A long, long time ago.....there was a beautiful collaboration known as the Northern Virginia Joint Training Coalition NVJTC. It started decades ago when our field was less about regulations and more about collaboration. It provided the opportunity for organizations to TRULY learn from one another. The Coalition met every other month and Trainers from organizations attended to learn from one another, share their frustrations and ideas, and help build this beautiful provider community. Providers shared training resources and space. If a staff member at a provider needed an evening training in First Aid and CPR that wasn't provided through their employer, they could attend the training at another provider....and vice versa. There was an agreement that most trainings would be provided free of charge. There was a website where trainings could be listed and staff could register.
Training classes had full occupancy and providers were able to be more efficient with their training catalogue since there was collaboration and synergy. Unfortunately, as our system grew larger, more regulated, more siloed, and key players retired, the NVJTC diminished. Some of this had to do with COVID: The Coalition was no longer meeting in person, the person who ran the website had moved on...and many trainings were moving on-line. But some trainings do need to take place in person (and if I'm being honest, it might be nice to have some other traditionally online trainings brought back "to life" as well).
Two years ago an effort was made to bring the NVJTC back to life. There was excitement. We collected dues, we drafted a charter, we tried to revive the old website, which is the lifeline to this whole thing working...
Then, as is the case sometimes, we lost momentum. We couldn't make the website work. Some people stopped getting invites to the meetings. And without the website, those dues didn't make a whole lot of sense. There were some people who felt we didn't need a NVJTC. "Times have changed" they said, we all do our own trainings. We pay for training resources and don't need to share anymore. But do we? The collective "WE"? I'm not so sure. I think there are still providers (and individuals....) that could benefit from our collective. I also think we could build something that makes us even better than we are today....all of us. Yes, CLA will be "fine" if the Coalition ceases to exist. Sometimes our training classes won't be full and we may need to offer more classes than we "need". But....we will get by. But this provider community wasn't built based on what is enough for "us", we were built on what is best for the individuals we support.
If my trainers can provide 1 full CPR class per month instead of 3 half full classes....what else can they do with that time? Perhaps they could conduct a sign language class or a recognizing signs of abuse class? What might be the benefit to the students in a CPR class that includes people from 3 agencies as opposed to just 1. Might they gain new perspectives?
I feel passionately about this. But I understand that not everyone else is there yet. I need to take a page out of one of my favorite 80's movies when Kevin Costner owned a farm and not a ranch.....Field of Dreams. I'm going to build it and I have faith they will come. So, starting today, CLA is posting many of our trainings on our Website. Check them out on our calendar of events. If you are a member of the NVJTC, reach out to Rick and let him know you would like register. If you aren't a member, reach out to Rick and find out how to become a member. And if you are so inclined, perhaps you will start listing your trainings on your website as well.
Let's do this!!
