People who support young people bring deep care, commitment, and skill to their work—but they are still human. Under stress, even the most thoughtful facilitators, educators, counselors, and helping professionals can become reactive, shut down, over-accommodate, or lose access to the very relationship skills they most want to model. In this practical and compassionate webinar, The Dibble Institute and Dovetail Learning will explore what happens when caring people get stuck. Participants will be introduced to Dovetail’s concept of Protective Patterns—common ways people react when they feel overwhelmed, vulnerable, or under pressure—and will consider how those patterns affect communication, conflict, and connection with colleagues, partners, and the young people they serve. Together, we’ll explore how curiosity can help interrupt unhelpful patterns and create more space for resilience, reflection, and repair. Participants will leave with practical tools they can use right away to strengthen relationships, navigate difficult moments, and support healthier interactions…
Professional Development
Unpacking the Dibble Treasure Chest! You may think you know The Dibble Institute… but do you really? Did you know: We offer hundreds of free resources on our website? We are constantly updating our materials with the latest research? Our training clients regularly give us an A+ for our engaging and effective facilitation techniques? Annually we help hundreds of organizations apply for and win grants to provide relationship education? Join us at this special webinar to unpack the Dibble treasure chest and give you some insights into what’s coming! Objectives: Participants will be able to: Effectively use Dibble’s free resources Review our new programs Explain Dibble’s training approach Learn three key facilitation skills Identify sources for future funding Presenter: Rachel Savasuk-Luxton, Director of Training and Research Aaron Larson, Director of Programs Jo Anne Eason, National Outreach Coordinator Caleb Cook, Senior Trainer Who should attend: Those who currently use or are interested in…
Centering Youth Voice Using Peer Facilitators in Relationship Education to Engage and Empower Youth Join Kelley Luckett and Daiya Thompson of the Louisville YMCA as they discuss lessons learned over the last two years of implementing Love Notes in Teen Vibe Camps using peer facilitators. Teen Vibe Camps, offer a transformative blend of summer camp nostalgia and comprehensive curriculum sessions. Through activities like podcasting, music, and social media graphics, these camps foster a sense of community and belonging. Statistical evidence showcases significant shifts in positive identity markers among attendees who form trusted adult connections and show higher program engagement. Complementing this approach is an innovative Peer Facilitator model, which introduces youth as Love Notes facilitators. Peer facilitators excel in building trust, fostering community, and encouraging participation outscoring adult facilitators in quality observation scores. Through a dual-track system involving collaboration with local high schools and self-selection from camp attendees, peer facilitators…
Strengthening Facilitation Skills: A Training Curriculum for Programs Working with Youth, is a free, three-module curriculum designed to help facilitators of youth-serving programs improve the quality of their facilitation skills. It was developed as part of a formative evaluation of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education programs conducted by Mathematica and its partner Public Strategies in conjunction with two community-based organizations called STREAMS. Join Erin Welch and Scott Roby for this webinar where they will share details about the curriculum’s development, describe its resources, and explain how it can be used to foster facilitators’ development. Learn how you can maximize learning and engagement using best practices and participant-centered and trauma-informed facilitation Objectives: Participants will internalize the goals and development process of the Strengthening Facilitation Skills curriculum. Participants will explore the content and resources included in the curriculum. Participants will understand how to use the curriculum and hear tips from the field….
If you find your team getting stuck while addressing persistent challenges, you might benefit from an updated approach to program improvement. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is a systematic process for identifying challenges, developing and testing solutions, and using data to determine next steps. Join CQI experts from Mathematica who will offer attendees an introduction to CQI. The Mathematica team will also describe resources that can help strengthen your program’s improvement processes. The session will feature a CQI cycle planning tool to help organizations get started or to refresh existing program improvement processes. The session will also explore foundational topics—such as setting up and managing a CQI team and road-testing improvement strategies—and related resources. This webinar is geared for practitioners who are new to CQI as well as those looking to strengthen existing processes. Objectives: Participants will learn: What continuous quality improvement (CQI) is and why it is important How to…
The “Success Sequence” refers to the concept of milestones a young person should complete in their life that are associated with greater economic self-sufficiency and family stability. These steps are most commonly understood as 1) finishing high school, 2) having a full-time job, and 3) waiting for marriage to have children. Up until now, a key part of the Success Sequence has been the order in which a young person achieves these milestones. With funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mathematica conducted an economic analysis of the Success Sequence steps to assess their actual benefits for young people. Join us to discuss Mathematica’s findings about the Success Sequence including new thinking about the order of the milestones, what some alternative pathways may be for young people, and the significance of their order in creating economic self-sufficiency and family stability. Objectives: Participants will be able to explain:…
In today’s uncertain times, many youth experience housing insecurity, unstable or unsafe relationships, and toxic stress. Social and emotional wellbeing can help these young people overcome adversity, heal from trauma, and build resilience, thereby increasing their hopes for the future. Learning and practicing mindfulness skills can be the pathway to increasing self-regulation, building healthy relationships, and increasing resilience. The question is how can youth move towards social and emotional wellbeing? During this webinar, we will explore some of the social-emotional needs of youth and how the Milestone Transitional Living Program in Utah utilizes mindfulness skills and the Mind Matters program in group sessions and in group homes. Join Mina Koplin, Lorri Lake, and Maygan Martinez as they share how they utilize the ACEs questionnaire, how they present Mind Matters content, and how they implement mindfulness skills in sessions with disconnected youth. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Identify the Social-Emotional needs…
WEBINAR: Co-Regulation Strategies: Practical Tools for Program Staff to Foster Youth Self-Regulation
What is co-regulation? Why does it matter? How can I integrate co-regulation into my program or practice? Join interventionist and nurse-educator Aly Frei to explore co-regulation, its importance for youth development, and its potential to improve program outcomes. Co-regulation is a term that helps describe the important interactions between adults and young people that foster youth self-regulation. Self-Regulation is a central ingredient in lifelong success, predicting healthy relationships, economic self-sufficiency, and physical and emotional well-being. Because of rapid change in youths’ brains and bodies, adolescence is an important time for adults to promote self-regulation development. Through co-regulation, adults form relationships where youth feel cared for and known; co-create safe and nurturing environments; and give youth opportunities to practice self-regulation skills and reflect on how to apply them in their lives. Integrating co-regulation strategies into youth service delivery is a promising approach for improving program implementation and youth outcomes. Objectives: Webinar…
The pandemic has created tremendous disruption across all institutions. Chances are your organization innovated its approach in ways you might want to keep and it is likely the post-pandemic future will not look like the past. Scenario tools can amplify diverse voices and help organizations and communities envision multiple futures in times of uncertainty. Scenario tools surface risks and opportunities to guide the adaptation of programs and operations. This session will teach practitioners the basics of scenario planning and provide a tool to guide responsive planning during times of rapid change. Objectives: Webinar participants will learn: How to compose a scenario planning team to ensure all voices are heard and benefit from many perspectives. How to use a scenario planning tool to surface key uncertainties and possible futures. How to embed scenario planning as a skill to enhance organizational nimbleness. Presenters: Sarah Di Troia, Senior Advisor, Project Evident Resources: Slides Presentation Scenario…