About the UMFS Learning Institute
The UMFS Learning Institute promotes a learning environment where adults who work with children, youth, and families, such as teachers, counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals can expand their horizons in order to bridge connections with troubled young people.
We are conscientious about offering powerful learning opportunities that lead to growth and development. Our services have long-term positive impact on the array of services offered by human services organizations.
For more information, complete our interest form or call 804-353-4461, ext. 1290.
Our Key Learning Principles
Continuous Learning: Provide human services professionals a forum where they continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire for children and families, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured.
Relevance and Experience: Our learning events are applicable to the work and other responsibilities of human services professionals by connecting the learning of new practices and theories to the participants’ knowledge and experience.
Supervisory Development: Provide supervisors the support and venue to learn effective staff supervision skills for a productive workplace.
Our Services
Training: A variety of delivery lengths (multi/day-long to four-hour sessions) and learning approaches to meet the needs of adult learners.
Consultation: Onsite and/or phone support to develop positive organizational culture.
Customized Learning: Specially designed learning events based on the customer’s assessment, need, and desire.
Our Commitment to YOU... the Customer
• Providing dynamic and quality services for growth and success.
• Offering learning events that are relevant to current practices in human services.
• Utilizing unique learning approaches to advance educational and professional development goals.
• Promoting and supporting the development of management and leadership skills.
Our Approvals and Credits
• Contact hours available to meet the requirements of the National Association of Social Workers.
• Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits available through Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (additional fee).
• Graduate credits available through Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (additional fee).
Highlighted Programs
Basic Training in Building Strengths. Response Ability Pathways - or simply RAP - offers basic training for dealing with challenging children and youth who are experiencing difficulty in the family, school, or community. Children and youth need supportive persons who respond to their needs rather than react to their problems. The three-day RAP certification course includes intensive experiential training on core response abilities for guiding children and youth on pathways to responsibility.
UMFS is a national training site for the Life Space Crisis Institute of Hagerstown, Md. This five-day LSCI certification course provides carefully structured crisis intervention skills for use in reclaiming children and youth involved in patterns of self-defeating behavior. LSCI is applicable with troubled students in public schools, in residential and day treatment, special education, alternative schools, and in mental health and juvenile justice programs. LSCI provides specific competencies for using crisis as a teaching and therapeutic opportunity with students showing six different patterns of self-defeating behavior. This intervention model is a multi-modal psycho-educational methodology first described by Fritz Redl and David Wineman in their classic book, The Aggressive Child. Successful completion of this course allows for further advanced training and certification in LSCI from the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute.
