFT Professional In-Service be utilized:

• Mental Health Centers
• Local PTA Organizations
• Boy and Girl Scouts Conferences
• YMCA
• Big Brothers and Big Sisters Organizations
• Psychiatric Facilities for Children/ training for all staff members
• Staff Development for preschools  
• Head Start
• Juvenile Justice Detention Centers
• Mental Health Centers
• Mental Health Fair and Symposiums
• Staff Development for Social Workers
• Local Psychological Association 
• Foster Parent Groups
• Catholic Charities (staff development for children's therapists)
• Local Special Education Advisory Board 
• Religious Conference

NAMI Texas supports this program by providing the necessary training required to gurantee the success of the VFT Professional In-Service program.  This is just one more tool offered as part of NAMI Texas' efforts to support and assist other NAMI affiliates to be successful while continuring the offering of Visions for Tomorrow to the families who embrace it.