Reimagine Youth Development Training, Technical Assistance, and Support

Prevention First works closely with the Illinois Department of Human Services – Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, in accordance with the Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA), to provide training, technical assistance, and support to organizations and stakeholders partnering for stronger and safer communities throughout Chicago and Greater Illinois.

Training Events     Program Brochure

Training

The Prevention First Reimagine Youth Development Training, Technical Assistance, and Support (RYD-TTAS) Team brings nearly 100 years of collective experience and a passion to provide training and development to professionals working with youth, families, schools, and neighborhood agencies and associations. We recognize the vast amount of knowledge, education, and lived experience that training participants possess in their respective fields, whether positive youth development, behavioral health, or violence prevention services, and therefore seek to learn and glean from one another in the training space. Using a trauma-informed, healing-centered, racial equity lens, we work closely with our experienced Instructional Design Team and our trusted external consultants.

RYD professional development services include in-person and virtual classrooms, online self-study training, learning communities, quarterly meetings, networking events, and digital and print resources.


Technical Assistance and Support

Prevention First is committed to supporting RPSA Grantees and Service Providers through technical assistance (TA) services, commonly called coaching and consulting.

Technical assistance is considered one of the most effective methods for strengthening an organization's capacity. Our Team provides individual and group support through coaching or consulting relationships built upon trust and focus on identifying organizational assets and strengths. While the process of TA is about analyzing and solving problems to ensure effective delivery of services, we believe the delivery of TA works best when it is collaborative and co-designed by both the TA recipient and provider with an end goal of enhanced organizational and programmatic effectiveness.


Resources

In addition to providing Training and Technical Assistance, we offer resources to support RPSA Grantees and Service Providers and the important work they do in their communities. Reflecting on the U.S. Surgeon's Advisory and the Illinois Governors' Declaration on the Public Health Crisis of Firearm Violence, we have curated a list of resources for RPSA programs. Please visit often, as new resources will be added as applicable. 

RPSA Program Specific Resources

The Illinois Department of Human Services – Bureau of Firearm Violence Prevention has identified five specific programs funded by the Reimagine Public Safety Act Program which are Youth Development Services, High-Risk Youth Intervention Services, Greater Illinois Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Services, Chicago Conveners, and Greater Illinois Convening Bodies. 

Youth Development Services

Civic Engagement and Leadership

The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention intends for funded organizations to implement a multi-week civics curriculum that will help to prevent neighborhood violence by equipping youth and young adults with skills, knowledge, and resources to become effective leaders and agents of change within their communities. 

Civic Engagement Youth.gov

Positive Youth Development Annie E. Casey Foundation 

Life Skills Education

The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention strongly recommends funded organizations and youth development professionals refer to this list of model programs (endorsed by the Illinois Department of Human Services) when providing life skills education.  

Click to learn more about the Blueprints organization and its connection to violence prevention.   

Contact your TTAS Provider for further assistance as needed for selecting an evidence-based or evidence-informed life skills education curriculum. We also recommend registering for Selecting Evidence-Based Programs through a Trauma-Informed and Racial Equity Lens at Prevention First. 

Academic Performance

Enrichment programs can provide students with the academic support, test prep, and homework help they need to build skills and confidence. These resources will fit well in after-school contexts, and in many cases, they offer students exciting, unique, and interest-driven opportunities that rarely make their way into classrooms. 

Common Sense Education These enrichment programs can provide students with the academic support, test prep, and homework help they need to build skills and confidence. These resources will fit well in after-school contexts, and in many cases they offer students exciting, unique, and interest-driven opportunities that rarely make their way into classrooms.

National Student Support Accelerator-Toolkit for Tutoring Programs High-quality tutoring has long been available to well-resourced students. But low-income students and students of color have rarely had access to the kind of intensive tutoring that works. By expanding access to tutoring to students with greater need and fewer resources, High-Impact Tutoring programs can improve academic outcomes for low-income students. High-Impact Tutoring also has a track record of closing the achievement gaps between racial groups: in Chicago, for example, a High- Impact Tutoring program narrowed the Black-White Math test score gap by almost a third in a single year.

TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) A marketplace of PreK-12 resources, powered by a global community of experienced educators. 

Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home. 

Verizon Innovative Learning HQ This online education portal is free, easy to use, and resources are simple to integrate. Verizon offers tools for educators regardless of technology available to them. 

Structuring a Tutoring Plan Discover how to structure a tutoring session with a flexible and effective teaching plan. Plus, check out tips for incorporating fun in learning. 

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology

Afterschool Alliance-STEM in Your Program

Chicago Stem Pathways Cooperative

U.S. National Science Foundation 
NSF STEM Resources for at-home learning

Science Buddies

ACT Now-Afterschool for Children and Teens 

Recreation, Sports, and Cultural/Artistic Activities

National Recreation and Park Association

Positive Youth Development Annie E. Casey Foundation 

America for the Arts Arts Education

Service Learning Activities

Center for Justice Innovation Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative 

Search Institute Benefits of Community-Based Service Learning 

Youth.gov Service Learning 

High-Risk Youth Intervention Services

The IDHS-Office of Firearm Violence Prevention requires funded organizations to provide culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed services facilitated through a documented client case plan for youth identified as at-risk in Youth Development Services programs. Providers based in Chicago will receive training and technical assistance on accepting referrals and utilizing the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument trauma screening, assessment, and trauma-specific intervention models. 

The Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument 

Greater Illinois Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Services

African American Behavioral Health Center for Excellence 

The African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence is a new national Center funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) housed at the Morehouse College – School of Medicine. The Center of Excellence offers free webinars, resources, and toolkits.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) 

The IDHS-Office of Firearm Violence Prevention requires funded organizations to provide culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed behavioral health intervention services facilitated through a documented client case plan. All Providers must receive training and technical assistance on trauma screening, assessment, and trauma-specific intervention models. Information on appropriate screening and assessment approaches can be found on the NCTSN website. Note: Psychological First Aid (PFA) training at the community level is an RPSA deliverable for many funded organizations. Free PFA Training is offered by NCTSN. Also, for free training on Youth Mental First Aid, please refer to the Prevention First Reimagine Youth Development training page or contact your TA Provider. 

SAMHSA’s Guidance for Trauma-Informed Approach 

The IDHS-Office of Firearm Violence Prevention requires funded organizations to provide culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed behavioral health intervention services facilitated through a documented client case plan. All Providers must receive training and technical assistance on trauma screening, assessment, and trauma-specific intervention models. 

SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Best Practice Resources Addressing Trauma and Violence

This resource includes a listing of multiple Behavioral Health Best Practice Resources Addressing Trauma and Violence. 

Chicago Conveners 

Community engagement and provider collaboration is one key to implementing evidence-based intervention services to reduce firearm violence. The Centers for Disease Control established a Committee on Community Engagement to improve public health. They defined community engagement as "the process of working collaboratively with groups of people who are affiliated by geographic proximity, special interests, or similar situations with respect to issues affecting their well-being." Meaningful community and provider engagement will bring stakeholders together to help strategize and make plans to address the issues most impacting them. 

CDC Violence Prevention About The Public Health Approach to violence Prevention

CDC Community Violence Prevention Resource for Action

University of Kentucky A Convenors' Guide to Hosting a Public Forum

Community Toolbox Lessons Learned on Community Organization and Change 

Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions Community Violence Intervention 

Greater Illinois Conveners 

Community engagement and provider collaboration is one key to implementing evidence-based intervention services to reduce firearm violence. The Centers for Disease Control established a Committee on Community Engagement to improve public health. They defined community engagement as "the process of working collaboratively with groups of people who are affiliated by geographic proximity, special interests, or similar situations with respect to issues affecting their well-being." Meaningful community and provider engagement will bring stakeholders together to help strategize and make plans to address the issues most impacting them. 

CDC Community Violence Prevention Resource for Action

Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions Community Violence Intervention 

Project Administrator

Kimberly Callaway-Thompson
rydteam@prevention.org