This document outlines a training proposal for Youth Evaluation and Treatment Centers. It includes a needs assessment that found issues with communication between levels of management and a lack of applicable training for new employees. The proposed training will focus on communication skills and conflict resolution. It will use lecture, role-playing activities, and discussions over two days. The goals are to improve communication, increase employee confidence and prepareness, and enhance morale. The training's effectiveness will be assessed through a post-training survey.

1. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !1
Youth Evaluations and Treatment Centers
Communication Skills Training Program
Ashli L. White
Com 453
Arizona State University

2. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………. 3
INTRODUCTIONS……………………………………………………………………………… 4
SUMMARY OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS………………………………………….. 4
SKILLS….……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
TRAINING METHODS…………………………………………………………………………. 6
DELIVERY PLAN………………………………………………………………………………. 7
LEARNING OUTCOMES………………………………………………………………………. 8
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
REFERENCES

3. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !3
Biography
Ashli White began her educational journey at Arizona State University in 2009 as a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree student. While attending the Downtown Phoenix campus,
she was involved in many different student programs and activities. She was heavily involved
with Circle K International, starting the initial chapter at the campus with a fellow Nursing
student, was in the College Honor Society program, and volunteered at a local hospital assisting
patients and their families.
Her greatest achievement came her Sophomore year when she was chosen by her
Anatomy & Physiology Professor to be included in an upper level teaching course. From this
experience, she was able to teach fellow students Anatomy & Physiology lab, as well as prep all
of the cadavers and work alongside the best Physicians in the valley to prepare materials for use
in classrooms at ASU and U of A.
When she moved from Arizona to North Carolina after her Sophomore year, she began
school again at East Carolina University, but took a brief hiatus after her husband returned from
a deployment from Afghanistan in 2012. Following his return, and lengthy recovery, Ashli
decided to enroll online at ASU to complete her Bachelor of Science in Communications degree;
set to graduate in December 2014. Following graduation she will be preparing for the GRE and
volunteering her time at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center while waiting for her acceptance to
Physician Assistant school.
Throughout her educational journey she has been proven to remain tough, vigilant, and
be the greatest leader possible. She has spoken in front of over 200+ students, taught others,
spread messages of community, and remained determined to graduate and follow her dreams.

4. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !4
Introduction
Youth Evaluation and Treatment Centers (YETC) is located in Phoenix, Arizona. This
501(c)3 not for profit agency was started in 1974 to build “upon the belief that emotional/mental
health is a critical competent of a child’s development and overall well-being,” (Youth
Evaluation and Treatment Centers [YETC], homepage). Children are one of their main focuses in
their business, and the other is related to the family unit. Clinical workers provide both help for
struggling youth, and their families to make the family unit stronger, but also function better with
a child with developmental and/or behavioral issues. Their main goal ultimately is to “provide…
the very best care,” (YETC, “What We Do,” para. 1). For this specific training program, we will
focus on the clinical workers, and the in office staff. Since the organization is so vast in numbers,
we will focus on those who interact with one another and have the greatest need for training.
Summary of Needs Assessment Analysis
One of the first steps completed after the initial research into the background of Youth
Evaluation and Treatment Centers was completing a needs assessment. For this task, I employed
Shawna Davis, my contact in the organization, to complete this step of our training development
process. This was done in order to find out what exactly was needed in the form of training and
education, and seeing what the overall needs of the organization were.
The form that I felt would be the best fit for this instance was a likert scale and
questionnaire method. I started off with likert scale questions to get a general idea of what the
respondent thought and measure their “affective learning,” (Beebe, Mottet, & Roach, 2012, p.
261). These questions were concise, and the scales wording changed based off of the question. I
wanted to make each one unique, rather than follow the same scale wording through each

5. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !5
question. For instances in which I thought I needed a bit more information, or thought that a
problem might go deeper, I followed it up with an open-ended question.
Because the main concern here was communication between the clinicians, I wanted to
focus my questions on the possible lack of communication, or riffs that may be occurring
between employees. For a organization such as this, communication using speech and nonverbal
behavior, is the key to success. They are working with people who lack these essential skills
because of a disability or behavioral issue, therefore, they need to be as prepared as possible,
especially in the workplace.
Summary of Skills
After looking over the survey that was completed by the respondent, I found that there
are some breaks in verbal communication between levels of management. There have been
instances in which there were miscommunications where both parties involved felt disrespected
based on the others behaviors. Unfortunately, this behavior is coming from both upper, and lower
level, thus training in proper communication would be warranted. There were instances in which
there were miscommunications between levels, ending in a poorly done job. This is not what we
want in such a job field as dealing with behavior issues in children. A lot of the children don’t
come from stable environments, and by being organized and completing tasks on time, jobs can
be completed in the best manner possible.
Further, it was found that the training that newly hired employees receive may not be as
ample as the organization thought. The respondent stated that some of the things she was taught
during training were not applicable, while other subjects were not touched on at all. This in turn
has affected the employees beliefs in their abilities, affecting their productivity overall. The

6. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !6
training that is completed, and the program itself need to be looked at. For the purposes of this
program, I will administer extra training materials to cover the lapses that are apparent within the
organizations employees. This is in relation to how to communicate with clients and their
families, how to alleviate instances of conflict that may arise in family sessions, as well as tasks
to complete on lesson plans with children and their families.
Training Methods
For this instance, I plan on keeping the methods extremely relative to that of which the
employees work in their day to say lives. I will be using a lecture style format and integrating
important scenarios and role-play activities for trainees to complete. I feel as though these are
some of the greatest tools that I could use to convey the information that I need to get across to
them. As stated in our textbook, role-play “allows them to practice the skill,” (Beebe et al., 2012,
p. 92).
I will first be introducing material in a lecture format, and distributing handouts that the
trainees can use as a guide and aid to the materials that I will speaking about. This will be brief,
concise and be rich in information related to the two topics that need training completed. After
each lecture, I will be having the trainees then begin their role-play activities in a semi-
prescribed role (Beebe et al., 2012). A semi-prescribed role allows the trainees the most freedom
in figuring out a situation, with no guidance on how to exactly handle the situation (Beebe et al.,
2012). Allowing them the freedom after learning techniques to be better behavior coaches, will
help in real world situations. This is one aspect of their initial training that they were missing,
and they definitely need.

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From this, I have created three objectives in which the trainees will be able to show when
training is complete:
1). Trainees will be able to identify at least two methods in which they can use to
communicate properly and effectively to their peers and superiors.
2). Trainees will be able to identify three conflict resolution techniques.
2). Trainees will be able to explain the proper methods in which to approach conflict
situations with clients.
3). Trainees will be able to demonstrate the ability to harbor a learning environment for
clients and their families utilizing role-play activities.
Delivery Plan
Our training session will ideally take place beginning on a Wednesday morning and
convening in the afternoon, and subsequently starting back up the next morning, and completing
Thursday afternoon. It will take place at the corporate office located in Phoenix, in a large
conference room that will be available to me for this program.
I have chosen to complete the training in this way for two reasons; it doesn’t take away
the employees from a full work day, and it also doesn’t take away from the weekend in which
employees need to feel rejuvenated from a long week. As a trainer, I need to take into
consideration all of the needs of the trainees, since this is something that, to some, amy seem
frivolous. Our conference room will be set up in a horseshoe to “promote interaction and
discussion among trainees,” (Beebe et al., 2012, p. 231). I want our environment to facilitate the
coming together of many skill levels into one arena, and help one another. Since they will
participating in a very active session, they will benefit from such an arrangement. We will begin

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our training session with a fun, interactive ice breaker, followed by some lecture materials and
discussion, and lastly role-play activities. We will break every 90 minutes, with a 10 minute
break, and convene for the day at lunch time. At that time, materials will be handed out to look
over for the following day, and for them to keep as a handbook to look toward when anything
arises after training is complete. Lunch will be had by all trainees, and I will leave this time open
for any trainees to ask questions about any material covered so far.
The following morning we will begin with a brief refresher and a game to see if the
trainees completed their homework. We will start off with lecture materials again, followed by
role-play to demonstrate the activities, and facilitated discussion as a group to give feedback to
fellow employees. In the last 30 minutes of the class I will leave this time for questions, and
completion of our survey to see just how much they learned, or suggestions for bettering it in the
future.
Outcomes
The overall objectives of this training program administered is to increase the
communication between employees, create a sense of trust in the work that each individual
brings to the table, as well as help employees feel better prepared for their day to day job/
activities.
One of the main things that will need to be done to assess whether or not what I have
taught the employees has stuck, is by further assessment. This should be done by the company
and upper-level management itself. Something that they could do is administer another
questionnaire similar to the one completed this time, but company wide. This will we a great way
to tell if the confidence is there, and the issues have subsided.

9. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !9
The company should also see an improvement in morale and day to day interactions with
employees. Our main goal is to spread cohesion throughout the ranks, and make the environment
something that each individual wants to be in for their work. The environment needs to harbor
employee satisfaction, and they need to feel appreciated and wanted by the company.
Overall, through this training, the Youth Evaluation and Treatment Centers will benefit
from having this completed. We hope that by completing this, employees feel like they are at the
correct fitting job. When employee satisfaction increases, the work that is completed will
increase in overall quality. The company’s lower level employees are the heart of what this
company is since they are out constantly in the field working with different families. They need
as good as a skill set and tools to use when they are trying to help out families in the community.
This is what our ultimate goal is through this training program at YETC.

10. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !10
Appendix A
Shawna Davis
sdavis91290@gmail.com

11. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !11
Appendix B
Youth Evaluation and Treatment Centers- Survey & Questionnaire
Respondent Name: Shawna Davis- Behavior Coach
Date: 10/26/14
1). Do you find your initial training to be applicable to the work you complete on an everyday
basis?
2). Based on your training you received, how prepared did you feel completing your first
independent client visit?
3). What specifically do you feel you were lacking?
I felt that I was lacking in my ability to create new tasks for the child to complete with the
first home visit. I also wasn’t aware at the amount of conflict that I would be dealing with;
I was basically a mediator at some points based on the severity of the child.
4). How confident are you in your people skills? (Ex: conversing, eye contact & listening).
5). Do you find your everyday tasks enjoyable?
Not Applicable Below
Applicable
Applicable Very Applicable Extremely
Applicable
1 2 3 4 5
Not Prepared Below Prepared Prepared Very Prepared Extremely
Prepared
1 2 3 4 5
Not Confident Below Confident Confident Very Confident Extremely
Confident
1 2 3 4 5

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6). Do you ever feel intimidated when working with new clients?
7). Do you feel communication within the company, with peers, and your bosses is where it
should be?
Not necessarily. I do believe that there are areas in which we could all improve on as a
team. The most successful businesses all are on the same page, and at some points, I
feel like we are not. It’s never been a question of not being appreciated, just getting the
respect that I feel I deserve.
8). If you feel that it is sub-par, what specific areas do you think could be worked on.
Communication between levels of YETC. I have found on a couple occasions that there
were miscommunications between levels on a matter pertaining to things I was needing
to turn in. In the end it wasn’t me that had done anything wrong, but one person was
making it seem that way. When it was found that I was telling the truth, and the other
individual had what the HR department needed, there was no apology. It was just simply
taken, and then it was forgotten about.
9). What is one thing that you feel you struggle the most with with your position?
The ability to constantly change things up with each client. I don’t want each visit to be
monotonous, and that can be a struggle. A lot of what I do I have looked up myself,
Not Enjoyable Below Enjoyable Enjoyable Very Enjoyable Extremely
Enjoyable
1 2 3 4 5
Not Intimidated Below
Intimidated
Intimidated Very Intimidated Extremely
Intimidated
1 2 3 4 5

13. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !13
rather than get needed tools from my company. Extra, more detailed training at the
beginning before home visits would be a huge benefit.
10). Have you ever felt disrespected by a client or co-worker?
Only once. The disrespect stemmed from a matter of opinions. I believe it could have
been handled better on the other person’s behalf, but it unfortunately wasn’t. I think that
a majority of the company though needs to come together, and bond. Team activities
will be a great benefit to get to know one another on a better level.
11). Do you consider your company to be one that values your opinion and thoughts on growth?
Yes and no. I think that they believe in my abilities, which is fantastic. I don’t think that
they always take our opinions into consideration when it comes to activities with the
children that we work and interact with on a daily basis. For example, when we do larger
group outings, our opinions aren’t always considered.
12). What is one thing you would improve within the company if it could be anything?
Team leadership. At some points I wish that we could come together more often for
meetings and such. I personally don;t think we’ve had enough meetings lately due to an
unexpected turnover in CEO. I think this is a perfect opportunity to come together and
fix issues.

14. Assignment 4 Training Proposal !14
References
Beebe, S., Mottet, T.P., & Roach, K.D. (2012). Training and development: Communicating for
success (2nd ed.). New York City: Pearson.