Sheltering Arms Georgia Training Institute (GTI) offers a number of professional development opportunities for those working with families.  Students learn and practice a variety of skills for strength-based family support.  Our workshops and on-site consultation services provide practical, cost-effective ideas for building strong family development initiatives.

Current Family Development Topics:

• Parenting 101
• Promoting Male Involvement
• Overviews of National Initiatives
• Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
• Building Effective Relationships
• Recognizing Positive Attributes that Build Healthy Families
• How to Implement Strategies in Programs

Goals of GTI Family Development Training

• Increase awareness that strengthening families is central to quality child care and education
• Increase best practices among early care and education professionals, using key protective factors that prevent child abuse and neglect
• Improve working relationships among early care and education systems and the support networks that are critical to families
• Promote prevention planning among family-centered environments

The Strengthening Families Approach
The Georgia Training Institute offers training in family development that is based on five key factors that help prevent child abuse and neglect, as researched and identified by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation).  These factors are parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, and concrete support in times of need for adults, and healthy social and emotional development for children.

The Family Development Credential
The Family Development Credential (FDC) is a national credentialing program for family support professionals manages and promoted by Temple University (formaly housed at Cornell University) and coordinated by Sheltering Arms Georgia Training Institute for the state of Georgia.  Participants can earn the FDC by completing the 90-hour course Empowerment Skills for Family Workers, by preparing a skills portfolio, and by passing a credentialing exam.  GTI also offers an Instructors Institute for FDC trainers and a Leadership Course for those supervising frontline family support professionals.  Also, please view the National PONSI website for more information on how college credits are relatd to the Family Development Credential.