Good+Training Academy

From education to the courts, to child welfare, child support, and corrections, the Good+Training Academy provides guidance using a Two-Generation (2Gen) approach that builds a family’s well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with service providers, as well as children and the adults in their lives, all together.

The Academy increases the capacity of individuals and agencies who want to invest in utilizing a trauma-informed lens to successfully support fathers, mothers, and families. We’ve found these particular areas to be blind spots in the broader social sector, and we believe that providing high-quality training opportunities is essential to breaking down the systemic barriers that prevent the marginalization of many low-income families.

Areas of Focus

Father Engagement

• Father Engagement 101
• Including Dad in Early Childhood Education
• Three-Day Fatherhood Facilitators Training

Child Welfare Father Engagement

• New Social Workers
• Regional Office General Staff
• Dependency Investigators
• Supervisors and Administrators
• Paternal Relative & Kinship Engagement
• Navigating the Court System During the Crisis

Parenting Curricula

• No Trauma Discipline
• Fatherhood Men in Relationships (MIRG)
• 24/7 Dads
• Nurturing Fathers
• Parenting Beyond Conflict
• Within My Reach (Healthy Relationship)

Diversity & Cultural Awareness

• Working with Diverse Populations
• Father/Male Bias
• Implicit and Explicit Biases
• Microaggressions

Mental Health & Trauma

• Vicarious Traumatization, Secondary Trauma,
  and Self-Care for Service Providers
• Trauma-Informed Care Practices
• Impact of Trauma on Child Development
• Mental Health First Aid
• Motivational Interviewing

The Good+ Training Academy provides virtual and/or in-person training (when safe to do so), offers technical assistance, and navigates resource linkages to transform social service systems that have been identified as obstacles to a father-inclusive approach to helping families thrive.

Trainer Bios

Dr. Alan-Michael Graves: Good+Foundation Senior Director of Teaching & Capacity Building

Dr. Alan-Michael Graves has worked in the human services field with extensive experience as a manager and administrator for both public and private agencies for the past 15 years. He has brought these diverse perspectives to his work helping agencies develop, implement and evaluate interagency systems of care, family partnerships and community programming. Prior to joining Good+, Alan-Michael served as the Director of Project Fatherhood in the Leadership Center at Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII), focusing on a broad range of multidisciplinary activities from research and program development to training and advocacy for policy change. Alan-Michael received his bachelor’s in political science and his master’s in public administration from California State University and his doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA.

Dr. Laurel Parker West: Good+Foundation Chief Program & Operations Officer

Dr. Laurel Parker West received her Ph.D. and M.A. from Emory University and her B.A. from Wesleyan University. Prior to joining Good+ in December 2012, Laurel was the Executive Director of the Women’s Fund of Long Island, where she helped to identify and raise funds for programs that demonstrated an impact on the lives of girls and women. Before that, she was the Executive Director of the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, where she focused on the long-term economic security of women and their families. Laurel has also held several research positions and has conducted numerous studies on childcare policy, community development and welfare reform at Emory University.