The Alaska Training Cooperative (AKTC) promotes career development opportunities for direct service workers 1 , supervisors, and professionals in the field engaged with Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority beneficiaries 2 , by ensuring that technical assistance and training is accessible and coordinated.
1 Direct service worker is a position that requires a bachelor's degree or less and works at least 75% directly with consumers.
2 Beneficiary groups include: mental illness, development disabilities, alcohol and drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries.
Who We Are AKTC Goals Training AssistanceThe Alaska Training Cooperative (AKTC) was established to provide non-academic trainings, professional development and continuing education programs for Alaska’s direct service professional and behavioral health workforce who serve Trust beneficiaries. The Center for Human Development (CHD) is recognized as a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Education, Research, and Service as a member of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
There is increased need and opportunity to provide new and enhanced evidence-based and culturally attuned training to direct service professionals, supervisors, and other behavioral health professionals. This is especially relevant in light of recent changes in state policy regarding Medicaid expansion and criminal justice reform.
Our training and technical staff collaborate with communities and partners to offer trainings and training assistance to agencies, organizations, businesses, and associations providing services to Trust beneficiary populations. This enhances workforce development blending evidence-based practices with traditional wisdom to meet the needs of rural behavioral health providers.
The AKTC Learning Management System (LMS) strives to be a clearinghouse for training that supports the workforce serving Trust beneficiaries. Trust Beneficiaries include those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, alcohol and drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries. The LMS allows for any entity to advertise their training at little or no cost. Contact AKTC Support for details.
Many of the trainings and/or conferences offer CE credits for licensing requirements. Many of these opportunities are “live” trainings offered online/web-based via Zoom. CE credits vary by training. These accrediting bodies include the National Association of Social Workers Alaska Chapter (NASW-AK), Alaska Board of Professional Counselors, Alaska Commission for Behavioral Health Certification (ACBHC), National Board of Certified Counselors, Community Health Aide Program Certification Board, and Nursing Contact Hours.
Utilize the "Browse Catalog by CE Credit" option from the AKTC registration system home page to view a list of upcoming trainings that offer CEs.
Our training and technical staff are prepared to provide training technical assistance to agencies, organizations, business, and associations providing services to the beneficiary populations of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.
Services we provide:
For additional information please support@aktclms.org
The Alaska Training Cooperative offers a variety of training options and delivery methods to meet training needs throughout the state: face-to-face, online/web-delivered, blended, and web-based (anytime) trainings available to complete at your convenience. Our Learning Management System provides a training catalog and allows for one-stop online registration and payment.
Continuing Educations credits, including nursing contact hours, are available in many of our trainings and conferences in order to meet the licensing needs of professional behavioral health providers.
The Alaska Training Cooperative Registration Catalog serves as an online training catalog/clearinghouse for those supporting Trust beneficiaries. (Beneficiaries include those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, alcohol and drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries.)
AKTC Support and Billing is available Monday – Friday from 8:30am – 5:00pm. (Contact information is included at the bottom of every page in the LMS.)
The Alaska Core Competencies are a set of essential skills for direct service professionals who deliver services to persons with mental health, substance use conditions, intellectual and physical disabilities, and older adults who need long-term services and support. The Core Competencies target staff work in all sectors of Human Services at the bachelor's level and below.
Basic Concepts in Care Coordination is designed for brand new care coordinators not yet certified. It serves as a prerequisite to the State of Alaska Senior and Disability Services SDS- Beginning Care Coordination Training. Though it is a requirement toward certification, this course does not certify participants to be a Care Coordinator. This is an interactive training and includes sections on Ethics, Skills of Interaction, How to Serve Someone with a Disability, Advocacy, and Person Centered Planning.
More Info: Tom McRoberts, 907-264-6251, tpmcroberts@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Blended (face-to-face and web-delivered)
Continuing Education Units: Available - see registration page for details This non-academic training program supports behavioral health providers serving throughout Alaska. A broad range of training opportunities are offered to meet continuing education requirements for providers working toward or maintaining certification or licensure in Alaska. The AKTC is dedicated to collaborating with communities throughout Alaska to train behavioral health care providers by blending best practices with traditional wisdom.
More info: Lisa Cauble, 907-264-6276, llcauble@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Face-to-face In partnership with Hands of Peace, Inc. Alternatives to Violence Project AVP-, the Alaska Training Cooperative offers training opportunities for both the Basic and Advanced experiential workshops. The AVP model, with a focus on affirmation, communication, cooperation, community building and conflict resolution skills, teaches through experiential learning with a minimum of lecture. The workshops consist of a series of structured experiences or "learning activities" with the intent of practicing nonviolent solutions to conflicts.
With a core philosophy of providing for the care, welfare, safety, and security of everyone involved in a crisis situation the program's proven strategies give human service providers and educators the skills to safely respond to various levels of risk behavior while balancing the responsibilities of care. This is a two-day training and completes a one-year certificate for new staff in crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques.
More Info: info@alaskachd.org
Delivery Method: Web-delivered Customized Employment is based on identifying the strengths, conditions, and interests of a job candidate or employee through a process of discovery in order to personalize the employment relationship between a job candidate or employee and an employer in a way that meets the needs of both. This training includes four essential components: Discovery, Job Search Planning, Job Development and Negotiation, and Post-Employment Support.
This training provides a simulated experience of what it may be like to "hear voices." Designed to assist people with understanding the challenges of people who experience a mental illness and hear voices through a four-hour experiential training. This includes a one-hour video, one-hour simulated "hearing voices" experience through use of an MP3 player and headphones with simulated scenarios/environments, and finishing with a group discussion.
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6228, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Face-to-face Mental Health First Aid USA is an eight-hour training for adults 18 and older that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S., and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds an understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Participants learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources, and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, and self-help care. Participants learn the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and, most importantly, teaches individuals how to help someone in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for Older Adults is a five-hour training designed to address the specific mental health and substance disorders common in the aging population. As a direct service provider or caregiver the training can help in the recognition of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or gestures, as well as the role that substance abuse plays in the mental health of a loved one.
Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety is training specifically designed for police, first responders, corrections officers, and other public safety audiences. Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety provides participants with more response options to help them deescalate incidents and better understand mental illnesses so they can respond to mental health related calls appropriately without compromising safety.
More Info: info@alaskachd.org
Delivery Method: Web-delivered This two-hour training will cover the basics of who can have a Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS), what the PASS may be used for, and how to write a PASS that can be authorized by SSA.
This workshop will help participants understand and recognize the differences in “normal” and “not normal” aging. Participants will also develop new skills related to approach, cueing, and ability to connect with people affected by dementia. The workshop emphasizes the value of matching helping behaviors to the person’s needs and retained abilities to promote a sense of control and self-direction.
This workshop will focus on Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care® Positive Physical Approach™ technique, Hand-Under-Hand™ technique and we will cover Teepa's GEMS™ dementia classification model (developed from the basic structure of Allen Cognitive Disability Levels).
More info: Wendi Shackelford, 907-264-6224, wblackwe@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Face-to-face Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) is an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons created by Paul Quinnett. QPR is a simple educational program that teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a person at risk the help they need. It is an action plan that can result in lives saved.
More Info: info@alaskachd.org
Delivery Method: Web-delivered Self-Employment as an acceptable work goal for people with disabilities who want to work but want to define their own jobs as opposed to working for someone else. This two-hour training will cover the basic elements and requirements for Self-Employment including why people choose Self-Employment, basic elements of business plans, business proposals and examples of proposals, types of businesses, products and markets, and some business funding sources available in Alaska.
More Info: Tom McRoberts, 907-264-6251, tpmcroberts@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Blended (face-to-face and web-delivered)
Continuing Education Units: Available - see registration page for details This eight-hour continuing education training examines beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of health promotion and maintenance that have been practiced over time, and examines major changes leading to the current health status of the Alaska Native community. Special emphasis is placed on strategies for improving health. Participants are provided with foundational information on traditional lifestyles and health practices of people living in Alaska prior to western contact.
More Info: Wendi Shackelford, 907-264-6224, wblackwe@alaska.edu
Delivery Method: Face-to-face Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent age 12-18- who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The training introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a five-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.
This training will meet the Senior and Disability Services Home and Community Based waiver regulations for staff training on Assistance with Self Administration of Medication. It is in compliance with state regulation 7 AAC 130.227 and 7 AAC 125.090 (d)(3).
This training does NOT meet requirements for Medication Administration Training, which must be provided by a licensed professional (RN).
Interested participants must work through their agency for registration.
More info: Riki Chapman, 907-264-6257, racook@alaska.edu
Dementia changes everything! Including the effectiveness of many standard health care practices, procedures, and protocols. This poignant training video will teach providers and practitioners how to reduce risk in professional settings and medical models of care when working with dementia.
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6288, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
Designed for the residential direct service provider, this training addresses professional ethical behavior relative to conflicts of interest, personal and client property, solving ethical dilemmas, and recognizing issues of ethics and boundaries in the workplace.
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6288, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
Falls are a common and serious health threat to individuals with disabilities including adults 65 and older. Every year more than 1 in 4 older adults falls, but more than half of those who fall don’t tell their healthcare provider leading to high healthcare costs and hospitalization. This training and the resources shared will help direct service providers self-assess the environment of the assisted living home (ALH) or client's environment to put fall prevention strategies into practice.
More Info: Betsy Chivers, 907-264-6233, egerken@alaska.edu
This training is for individuals new to the field of disability services. It provides a wide perspective about several common types of disabilities. Included are descriptions of some of the challenges individuals experience that are diagnosed with these disabilities remembering that each individual’s experience is unique. This training has a special focus on direct care service providers and professionals (DSPs) and services for individuals who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6288, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
Designed for direct care workers providing services to people with mental illness diagnoses, this two-hour course provides an overview of major mental health diagnoses (Axis I), symptoms, and associated pharmacology.
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6288, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
This training will educate direct service workers regarding the dynamics of adult abuse and neglect, the laws intended to protect this population and reporting obligations under these laws. It will also provide caregivers with tools to respond more effectively to adults in their care.
More Info: Jill Ramsey, 907-264-6288, jdramsey2@alaska.edu
This training describes the various uses and legal implications of a Psychiatric Advance Directive. A Psychiatric Advance Directive, also known as a mental health advance directive, is a written document that describes what a person wants to happen if at some time in the future they are experiencing a mental disorder in such a way that they are deemed unable to decide for themselves or to communicate effectively. It informs others about what treatment is wanted or not wanted from psychiatrists or other mental health professionals, and it can identify a person who has the authority to make decisions on your/their behalf.
