Working with Working with ConsumersConsumers

Working with Working with ConsumersConsumers

Communicating effectively and Communicating effectively and interacting professionally in order to interacting professionally in order to

inspire confidence in treatmentinspire confidence in treatment

Who Are Your Community and Professional

Consumers:1. Youth2. Parents3. Caseworkers and their Supervisors4. Teachers and School Administrators5. Therapists6. Neighbors7. Medical Professionals

What Are Your Responsibilities to

Consumers?• Regular

Communication• Interact with them in a

professional manner• Provide treatment to

youth• Treat the youth as if

they were your own• Discuss strengths,

concerns and plans to address concerns

• Fulfill required assignments

• Provide follow-up • Model behaviors such

as respect, clear communication, giving appropriate feedback and praise

• Listen and respond to their feedback professionally

About Communication…

• Communicate with consumers, not youth

• Frequency appropriate for interaction

• In person, phone calls and email

Interpersonal Communication

• Pleasant, instill confidence and reassurance

• Feedback should only be given in person—never by email and rarely by phone

• Effective Praise!• Sit down, take the time to

listen to them, do not rush them

• Show them that they are part of the treatment team

• Communicate hope with phrases such as, “We can address that by…”, “We have helped other youth by…”, “We will continue to treatment plan and address this issue.” or “I’m sure our consultant has some ideas of things we can do.”

Phone Communication

• #1—You must be available• Pleasant! Do not vent to consumers. This does

NOT instill confidence in your abilities to provide treatment.

• Contact consumers as frequently are you are supposed to – this shows professionalism.

• Do not communicate a different message then other Village treatment team members. If the Village team is not in agreement, a meeting needs to be held and the consultant speaks for the team.

• Do speak to consumers before and after the youth does to prevent manipulation and triangulation.

Email and other Written Communication• This is good for documentation if you have

requested items, are checking back on assignments or quick positive updates.

• This is NOT good for feedback, updates of a less positive nature or incident reports.

• Many people are not good “e-mailers”, they do not realize that people cannot see their face, here their voice tones or ask

questions to clarify situations.

General Rules About Professional

Communication

• Rule #1- Do not escalate your voice tone or make negative statements. Remain positive, professional and responsive.

• Rule #2 – Talk to the appropriate people about the appropriate items.

• Rule #3- Communicate teams perspective, not personal perspective.

• Rule # 4- Model communication skills, control your emotions, give appropriate feedback, be positive, use praise, avoid sarcasm, etc.

Schools as Consumers• Teachers are a critical part of youth

treatment. – Do not side with a youth against them– Do not tell them how to do their job

• Let your behaviors communicate that you recognize them as a valuable member of the team.

School Communication• School Notes • Follow-up on School

notes and other communication

• Immediate follow-up on concerns

• “Heads up” communication on youth out of instructional control, planning to run etc.

• Weekly follow-up• Beginning of Quarter

communication expectations – this should be a meeting in-person

• Parent Teacher Conferences

• School Meetings (IEP’s, etc.)

• Intakes

Supporting Your School Consumers

• Respond quickly to needs• Follow-up frequently• Ask advice• Support teacher in meetings• Accompany youth to school• Check on youth during school• Keep youth at home if out of instructional

control and likely to cause problems at school.• Support teacher if youth is suspended

What to communicate to schools….and what not to communicate to schools

• 1. Do communicate or track down needed information for school records, testing, etc.

• 2. Do discuss issues that have occurred in school setting

• 3. If confidential information is known, get clearance from treatment team about what should be told, by whom, and to whom. This should be done in person in most cases.

• 4. Do not vent about other youth, treatment providers, or other consumers

• 5. Do communicate competence and instill confidence in abilities to address issues.

How to Communicate with Parents

• Contact frequently : Before and After visits Weekly progress updates Before and after youth has

contact To report incident report

situations. AND To report accomplishments

Again…..• Be positive• Model communication skills, do not

argue with parents• Be respectful and receptive to feedback• Ask for input or advice• Communicate confidence in treatment

and treatment team.

Working with Difficult Parents

• Manipulative Parents

• Unwilling parents• Parents who are

angry at State• Parents in Denial• Parents with own

Mental Health Issues

• Know –it- All Parents• Divorced Parents or

Divided Parents• Alternative lifestyle

parents• Supervised Contact

parents• Disengaged parents

Ideas on Making Parents Part of Team:

What Would You Want if it Were YOUR Child in

Treatment?

Educate – not Criticize

• How can you educate a parent rather then criticize a parent or other consumer?

Working with Caseworkers

1. Contact frequently – weekly updates required2. Contact in a timely manner on other items such

as injuries, serious behaviors, other concerns3. Communicate professionally4. Communicate teams perceptions with

confidence.5. Do not discuss problems, discuss solutions (Otherwise caseworkers think you are asking

them for a solution…which is generally what?)6. Support your caseworkers verbally

What can you do so that consumers see

you as….• Pleasant to interact with• Professional in your interactions

with them• Responsive to their needs• Effective in providing treatment• Concerned about the youth and

their progress

YESS and Kearns Homes

• Coordination of services between the Kearns group homes and the YESS programs in the Granite School district recognize the following:

1. The Kearns group homes serve NOJOS level four youth with sex specific issues and appropriate for a community-based school setting.

2. The YESS program uses a transition model to move youth from more structured school settings to less structured settings such as mainstream classrooms. They will provide Kearns group home YESS youth with similar monitoring and supervision as provided to other students in the program.

3. The Kearns group homes and the YESS classrooms work together to communicate concerning youth behavior so that academic and school behavior issues are effectively addressed.

YESS and Kearns Homes

4. The Kearns group home therapists will evaluate and communicate safety concerns and risk issues to the group home consultant. The group home consultant will communicate those issues to the YESS classrooms.

5. The Kearns group home consultant may address increase risk by having youth remain home from school or have Family Teachers/Associate Family Teachers attend some or all of school with the youth demonstrating increased risk.

6. The YESS program is not an “extension” of the Kearns group home treatment program and has its own motivation system to reward and address behavior. The Kearns group home program will support the YESS program with rewards, consequences and teaching to address academic and treatment issues which arise in the school setting.

YESS and Kearns Homes

7. When communicating with the YESS program staff, the Kearns group home Family Teachers/Associate Family Teachers, therapist and consultant may express concerns or issues. However, these concerns must be focused on our plan of how we will address these expressed concerns or issues. We will not make suggestions or recommendations to YESS program staff on how to address youth issues at school.

8. Confidential information, such as potential placement changes or severe behavior, should not be communicated to the YESS program staff unless the consultant determines that it is necessary. If there is a safety risk that has not been addressed the youth should remain home from school until it is addressed.

YESS and Kearns Homes

• Utah Youth Village will implement the following to address safety risk issues for Kearns group home youth attending school in the Granite District:

1. Each youth from the Kearns group homes will have a short written risk assessment stating the youth is appropriate for a community-based school setting.

2. Youth Village will continue to receive daily school notes and school communication with information on academic progress, school behavior and reports of other school behavior.

YESS and Kearns Homes

3. When Kearns group home youth engage in behavior that is a concern to the Family Teachers/Associate Family Teachers, therapist or consultant they will do one of the following based on the severity of the concern:

a. Attend school with the youth during a specific period of the academic day or all day.

b. Have the youth remain home from school.c. Remove the child permanently from the YESS

program and place him in an alternate school setting such as day treatment.

YESS and Kearns Homes

4. If a youth has a potential change in risk level, the Kearns group home therapist will conduct a risk assessment and provide the results of that assessment in writing to the YESS program, Steve Kaelin, before the youth goes back to school. The risk assessment would be necessary after any sexual acting out in the school setting or any time sexual behaviors have been brought to the attention of the school staff.

ConclusionBy doing these things we can help

our youth succeed and make group home life less stressful, more pleasant and easier to manage.

Working with Working with ConsumersConsumers

Working with Working with ConsumersConsumers

Communicating effectively and Communicating effectively and interacting professionally in order to interacting professionally in order to

inspire confidence in treatmentinspire confidence in treatment

This training presentation is available for download at:This training presentation is available for download at:www.utahparenting.orgwww.utahparenting.org

© 2007 Utah Youth Village.© 2007 Utah Youth Village.