“It is not often that you encounter a consultant such as Dr. DeCandia who integrates passion with effective solutions to enhance holistic services to organizations, families and individuals. We were fortunate to have her come to Wisconsin. Her insights and analysis were embraced by our staff with great results. An outstanding leader and change agent who offers sound evaluation and effective problem solving with mature resolutions and program direction.”
Consultation and Training
I provide consultation, training, and technical assistance to programs, agencies, and systems interested in implementing best practices, improving the quality of care, and strengthening their workforce. Contact me for consultation and training at cj@artemisassoc.com.com
Areas of specialty include:
Implementing trauma-informed care can be challenging. How one organization chooses to tackle implementation may differ from another. No matter the path or pace, all organizations can become trauma-informed. Transforming organizational practice from traditional to trauma-informed is more than a shift in practice; it is a shift in how providers view the people they serve (DeCandia & Guarino, 2015).
Assessment is a relational activity; its purpose is to identify a person’s strengths and needs and to determine an appropriate course of action to support healthy development across the lifespan. There are many forms of assessment (e.g., housing, educational, employment, or psychological). Various tools, tests, and instruments are used in the process. The tools chosen are based on the purpose of the assessment and what type of information is being gathered (DeCandia, 2015). I help organizations develop comprehensive assessments for homeless families, and clinically I conduct psychological testing of children.
The federal government has set a goal of ending family homelessness by 2020. The time has come to prioritize families in the fight to end homelessness. The science of early childhood development and the mounting evidence on the impact of adverse childhood experiences on human development is especially relevant to homeless children and families. This robust evidence base must inform an effective response to family homelessness to include integrated housing and services from shelter to stabilization. (DeCandia, 2015).
Investing in the human service workforce is essential to improve outcomes for those served. For leaders and staff this often means learning to be more present, reflective and self-aware, improving communication, and developing the skills needed to do the job. Through individual coaching for leaders, and training and supervision for staff, programs can develop organizational cultures that support, sustain, and deliver quality of services.
Supervision is often the lynchpin of quality services. Program and clinical supervisors must hold and communicate the vision and mission of the program, oversee service delivery, develop staff awareness, knowledge, and skills, evaluate work performance, and lead- all too often with little training, support, or time. I provide training and consultation to supervisors, individually or in groups, to develop a strong, highly effective direct care, case management, or clinical teams. In addition, I provide adjunct supervision directly to staff and clinicians so they can grow and develop the skills needed to best meet client needs.
Self-care is an essential practice for human service professionals. A trauma-informed approach takes into account the impact that working with highly vulnerable populations has on providers. Bolstered by training and consultation, organizations can intentionally create a culture that supports provider self-care, a key component of effective service delivery.
Effective human service organizations are guided by more than a mission. They are informed by the needs of the population, grounded in the evidence of best practices, and follow a clear model of service delivery. Multiple sources of data coupled with locally based, experiential knowledge of consumers and staff, create robust strategic plans to clearly guide program development.
Human service organizations and non-profits are tasked with the enormous job of improving the lives of those served, often with not enough resources or support. To accomplish this goal and know what works, systems must identify critical leverage points and use data to track outcomes. I work with partners who are expert in both quantitative and qualitative program evaluation to marry the data-driven world of science and the experience driven world of community practice to identify, evaluate, and monitor outcomes and progress to support quality service delivery. Grounded in trust and mutual understanding between the evaluation team and community partners, we strive to increase the utilization of evaluation findings to ultimately improve outcomes for those served.
Sharing information through well written reports or presentations is a critical part of the work of human service agencies and non-profits. Often times organizations have data or practice experiences that need to be compiled into an effective and compelling brief, report, article, or presentation. I have written and produced reports for various organizations including policymakers, published in academic journals, and presented in local and national forums (see News and Media), and am available to help you tell your story.
RECENT TRAININGS
Understanding Trauma in Childhood
The Impact of Early Adversity
and Strategies to Build Resilience
March 13-14, 2017
Center for Transforming Lives
Fort Worth, Texas
RECENT TRAININGS
Rochester Training
Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care
May 22-24, 2017
Sponsored through t3
YWCA, Rochester, NY
RECENT TRAININGS
Salt Lake City Training
Training and Consultation to Build a Trauma-Informed Environment
Sponsored through t3
The Road Home
Salt Lake City, Utah
“Artemis Associates, in partnership with t3, has been a key in implementing a Trauma Informed Care (TIC) framework at The Road Home. Carmela adopted her training to meet the varied needs of staff and made the information accessible to a range of teams – from Operations to Administration. Carmela’s knowledge of organizational change and the time it takes to transform a culture has assisted us in pacing the implementation process so that we are set up for success. Under Carmela’s guidance we created an organization-wide work plan for our first year of TIC implementation and look forward to continuing the journey towards a trauma informed transformation. “
- Jeniece Olson, Director of Supportive Housing Services, The Road Home Salt Lake City, Utah