In an era when we should be providing rehabilitative services to our young people in hopes of moving them beyond future involvement in the justice system, we are instead treating them with an iron glove in an adversarial manner while disregarding their needs for nurturing. The practitioners and researchers of CERD are pleased to announce one of the first practical, interactive, scientifically sound educational and organizational development processes – Resilience Youth Services.

If you are interested in shifting your educational, human service or business organization to a strengths-based focus, phone or email today to connect with CERD's director and receive a free consultation (1.866.ASK-CERD: jhb@cerd.org), See how CERD can custom fit your needs with our extensive "hands-on"resilience services..

To see a workshop menu, please click here (adobe pdf format).

CERD gets to the heart of Resilience. For over ten years, we have successfully made Resilience Education a reality. We’ve devoted ourselves to enriching lives – to empowering youth and adults. How? By proactively focusing on each person’s inherent ability to succeed, and to foster that success in others.

CERD is unique. Conventional teaching methods promote an approach that assumes something is wrong and needs fixing. This merely addresses symptoms, not the larger issues. We believe that if an individual’s inherent strengths, interests and unique capacities are emphasized through awareness in the day-to-day, moment-to-moment experiences of life, genuine learning and development can grow and even flourish. The majority of young people who find themselves involved in the juvenile justice system face a variety of adverse circumstances such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse, poverty, family-related deaths, hunger, poor academic performance, or difficult bonding in relationships. These circumstances often result in violent behavior, emotional issues or substance abuse. While 70% of children who face adverse circumstances learn and successfully develop by midlife, those who come in contact with the juvenile justice system often have never been given the chance to develop their own Resilience. It’s time for that focus to shift to their strengths and capacities.

CERD’s Resilience Education is groundbreaking. It is not simply an “add on” program. Resilience Education is designed to become a part of you; to function in the background. We work with each CERD client to cultivate and bring together two parts of human interaction – the power of each person to make decisions, and the information around which those decisions are made.

CERD engages people. We work on the specific means of using people’s hearts and minds to co-create and participate in the development of a healthy, democratic learning group or community. This community is built with professionals who both cultivate and model CERD’s process of lifelong learning. Our approach draws from several disciplines not often considered together as part of Youth Services: Human Development, Physiological Psychology and Educational Psychology.

CERD welcomes you. The Resilience Education professional development seminar consists of three workshop sections for educators, helping professionals, leaders and business people who want to build a strengths-based organizational focus and who are working with young people. Our workshops focus on the Resilience Education process, your subject area and how to integrate and apply what you learn. Additional training, consultation and evaluation are available to custom fit with your organization’s business practices or special needs.

CERD’s team of nationally renowned practitioners is eager to respond to any questions you may have. We look forward to making you and those you work with a part of CERD’s Resilience experience.

This is our Mission
CERD offers a unique opportunity to experience Resilience. When developing individual strengths and interests, anyone can increase awareness to take responsibility for his/her own lifelong learning and development. Many can then cultivate this experience with others. Through nationally recognized and time-tested consultation, research and evaluation, CERD promotes healthy youth, strong families, innovative organizations and progressive communities.