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Partnership Program

Collaborative Problem Solving

Collaborative Problem Solving® (CPS), developed at Massachusetts General Hospital, is an evidence-based, trauma-informed practice proven to reduce challenging behavior, teach kids the skills they lack, and build relationships with adults. We can help you bring a more accurate, compassionate, and effective approach to working with children with behavior challenges to your organization, school, district, facility, or program.

Partnership Program Overview

Sustainably implementing an evidence-based approach requires more than just training. It requires changing the structure, culture, and behavior of an entire organization and its staff. While this can be challenging, we are here to help at every step.

Think:Kids has spent nearly two decades helping organizations of all shapes and sizes learn and sustainably implement CPS. Backed by implementation science, our Partnership Program is the most comprehensive and effective way to build a solid foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving and foster ongoing adoption within your organization.

We follow implementation science best practices through a phased approach, providing state-of-the-art readiness evaluations, intensive training, coaching, and project management support. Our research staff continuously evaluates the fidelity and outcomes of the implementation, and we use those data to guide our work together. Our train-the-trainer model develops a team of experts on your staff certified in Collaborative Problem Solving, giving you the capacity to support your training and coaching needs in the future. Lastly, at Think:Kids, we practice what we preach, and we collaborate with you to solve the inevitable problems that arise during the process, working hard to make sure the unique concerns of your organization are addressed.

As your organization moves through the phases of implementation toward Achieving Independence, your team members become more involved in training and coaching staff and Think:Kids moves to more of an advisory role.

Partnership Phases

Phase 1 establishes the groundwork for implementing CPS across your organization, customized to your strengths and needs. This involves training Leaders & Champions and forming a committee to guide behavior change, while adapting organizational practices to promote CPS adoption by all staff.

Phase 2 shares the CPS approach with more people in the organization through training, coaching, and support. Leaders & Champions learn to integrate CPS into systems and policies, and support staff using CPS.

Phase 3 moves toward greater integration of CPS into the systems and structures of the organization. It also increases the frequency and quality with which people demonstrate knowledge and use of CPS as direct coaching and training shifts to people from within the organization.

Phase 4 ensures that there are systems and plans in place within the organization to support the continued use, practice, and spread of CPS over the long term.

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Think:Kids recognizes that changing how we interact with kids takes practice, patience, and persistence. Changing the culture and behavior of a whole staff is even harder. That is why we create deep and lasting partnerships with organizations that implement our approach.

Contact us to learn more about a custom implementation plan to bring Collaborative Problem Solving to your organization, school, district, or facility today!

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What Our Clients Say

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“Our work with Think:Kids and the Collaborative Problem Solving approach has had a huge impact on Youth Haven by increasing our youth’s satisfaction during their stay, improved staff/client relationships, increased staff moral and employee job satisfaction, reduced our need for restrictive behavior management, and help staff feel confident that they have the ability to help our youth build skills which will help them be successful in future placements.”
Kim Weisberg, LCSW, Director of Programs Youth Haven, Inc.
"The experience has been wonderful. It's been transformative for our school. The Collaborative Problem Solving approach, really at the core of it, was a philosophical shift for many of us as educators. It required us to look at students and their behaviors differently... it really has been an approach that's changed our school. It's changed our practices which has translated to making our children happy and safe, and they're learning."
Michael Stanton, Principal Vincent M. Igo Elementary School, Foxborough, MA
“Think:Kids was outstanding in their support to ensure that we succeeded. As the leader of these schools, I could not more highly recommend the Think:Kids trainers and staff for their openness to discuss implementation issues when things got tough. They had a very flexible approach with us yet maintained a very high standard. We are now beginning to get some staff certified. Collaborative Problem Solving is now part of our DNA in working with challenging young people. It is an expectation that every new staff member takes the Tier 1 course as part of their induction.”
Pete Tracy, Network Principal EREA Flexible Schools LTD, Milton, Queensland, Australia

Client Stories

A Mother’s Collaborative Problem Solving Story
Bringing Collaborative Problem Solving to Marshalltown, IA Community School District
Moving Away from Point and Level Systems in Residential Care
Helping Former Gang Members with Mental Health Skills
Moving from a Point and Level System to Collaborative Problem Solving
Collaborative Problem Solving in Schools, Foxborough MA
Crossroads: A Community’s Implementation of Collaborative Problem Solving
Youth Haven: A Unified Approach Toward Trauma-Informed Care
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