EMPLOYEE TRAINING/CONTINUING EDUCATION POLICY AND PROCEDURE

PHILOSOPHY:

      It is the belief of the Board of Directors that the Center's ministry can only continue and operate most effectively when employees are highly trained, and have the latest information available to them regarding human growth and development, organizational structure, and other areas that relate to their ministry. (2 Timothy 2:15) It is also the belief of the Board of Directors that continuing training opportunities will provide personal and professional growth for employees which stimulates Center growth and best meets the needs of the clients involved in the organization. Because of this belief and because of our belief in excellence, the Board feels that training and on going education is an essential part of the employment agreement between employees and the Center. It is also held by the Board that such training cannot only take place outside work hours, but sometimes must. It is this balance between work and personal time that program supervisors must carefully balance. Because of this delicate balance the Center will try to establish procedures for continuing education and training that mix outside work commitment with work commitment. This is to try to help employees balance the struggle between personal and professional hours. It is felt by the Board that the interchange of information among the staff members in team organization and team work is valuable to the training process. Opportunities to facilitate team members working together and learning from one another will be highly valued as an avenue for training and organizational growth.

PROCEDURES:

I. The Center director and program supervisors shall strive to provide opportunities within the work setting for professionals to grow and receive continuing education and training. Because of limited financial resources, supervisor's creativity will be urged to provide such opportunities. Input from employees and employees immediate needs will determine a tremendous amount of the training needs of the organization. This combined with supervisor's analysis of weak areas or areas needing growth will address the areas to be covered in all the various types of training and staff team work opportunities.

The following opportunities will regularly be offered to Center employees as a means of ongoing training and growth opportunities:

A) Regular staff meetings: staff members will regularly meet together within programs, throughout larger divisions, and as a whole Center staff to discuss the operation of the Center, challenges that are facing programs, future growth opportunities, and over all organizational goals and objectives. These meetings will be led by program supervisors and by the administration of the Center, and shall provide ample opportunity for discussion of agendas determined by employees as well as supervisors. Leadership models used during these meetings will primarily be group facilitation models. (Philippians 2:4)

B) Supervisor/Employee meetings: Employees will meet regularly with their immediate supervisor and shall discuss during these meetings, as part of the agenda personal and professional goals and objectives, organizational goals and objectives,

problem areas within the organization or program, and potential alleviation of such problems. Regular discussion of employee's professional growth as it relates to

training opportunities will be considered by program supervisors. Program supervisors will attempt to address the needs as they are best able to meet them given limited resources and opportunities to meet the growing needs of employees. (Luke 22:24-26)

C) Departmental Meetings: Employees will meet regularly within their department to discuss departmental operation, problem areas, training and personal needs, and other areas that address professional growth of employees. These meetings will also allow opportunity for planning and the implementation of program policy which will facilitate the working among employees and the interchange of information. (Proverbs 11:14)

D) Staff Devotions: Staff will meet regularly to provide opportunities for corporate worship, interpersonal exchange, opportunities for spiritual growth and exchange of

information, and interpersonal accountability. These devotions will take place weekly on a smaller scale and monthly on a larger scale. It shall be the responsibility of program supervisors to conduct such meetings for employees to provide input in the planning of those meetings. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

E) Personal Prayer Partners: Interpersonal accountability and the need for personal spiritual stimulation provides the basis for this method. It is encouraged that each employee will seek out individuals whom they can pray with regarding their personal life and their professional life. These personal relationships and opportunities to commit to one another in prayer are seen as vital to employees and even to the organizational health of the Center. (James 5:16)

II. The second type of training available to staff will be regular in-service days. Throughout the context of the year in the program's annual calendar program supervisors will plan whole days of training that relate to the operation of their particular programming or that

relate to the operation of the Center. Once again, supervisors are encouraged to be creative, to be flexible, and be resourceful in providing these trainings, and to network with other organizations within the Center when possible. The suggested rate of these

trainings will be quarterly, although some programs may be able to offer more and some less frequent trainings.

III. Mini-Trainings. Monthly, program supervisors are encouraged to provide training from within the organization and from without for short, special-interest topics of training. These mini-trainings are designed to run an hour to an hour and a half and come at the end of a regular day, which will allow short focus of new insight and training. It is suggested that these should be regularly scheduled meetings (i.e., the end of the month or the last staff meeting of the month) and if possible, replace the regular staff meeting so as not to impose further upon employee's time.

IV. Program Visitation. Within the budgets allowed for training revenue, it is encouraged that employees would have the opportunity to visit one other parallel organization during the year that would provide insight and networking with how other organizations that are

similar to the Center work. It is felt that these visits are vital to provide evaluation, opportunities to network with other organizations, and support, refreshment and new insight to employees. Program supervisors may decide that more than annual

            visitations are constructive to employee growth.

V. Employee Training Manual. The Center as a whole, and individual program supervisors are charged by the Board of Directors to develop Program Training Manuals, which consist of articles, literature, cassette tapes, and other such materials that will provide insight and new direction on the theoretical and practical basis from which the Center operates. It is the responsibility of the program supervisor and the employee together to work out a schedule upon which to read, review, and examine such data, and to keep record of such. It is also the employee's responsibility to search out new information which addresses the type of work the Center does and the type of organization the Center is to contribute to such matters. (1 Corinthians 9:25)

VI. Conferences and Workshops. Program supervisors will try to provide ample opportunity for employees to attend conferences, seminars and workshops that address issues that are pertinent to them. Supervisors shall attempt to plan for the attendance of at least one conference during the year for employees (although the provisions for this conference may have to be limited to registration fees and limited expenses), and at least one workshop and/or seminar per year. Both of these opportunities will be paid by the Center and will be included in the employees regular work week. The program supervisors will also try to provide provisions for employees to attend other conferences and seminars at their own expense when possible. If program budgets and/or scheduling opportunities permit, employees may be allowed to receive comp time for attending after hours or weekend trainings. (1 Corinthians 9:25)

VII. Journal/Professional Literature Reading Program. The Center employees who are regular, full-time and in at least their second year of service will be encouraged to subscribe to a professional journal which relates directly to their field. The Center will

provide up to $25.00 a year for such a subscription, and program supervisors will make provisions for the review of such literature at regular staff meetings (i.e., once a month all employees will review highlights from the journal that they were reading last month, new

ideas, new concepts, etc.). These journals will then be put in the Center professional library for the use of other professionals and articles that are deemed to have appropriate long term and significant value will be placed in the Center's training manual.

Program supervisors may also make provisions for the reading of a book by program staff and the discussion there of as part of professional training requirements.

VIII. Continuing Education Credits/College Credit Work. The Center will encourage employees to continue their education in the form of degree work either in continuing education credits or college work. Program Supervisors will provide as much flexibility as is possible in scheduling to enable employees to do this. It is felt that this outside stimulation will benefit the Center in terms of fresh and new insight in the long run, but it is important to remember that this is not a benefit but an attitude that is to be expressed by Center program supervisors.

ADOPTED: August 10, 1991

REVISED: November 6, 2000