VALIDATION TRAINING INSTITUTE INCORPORATED

The Validation Training Institute (VTI)'s mission is to nurture respect, dignity and well-being in the lives of older adults experiencing age-related cognitive decline and their caregivers by advancing knowledge, values, education and research rooted in the Validation method. VTI's vision for the future is that every caregiver and older adult experiencing age-related, cognitive decline will feel the joy and love of meaningful communication.

VTI provides education, quality standards and easy pathways for learning this evidence based method for communicating with older adults.

VTI offers a variety of training possibilities to suit the personal needs of the caregiver regarding time, budget and depth of training. Any or no pre-training is equally welcome. The Validation method can be used by health care professionals, family caregivers, first responders - anyone who wants to improve their connection and better communicate with older adults living with ADRD.

VTI's main programs fall into three categories: Education, Outreach and Quality Maintenance. The number of people served through each program depends on how many people are receiving training through AVOs and certified Validation teachers.

Education: VTI has developed curricula to help others learn about the Validation method. This includes Internet-Supported Worker Course, Modular Learning Curriculum and Internet-Supported Family Caregiver Course.

Outreach: As mentioned above, VTI's AVO network is extensive and includes a community of more than 8,000 certified Validation professionals. VTI's outreach outside of collaboration with this network includes material distribution of Validation materials including books, DVDs and CDs.

Quality Maintenance: VTI supports the Validation method through ongoing research, maintaining a multilingual quality manual for AVOs and leading an Education Committee which authorizes new training material and creates new comprehension tests every 5 years.

Education/Outreach:

Over the past 35 years, VTI has created and delivered constantly evolving training programs, consistent with the most modern pedagogy and learning tools (i.e. web-based and evidence-based). VTI has 24 Authorized Validation Organizations (AVOs) in 12 countries, has published 4 books in 12 languages, created films and built an international network of affiliated organizations. There are 438 certified Validation teachers and 17 Master teachers to mentor and support them. Over 9000 people are certified in Validation. Approximately 400,000 people have experienced Validation through a Naomi Feil workshop.


Quality Maintenance:

VTI has a 17 member Education Committee that authorizes all new developments and teaching materials for the Validation method. Our 128 page Quality Manual, offers procedures and guidelines to ensure the integrity of the method worldwide. It is available in English, German and French.

2019 was a great year for development in all aspects of our work.

Education: Our Family Caregiver Course was successfully piloted with 16 caregivers in Denver, Colorado with funding from the NextFifty Initiative. We have plans to continue this work in 2020 to support families caring for loved ones living with different forms of dementia. The “How-To…” video series on the VTI YouTube channel is now available with subtitles in French, German, Italian, Chinese, and Swedish. There are more languages to come! The new resource, Validation for First Responders, was published in English and German with a French version coming soon. The Education Committee made important adjustments in certification levels and the name of the 4 Phases of Resolution.

Outreach and Marketing: We rebranded our entire website to improve functionality and visual appeal. VTI presented at 2 national conferences in the United States last year and at 3 conferences internationally. There are new Authorized Validation Organizations (AVOs) in Basel, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria.

Quality Maintenance: The newly revised, 128-page Quality Manual is now available on our website to Validation Teachers and AVOs in German, French and English. Italian and Chinese translations are coming soon. In 2020, VTI will locate funding sources to help translate the manual into Japanese and Spanish.

Development: We welcomed new board member, Molly Balunek, who brings us financial planning skills and the ability to help manage our new Endowment Fund. VTI plans to launch a 2-million-dollar Endowment campaign soon that will provide us with financial stability. We have secured half a million in contributions already with the promise of another half a million in the coming 5 years. Our grant writer, Meaghan McMahon, continues to send out grant proposals and managed our successful Fall Fundraiser which raised a total of $18,210. VTI’s nonprofit profile earned GuideStar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency.