Teenpower/Fullpower Facilitator and Instructor Training

Apply NOW to start your training as soon as you are accepted, including our new Facilitator Training Program. Our next in-person, 6-Day Core Skills Skills Training will be scheduled as soon as it is safe to do so.

Our Introductory Facilitator Programs and Instructor Training Programs prepare participants to teach adults and teens, including seniors and people with intellectual disabilities, and their allies – and provide the opportunity for certification under the Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International umbrella.

Get Started        What is CST?        Instructor Certification       Audit CST        Costs        Schedule        How to Apply

Watch these four short videos for a glimpse into our workshops for teens, adults, and people with disabilities.

Celebrating over 30 years of training hundreds of instructors to bring safety to their communities around the world!

Learn and teach our internationally recognized “People Safety” strategies and skills developed to prevent and solve problems with people; including sexual harassment and assault, dating and domestic violence, workplace bullying, attacks, abuse of power, and prejudice.

 

Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator Training

Learning to teach with real students

Learning to teach with real students.

In 2020, we will be providing our new online Facilitator Trainings that will prepare people to teach core Teenpower and Fullpower lessons to teens and adults using our Positive Practice Teaching Method. Qualified participants completing this training will have the opportunity to apply for our Facilitator Certification Program that will include ongoing coaching and support in using these skills. Contact us for more information.

Once it is safe to do so, we will offer our popular in-person six-day Teenpower/Fullpower Core Skills Training, which is a required part of our full Instructor-Level Certification process.

From Fullpower Online Facilitator Training toward Instructor Training

Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator Training prepares participants to help others be safe right away. It’s also the first step for those who want to continue training in our Teenpower/Fullpower Instructor Training and Certification Program. The Kidpower Online Facilitator Training and Instructor Training Program is another pathway toward building skills to teach teens and adults as well.

Our comprehensive Teenpower/Fullpower Instructor Training and Certification Program provides empowering and hands-on preparation, including our annual 6-day Core Skills Training (CST), as well as an initial needs assessment, practice and mentoring opportunities, and ongoing support to become a certified instructor. You will learn to teach the exceptional Fullpower and Teenpower curriculum to actual teen and adult students, including seniors and people with intellectual disabilities – under the expert guidance of experienced trainers – and:

  • Bring joy and lay the groundwork for success for your students with our Positive Practice Method!
  • Transform how you teach safety to the teens and adults in your life!
  • Make it fun to learn to be safe!
  • Inspire confidence!

Please read the information below and then email us for more information and to start the Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator application process!


Paused for the pandemic, returning as soon as it’s safe:

Teenpower/Fullpower 6-Day Core Skills Training

Contact us today to start the Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator application process! Online Facilitator Training will prepare you to start using and sharing Teenpower and Fullpower skills with others, deepen your understanding of the Teenpower and Fullpower program, and prepare you to submit your CST application as soon as it is scheduled.

The CST is for people who want to become certified as Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International instructors and also for people who want to audit the CST as professional development, to use these skills and curriculum in their personal and professional lives without making the commitment to becoming instructors at this time.

This 6-day immersive training offers the opportunity to practice safety skills for yourself, practice teaching others, observe experienced people teaching, and then to see, teach, and practice personal safety skills with teens and adults with coaching from a trainer.

We encourage people interested in CST to contact us now for Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator training. Online Facilitator Training will provide you with skills you can use right away and will also help you assess your interest in continuing your training with Kidpower.

The following information describes our traditional pathway, developed over our 31-year history, for instructor certification and establishment of centers. During the pandemic, we are assessing what changes might strengthen our capacity to further our mission and help more people get access to Kidpower skills and training, so the following information is subject to change.

Please email us with any questions – including to apply for Online Facilitator Training right away.

►  Getting Started

►  Comprehensive Skills Training (CST) Description

► Certified Instructor Benefits

► Qualifications for Instructor Candidates

►  What is the Process for Becoming a Certified Instructor?

►  How long does it take to become a Certified Instructor?

►  Training Fees and Costs for Core Skills Training and Instructor Certification

►  Upcoming Schedule and Deadlines to Apply for the 6-Day Intensive CST

►  How to Apply

►  Auditing the Core Skills Training

►  Establishing an Authorized Provider Agreement instead of working in a Center

Getting Started

Taking in compliments.

Teen students practice taking in compliments.

We’re excited to offer our new Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator Training to start people on the path toward teaching safety skills for teens and adults. Contact us today! In addition, if you have not done this already, please join our Online Resource Library and read our articles. Purchase and read The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults, which provides an in-depth guide to personal safety, self-protection, confidence, and advocacy skills for young people.

Prior to the pandemic and the development of Kidpower and Teenpower/Fullpower Online Facilitator Trainings, we traditionally offered four different paths for those wishing to become certified as a Kidpower, Teenpower, and/or Fullpower instructor to teach and organize workshops under Kidpower’s auspices. Those pathways are described here. Please know we are revisiting and revising them during the pandemic and that the first step for anyone interested in starting on the pathway to teach Kidpower is to apply for Online Facilitator Training.

Traditionally, the four paths toward Kidpower certification have been:

1. If you are in California, you can become an instructor as part of the California Regional Center.  Please read all the information below and then contact us to begin the application process.

2. If you are not in California, but you are in the service area of one of our Established Centers, please read the information below and then contact your local Center Director. To check if you are close to an Established Center, please look at our Locations page. Note: How close to a center you need to be to become part of the center varies. If you are within 3 hours driving distance of an established center, please contact them first.

3. If you are not in an area served by an Established Center and you do not live in California, you will either need to set up a Center or establish an Authorized Agency Provider agreement to become authorized to organize and teach workshops in your community. Please read all the information on this page as well as the Center Development page and then contact us in the central office.

4. If you are in an area not served by an Established Center and you are part of an agency that provides services highly compatible with Kidpower’s mission, has an excellent track record, and demonstrates commitment to Kidpower’s values, then you might be able to set up a Kidpower Authorized Agency Provider agreement. Please read all the information below and then contact us to begin the application process.

Core Skills Training (CST) Description

One important piece of the certification process is our intensive, six-day Core Skills Training (CST). CST is a required step on the path to becoming a Certified Instructor. Like all our programs at every level, CST is experiential, success-based, and individually adapted for each Candidate. Candidates have extensive, supported practice opportunities to build both practical and theoretical skills in the following areas:

Learning to teach people of all abilities.

Learning to teach people of all abilities.

  • ‘People Safety’ Skills appropriate for children and/or teens and adults, including boundary setting, verbal skills, stranger safety, and physical self-defense.
  • Fullpower skills for your own training, to build confidence in your own self-protection skills as well as to deepen understanding of the relevance of these skills for your students.
  • Kidpower Positive Practice Methodology and Teaching Tools that can increase effectiveness in other areas of instruction as well.
  • Classroom management as well as individual student management skills.
  • Adapting and tailoring to address special needs of a group or an individual.
  • Public speaking and interactive presentation skills.
  • Team teaching and cooperative leadership.

Candidates get in-the-moment coaching and support as they integrate all these skills through hands-on work with real students and their teachers, and/or advocates. They also get to see experienced Instructors in action.

Daily Agenda

Thursday

09:00  —  Meet at Senior Center and Prepare to Participate in a SeniorPower Workshop
11:30  —  Get Lunch (on your own or with other participants) and Travel
12:45  —  Arrive and Participate in a Fullpower Adult Workshop for CST participants (1-5pm)

Friday

09:00  — Laying our Foundation: teamwork, leadership, boundaries, and materials
10:30  —  Demo and Practice Teaching
12:00  —  LUNCH (provided)
12:45  —  Demo and Practice Teaching
03:00  —  Physical Skills and Teaching Practices
04:45  —  Triggers, Evaluation of Day, Self-Assessment

 

 

Saturday

08:30  —  Student Management Strategies
09:00  —  Demo and Practice Skills & Teaching
12:00  —  LUNCH (provided)
01:00  —  Meet with Sunday Teams: Prepare & Practice Parts
02:45  —  Physical Skills. Use of Kickpads. Beginning Coaching
04:30  —  Strategies for Dealing with Verbal Attacks and Triggers
05:00  —  Clean up and Evaluation of the Day
05:30  —  Get Some Rest!

 

Sunday

08:30 — Prepare for Workshop: practice parts in teams
10:00 — Teenpower/Fullpower Community Workshop, with guidance from trainers. (short snack breaks)
02:00 — LUNCH (provided)
02:30 — Debrief. Prepare for Teen Program. Teen Management Strategies
03:15 — Organize Monday Teems: Meet & Prepare Parts
04:30 — Clean up and Evaluation of the Day
05:00 — Get Some Rest!

Monday

08:30 — Kickpads, Coaching, and Full-Force Review and Practice
10:00 — Full-Force and Every Day Safety Program for 8th grade students with guidance from trainers. (30-min lunch break)
03:00 — Break
03:30 — Debrief. Working with Students with Special Needs
03:45 — Organize for Teams. Using the Fullpower Teaching Kit. Lesson Plan for Tuesday.
04:30 — Clean up and Evaluation of the Day
05:00 — Get Some Rest!

Tuesday

08:30 — Gather at Life Skills & Work Training Center for People with Special Needs
09:10 — Every Day Safety Workshop with short breaks
11:45 — Travel to Lunch
12:00 — Special Lunch and individual next steps
01:00 — Creating Role Plays to Turn Problems into Practices
03:00 — Close of Training, Evaluation and Self Assessment
04:00 — If needed, additional individual consultations at Kidpower Central Office

Certified Instructor Benefits

People from all over the world have participated in our certified instructor training program. We are dedicated to maintaining extremely high quality standards and ethics and only certify as instructors people who demonstrate that they can uphold our values and meet our Instructor Certification Standards for the programs they teach under our auspices.

The most important qualities for being a successful instructor are having a good heart, a good head, good emotional and physical health, high ethics, respect for boundaries, and a deep commitment to making a difference in the world through this work.

Benefits

  • Kidpower invests in each selected Candidate. Each Candidate has the capacity strengthen our organization and our ability to help others, and we help cover the costs of their participation. The heavily subsidized training fees reflect Kidpower’s equivalent investment in the Candidate.
  • You have the opportunity to work with a Trainer and/or a Center Director to develop an individualized training plan and receive ongoing professional growth support.
  • As an Instructor, you have the opportunity to teach workshops through your Center or to have support in setting up a Center in a new community.
  • You will have quality supervision and ongoing access to our program development.
  • You’ll be welcomed onto our internal e-mail collaboration group, connecting Kidpower, Teenpower, and Fullpower instructors and board members worldwide with discussion on content updates, articles, and recent issues.
  • You will have the opportunity for further development of your own boundary-setting and personal safety skills.
  • You will get experience in real classes with real students taught by outstanding instructors.
  • You’ll strengthen your teaching skills through seeing, learning and practicing our teaching tools.
  • You will have hands-on training in our skills and activities with the opportunity to get coaching by trainers on how to present these effectively.
  • You will become part of our international organization with permission to use copyrighted materials, programs, and program names you are certified to teach; access to new curriculum development, and use of our endorsements and references.
  • While doing Kidpower-authorized activities, you will be covered under our liability coverage in the USA and Canada.
  • You will pay reduced fees for program materials.
  • You’ll have the personal satisfaction of teaching others simple and effective safety skills that can make a huge difference in their lives.

For more information on the benefits of joining our organization read Skills for Your Life/Skills to Teach Others – the benefits to becoming a Kidpower Instructor.

How to Apply

Step 1: Start by reading all the information about Core Skills Training on this page, the Qualifications for Training Applicants and, if applicable, Starting a Center or Becoming an Authorized Provider carefully.

Step 2: Depending on where you are located and whether you will be starting a Center or not, you will begin your application process by contacting us to indicate your interest. When you email either the Central Office or your local Center Director, please make sure to include:

  1. Where you are located.
  2. A short paragraph about yourself and why you are interested in working with Kidpower.
  3. A resume, if you have one. If not, please include a brief description of your relevant work history.
  4. If you have had the opportunity to participate in a Kidpower program or workshop.

Step 3: You will be contacted via email by either a Training Coordinator through the Central Office or your local Center Director. In local Centers led by experienced instructors, potential Applicants usually start by taking a workshop or having a phone or in-person interview.

All Applicants who are not part of a Center led by a very experienced instructor will be required to complete written screening questions to a trainer to see if applying to the training program is a good fit or not.  If both the Applicant and a Kidpower trainer feel good about moving forward with the application process, the Applicant will then pay will then pay a non-refundable 99 USD application fee by credit card, money order, or check, and schedule a Skype or phone interview with the trainer. If both agree to go forward after this interview, the applicant will schedule a second interview with the Kidpower Executive Director and then complete a formal application, a medical screening questionnaire, sign an Instructor Candidate Agreement, and, if applicable, a Center Agreement.

Only a limited number of Candidates will be accepted in each six-day training program. We recommend applying as early as possible. Here is an overview of the application process – Start Early to get as much pre-training support as possible:

  1. People tell us that they are interested and send us general information about themselves.
  2. We send screening questions and information about Instructor Training, the Qualifications for Training Applicants and, if applicable, Starting a Center that help both the Applicant and us to assess whether being an instructor for Kidpower is the best path to pursue, since there are many other ways to get involved. We also ask applicants to buy the Kidpower Book and sign up for a membership to the Kidpower Online Resource Library, which includes a subscription to our weekly e-newsletter.
    (NOTE: Our community membership is free. Our paid professional and executive memberships include additional coaching opportunities, a waiver of the application fee for CST, and discounts on other training fees.)
  3. Once we have received the answers to the screening questions from the Applicant, and all seems well, the Applicant pays a nonrefundable 99 USD application fee, and we set up a time to have an interview in person or on Skype. (This fee is waived for current year paid professional and executive members of our online resource library.)
  4. We conduct the Skype or in-person interview. This is a time to get to know each other and for both the Applicant and the Kidpower representative to ask questions.
  5. If both the Applicant and the Kidpower representative feel good about moving forward with the application process, we send the Applicant all the application documents she or he needs and ask the Applicant to complete, sign and return these documents along with references to continue the process. Unless they are in an area with an Established Center, the Applicant also signs a Center Agreement, which spell out requirements, boundaries, and expectations.
  6. Once we have received all the application documents and agreements we schedule an additional meeting with either a trainer from the Central Office or the Applicant’s Local Center Director to answer questions and discuss plans for training and future involvement.
  7. Before we can accept an applicant into our training program we also require a background check with fingerprints. Applicants will be checked to see if they are in the sex offender database.  Each state is different in costs associated with the background checks but the cost should be less than 100 USD. Applicants outside the U.S. complete a similar process according to what is possible in their countries. Applicants also need to have Medical and Accident Insurance for the period they are traveling to and from and staying in Santa Cruz for the CST.
  8. At this point, the applicant is accepted into our training program and is now an Instructor Candidate. We make a plan for payment of the Instructor Training Fee and for the Pre-Training Phase. If someone is near an area where there are workshops, we arrange for as many observation opportunities as possible. If not, we make other plans to help familiarize this person with our program. The Candidate is given a Supervisor who will work with them to make an Individualized Training Plan.

Qualifications for Instructor Training Applicants

We are looking for caring individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of others through teaching them our program. We work hard to uphold the highest quality standards in our workshops and as an organization. Instructors provide an extremely valuable service to their students and their communities.

People who want to become Kidpower instructors have a genuine interest in teaching people how to protect themselves from emotional and physical violence and abuse and helping them to build strong emotional-social skills in an empowering, effective way. They are ready to make a long-term commitment to being part of our organization.

The most important qualities for being a successful instructor with our organization are having a good heart, a good head, respect for boundaries, a deep commitment to grow, the ability to learn, and a passion to making a difference in the world through this work.

Potential instructors also must be:

  • In good enough physical and emotional health to be able to do this work safely and well
  • Able to take feedback and suggestions for improvement in the moment
  • Extremely reliable and have a reliable form of transportation
  • Able to speak in front of groups of people
  • Able to work with a large variety of different groups of the kinds they will be teaching (e.g.. children, teens, adults, people with disabilities, and/or people from different life situations and backgrounds) and in many different environments (e.g. schools, residential facilities, senior centers)
  • Able to acknowledge and learn from mistakes
  • Committed to upholding extremely high quality program and safety standards
  • Able to acknowledge and appreciate another person’s point of view
  • Able to take responsibility for one’s own actions and triggers
  • Able to work well individually, with a partner, and as a team
  • Able to take initiative
  • Committed to upholding our Mission, Goals, Values and Best Practice
  • Committed to learning and growing with Kidpower

Experience That Is Helpful But Not Required:

  • Previous teaching or coaching experience
  • Previous experience working with a non-profit organization
  • Previous experience learning or teaching self-protection, self-confidence and/or martial arts skills

“Seeing the empowerment of our students and hearing their stories of how our work has helped long after the class is deeply rewarding.”

Kidpower Instructor Certification Process

Practicing physical self-defense with "full-force" padded instructor.

Practicing physical self-defense with “full-force” padded instructor.

NOTE: Centers are independently run though they all operate under the auspices and support of the Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International Central Office. Centers may have some variation in the specific process they use to certify an instructor, though they will all follow these general phases.

1. The Application Phase: Outstanding Instructors are the heart of Kidpower.  We invest significant time and resources in our Instructor Candidates from the moment we agree to work together. We seek and select motivated Applicants who demonstrate the ability to do the work and acquire the expertise, are committed to teaching others to take charge of their safety; and who will uphold Kidpower’s Mission, Goals, Values, and Best Practices.

Required Actions: Applicants are required to sign up for our free online resource library (community membership), purchase The Kidpower Book, complete our screening questions, fill out a written application, sign a training agreement, pay the application fee and have a meeting by telephone, Skype, or in-person. We also require fingerprints and a background checks for Applicants in the United States and equivalent screening for Applicants from other countries.

2. Personal Training Plan Before Core Skills Training Participation: After being accepted into our training program, Instructor Candidates start the training process by studying The Kidpower Book and other materials; teaching the 30 Skills; assisting in workshops when possible; doing practice presentations in limited circumstances; and identifying community connections they can build upon to create fieldwork practice teaching opportunities when they return from the Core Skills Training for the Supervised Fieldwork phase. All Candidates will be assigned a Training Supervisor who will create an Personal Training Plan depending on the distance from an established center, the time before the next six-day Core Training Program, and the individual’s specific situation. In Established Centers, the Training Supervisor will be the Center Director from the Candidate’s local Center. If the Candidate is also starting a Center because there is no Center in their area, the Candidate will be assigned a Supervisor from the Central Office who will give long-distance support to the Candidate’s instructor training and center development via e-mail and Skype.

3. Participating in the intensive Core Skills Training (CST): We lead a Kidpower Core Skills Training (CST) each year and a Teenpower/Fullpower (CST) every other year. Each CST program is six days long and is held in Santa Cruz, California. Candidates may choose to become Kidpower Instructors (i.e. instructors for children, school and parent education programs) or Teenpower/Fullpower Instructors (i.e. instructors working with teens and adults), or both. Participation in the CST for the type of program you wish to teach is a required part of the instructor training process. The majority of individuals who join our organization begin by coming to the Kidpower CST and focus on the children’s curriculum and then work towards certification in the teen and adult classes.

4. Supervised Fieldwork Phase: This is when Candidates gain experience by teaching parts of the program with coaching and guidance until they are ready to teach the full program. This can include presenting in scheduled workshops, if they are already part of an Established Center, and leading short practice sessions the Candidate arranges in supportive environments, such as local schools and parent groups, with close guidance and supervision from a Training Supervisor. Depending on the location, the Supervised Fieldwork phase includes video review or in-person teaching under supervision that leads to gradual authorization to teach in different settings.  For people who are not part of established centers, we provide long-distance supervision through Skype, email, telephone, and video review. This phase varies in length based on the skill set of the Candidate, the amount of time the Candidate can devote to learning the curriculum, and where the Candidate is located.

5. Certification as a New Instructor: Once a Candidate has completed the Supervised Fieldwork Phase she or he will be authorized to teach specific workshops as a New Instructor as long as class plans are reviewed prior to teaching and workshops are evaluated afterwards with the Center Director or Training Supervisor. The New Instructor will continue working with his or her Supervisor for up to two years to provide ongoing support and professional development.

6. Ongoing Certification: In order to maintain their certification, Instructors must stay active and take part in ongoing learning through participation in activities provided by their local Center and the Central Office; reading internal staff and e-newsletter e-mails; going to conferences or repeating a training; Skype meetings; and/or conference calls.

How much time does it take to become a Certified Instructor?

The entire length of time from Application Phase to Certification varies. It will depend on when the Applicant contacts us, how much time the Candidate can commit to the Personal Training Plan and Supervised Fieldwork Phases, the skill set of the Candidate, the amount of time the Candidate can devote to learning the curriculum, and if the Candidate is located in an Established Center or not. However, for most people the process takes about two years. 

People interested in becoming an instructor should expect to commit between 500 and 1000 hours to the process (from Pre-training to certification). This time includes the six days of CST, as well as Pre-Training and Supervised Fieldwork, and time spent studying and learning curriculum.  This time is unpaid. Once an Instructor is certified to teach a workshop, he or she has the potential of being paid by the Center if funds are available or charging fees for his or her time. Compensation is different depending on which Center the Instructor is working with or if they are starting a local Center.

“The path of becoming and being a Kidpower instructor has been, for me, deeply rewarding. Strangely enough, having so clearly and proudly defined myself as a school teacher and a mother, I almost missed it altogether. Stretching my mind to imagine myself doing this kind of work felt scary because it was unusual. But I found when I stretched, I learned that Kidpower instructors don’t look any one way.”

Core Skills Training Fees and Costs

We make a major investment in people who want to join our organization, as we deeply value the commitment each Candidate makes to our mission and to bringing skills to their own community. We are able to do so because of the generous support of our donors as well as the extremely generous donations of time from our training staff.

To start with, all persons interested in becoming an instructor with our organization need to purchase and review The Kidpower Book, which provides an excellent introduction to our program as well as a foundation for training for our organization regardless of the ages of the people you wish to learn to teach. The cost for The Kidpower Book on Amazon is no more than $29.95 USD plus shipping.

An Application fee of 99 USD is non-refundable, and paid when you start the application process to help us cover the costs of screening. This application fee is waived for current Professional Members of the Kidpower Online Resource Library, who can apply for CST and receive a discount on training as one of many professional member benefits.

Below is a summary of our Core Skills Training Fees. Scroll down this page for full explanations of the fees for Instructor Candidates from a new community, Instructor Candidates from an established Kidpower Center, and Auditing Participants in CST.

Kidpower's 6-Day Core Skills Training (CST) Fees Summary Table (Graphic)

Applicants from an area where there is no established center with senior staff

In addition to the application fee, the fee of our certified training program is 2500 USD for someone who is new to our organization who is coming to their first Core Skills Training from an area where we do not have senior staff leading a well-established center or from an area where there is no center. If there are other people  coming from the same place, for the same training, at the same time, who are well-known to the first and they are planning to work closely together, we offer a reduced fee of 1200 USD for each of these applicants. These fees are all far lower than the true cost to our organization of providing training, which independent evaluation has placed at more than 5000 USD per person – including pre-training preparation, participation in our six-day Core Skills Training, program manuals, and post-training long-distance support and supervised fieldwork for the first year.

Throwing away hurting words

Throwing away hurting words.

Additional Trainings Discount: We have two six-day Core Skills Trainings – Kidpower for children and their adults – and Fullpower for teens and adults, including those with special needs and who are elderly. The fee for someone who has successfully completed one of these Core Skills Trainings coming to the other Core Skills Training is 1200 USD. The fee for someone who has taken one Core Skills Training and is repeating the same program is 500 USD.

After the training, there is also a Center Support Fee or Authorized Provider Support Fee that is based on 5% of gross income (income before expenses) from workshop fees, donations, grants, or other income generated by the use of our program. (If income is generated by an activity or service that includes partial use of our program, we figure out a mutually fair way of handling this.)

The fees include each person’s pre-training preparation; the materials, training, and lunches in the six day Core Skills Training; an additional day of extra training at the same time if people can make this work for their schedules; follow-up support on Skype and/or email and/or phone; licensing to organize and teach under our organization’s auspices; and permission to market and fundraise using our trademarked names and track record. The training fee covers the first year of certification support including video review. The cost of video review after the first year will cost 100 USD for an extensive review – however, this can be covered by any Center or Authorized Provider support fees generated.

Separate licensing and branding agreements are necessary before publishing or translating our content in any written or video or digital form – and we often make these agreements, so feel free to ask when you are ready.

In addition to the fees to our organization, you will need to cover your travel and living costs while you are here in Santa Cruz, California. When you get back, you will need to have liability insurance appropriate for your country for this kind of program. Other costs are mostly time and professional support and expenses for your website, Facebook page, outreach, organizing, fundraising, travel, and copying handouts, etc.

Please see Starting a Kidpower Center or Becoming An Authorized Provider for more information.

Applicants from an Established Center

The cost for training if you want to become an instructor in California or with one of our other active and established centers is reduced to 2000 USD, IF you are coming from a primary service area being supported by that Center. The Core Skills Training fee may be reduced further to 1200 USD for applicants who meet all of the following criteria:

  • are applying to begin the process to become a certified instructor with a well-established Kidpower Center with qualified staff able to provide all follow-up training and fieldwork support in a geographic area where more instructors are needed to handle services;
  • have already been actively involved in supporting the Center by volunteering, donating, or organizing a workshop;
  • are recommended personally by the Center’s Executive Director or Program Director; AND
  • commit to continue the needed fieldwork training to become certified as an instructor and teach with that center.

The cost for someone who has successfully completed one type of Core Skills Training to take the other type of Core Skills Training is 1200 USD.

(Please note: If you live in California, you will have the opportunity to become an instructor through the California Regional Center. Our primary service area is currently in the Greater San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas with satellite offices serving other communities such as San Diego and Los Angeles. We do not have independent Centers in California. However, we do have Satellite Offices and Authorized Provider Agreements in locations where we are not currently providing services on an ongoing basis.)

Other costs you will have to budget for are: Travel costs to and from Santa Cruz, California, hostel/hotel costs when in Santa Cruz, breakfast and dinner when in Santa Cruz (lunch and snacks are included in the training fee), and background checks. If you are intending to train as a Full-Force Instructor, you will also need to add the cost for the padded suit.

Once an applicant is accepted into the training program, a 500 USD initial payment towards the training fee must be made so we can set up an individual training plan, followed by 100 USD a month towards the training fees if pre-training coaching is desired. We are open to discussing some flexibility in the payment plan. Sometimes it works for Candidates to spread their payments out into smaller installments. However, because we commit a large amount of resources to conducting the training program, we do require that the training fees be paid in full one month prior to the date of the Core Skills Training. All alternate payment plans must be approved by our Executive Director.

Note: The Application Fee and Training Fees listed above are separate from other potential costs including long distance telephone, background check, international mailing of materials, travel, additional training programs or conferences we offer that the Candidate might choose to register for, etc. For all phone communication, we request that the Candidate be the one to call us (to cover long-distance charges) or, preferably to be able to use a free video conferencing service (such as Skype).

 

Core Skills Training Schedule

Teenpower/Fullpower Core Skills Training

The Teenpower/Fullpower Core Skills Training focuses on preparing instructors to teach teens and adults, including people with disabilities and seniors.

Training Dates:   We will schedule the next in-person Core Skills Training as soon as it is safe to do so.

Apply NOW – as soon as you are accepted, you can start your training online!

Start the application process ASAP to begin pre-training preparation and support!

Training Daily Schedule:
Thursday Preparation Day 9-noon and 1-5 (Lunch is not included)
Friday 8:30am-4:00pm
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday 8:30am-6:00pm
Tuesday 8:30am-5:00pm

The annual Kidpower Core Skills Training focuses on preparing instructors to teach children and their adults.

Next Kidpower CST: (TBD)

Apply Now: Start training online as soon as your application is accepted.

Training Preparation Day (Thursday):

All Candidates are required at the training preparation day unless they have already participated in these activities in their Center. Even then, we highly recommend participating in preparation day activities, which include a demo workshop and a physical self-defense workshop for Candidates to take as students. Full Force Instructor Candidates, who will be wearing the head-to-toe padded suit, will need to get fitted for their suit and get introductory full force training on this day.

 

Auditing the Core Skills Training

Many great people who want to come to the Core Skills do not have the time – at least in the short run – to do all the follow-up fieldwork to become certified as Kidpower instructors or set up a center so they can organize and teach Kidpower, Teenpower, and Fullpower workshops under our auspices. For this reason, we have decided to offer an option to audit the six-day Core Skills Training with the possibility of deciding to join the full certified instructor program at a later time.

Participating in the six-day training without doing the supervised fieldwork or, where relevant, starting a center can help participants become much better prepared to use and teach safety skills using the Kidpower program and teaching method in their personal and professional lives. People who successfully complete the Core Skills Training by auditing it WILL receive a Certificate of Completion, but will NOT be certified as a Kidpower instructor. They WILL be able to teach safety lessons or workshops using the Kidpower skills – but will NOT have permission to call these programs “Kidpower, Teenpower or Fullpower workshops” or themselves “Kidpower, Teenpower, or Fullpower instructors,” or to use any our other program names or our track record in marketing workshops using our materials. Instead, they will acknowledge Kidpower for the use of our copyrighted curriculum in a way that makes it clear where this information came from and tell people how to reach our organization. People taking this option will be asked to sign a Core Skills Training Participation Agreement that spells out how to use what is learned in the training a way that is supportive of Kidpower.

If you wish to audit the six-day Core Skills Training without becoming a certified instructor, you will still need to apply since we are working with real students. You will need to pay an application fee of 99 USD, sign an agreement about your use of the program, and pay the training fee for auditing participants, which includes pre-training, the six-day program, and a follow-up consultation session by email or Skype. Please contact us if you wish to explore this option.

If you decide to audit the training and it turns out at a later time that you wish to become certified, and we agree it is a good fit for you, you can pay an additional 1,000 USD (to cover your 500 USD Center Support Fee plus the 500 USD supervised fieldwork) plus insurance if you are starting a Center, and we will make a plan. If it has been a couple of years since you came to the six-day training program, you will probably need to go back, but the cost will be significantly reduced – see the listed fees for a “returning approved trainee to refresh the same CST” in our cost section.

A less expensive option to CST, without an ongoing time commitment, is our three-day Kidpower Child Protection Institute, near San Francisco in August, and can also be organized in other locations for groups that wish to bring in Kidpower trainers to conduct this training for their school staff, agency, local professional group, or community adults. Although the 3-day Institute does NOT have the hands-on practice with children or teens, this program includes extensive hands-on practice of intervention, advocacy, and personal safety skills – and has been very useful to parents, educators, law enforcement, therapists, social workers, and other carting adults from all over the world. While the focus of the Institute is children, participants have found the skills and strategies helpful in working with teens, adults, and people with special needs of all ages.

Establishing an Authorized Provider Agreement instead of working in a Center

On a case-by-case basis, Kidpower sometimes makes Authorized Provider Agreements with organizations, schools, or businesses that are providing services to people with specific needs to allow them to send qualified staff to participate in our Certified Instructor Training Program and to use these certified Kidpower instructors to organize and teach workshops through the Authorized Provider in collaboration with Kidpower. Requirements include:

  • That the individual to be trained has an established position within this agency, successfully completes our application process, and signs an Instructor Agreement with Kidpower.
  • That the nature of the services to be provided is mutually supportive and does not compete with the funding or services of Kidpower International or of any Kidpower Center serving the same area.
  • That the agency’s mission, goals, and values are aligned with Kidpower’s.
  • That the head of the agency who has the authority to make long-term commitments signs the Authorized Provider Agreement.

For More Information

  1. Read about our positive and practical approach for teaching personal safety skills to people of all ages and abilities by buying one of our resource publications or signing up for our free community membership. Our Comprehensive Program Manuals are now available for purchase by the general public. These manuals have been developed during our over 20 years of teaching thousands of students and training hundreds of instructors.
  2. Read What it Means to be a Kidpower Instructor, by Erika Leonard, California Program Director
  3. If you would like to find out more about the training process, please contact us, and please be sure to pass this information on to others who you think might be interested.