News Release
Blue & You Foundation grant secures trauma-informed training
NWA Children’s Shelter using funds to teach staff members Conscious Discipline method
HIGHFILL, AR (Jan. 29, 2015) — Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter is teaching its employees some innovative techniques to deliver trauma-informed care to the abused and neglected children in its care, thanks to a recent grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas.
Where the Hurt Can Begin to Heal
The grant of $9,212 for trauma-informed training is paying for behavioral management training for up to 100 Children’s Shelter staff members who collectively care for 500-600 abused and neglected children annually. The initial trainings in the Conscious Discipline method were held in mid-January and attended by about 70 staffers. Conscious Discipline (created by Becky A. Bailey, Ph.D.) is a life-changing, research-based classroom management system and social-emotional learning program for early childhood and elementary schools. It revolutionizes the classroom approach to social-emotional learning by addressing the adult’s skill set and internal states first, and then empowering the adult to teach and model these skills with children. Conscious Discipline is structured around seven powers for self-control and seven skills of basic discipline.
“This grant from the Blue & You Foundation helps us ensure that our staff is equipped with the most effective strategies and techniques for guiding the abused and neglected children in our care toward behaviors and choices that will benefit their physical and emotional health and well-being now and far into the future,” said Steve Schotta, the Children’s Shelter’s Executive Director. “As a non-profit that is faced with raising 75 percent of our $3.4 million budget year in and year out, it is a real challenge to set aside adequate financial resources for training, so this grant is a huge help.”
On Nov. 21, the Blue & You Foundation awarded a total of $2,674,119 in grants to 35 health improvement programs in Arkansas, including the Children’s Shelter’s training initiative. The Blue & You Foundation had received 202 grant applications requesting $14 million in support.
“Our grants this year went to programs across the state that address such issues as nutrition and exercise, dental and mental health and medical professional education,” said Patrick O’Sullivan, Executive Director of the Blue & You Foundation.
Health insurer Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield established the Blue & You Foundation in 2001 as a charitable foundation to promote better health in Arkansas. The Blue & You Foundation awards grants annually to non-profit or governmental organizations and programs that positively affect the health of Arkansans. In its 13 years of operation, the Blue & You Foundation has awarded nearly $22 million to 584 health improvement programs in Arkansas. For more information, visit www.BlueAndYouFoundationArkansas.org.
About Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter
Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter is a private, non-profit organization that provides 24-hour emergency residential care to children and teens from throughout Arkansas who are victims of abuse or neglect. The 48-bed Children’s Shelter, which currently serves about 500 children per year, has served more than 7,500 children since opening its doors at Vaughn in 1993. Children may stay up to 45 days in a six-month period, until they can be placed in foster care or return to their families. For more information, visit www.nwacs.org.