YES for Agency Command Staff

& City Leadership

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Course Syllabus

Module 1.  Foundational Building Block: Effective Encounters with Youth

This module establishes the core principles for safe, lawful, and effective interactions with youth, emphasizing communication, rapport-building, and developmentally appropriate engagement. Officers gain a practical framework for conducting youth encounters that reduce risk, increase cooperation, and support defensible decision-making.

Module 2. Understanding Adolescent Brain Development & Trauma

This module explores how adolescent brain development and trauma shape youth behavior during police encounters. Officers learn how these factors influence decision-making, compliance, and emotional responses while providing critical context to prevent misinterpretation and escalation.

Module 3.  Recognizing Youth in a Mental-Health Crisis

This module equips officers to recognize when youth are experiencing a mental health crisis and respond with calm, effective de-escalation strategies. Emphasis is placed on appropriate coordination with local crisis and community-based resources to ensure youth safety and continuity of care.

Module 4.  Trauma-Informed Responses to Child and Adolescent Victims/Witnesses

This module focuses on trauma-informed approaches for interacting with child and adolescent victims and witnesses. Officers learn how to protect youth well-being, preserve investigative integrity, and work effectively alongside victim service providers.

Module 5. Juvenile Detention Decision-Making & Alternatives to Arrest

This module examines juvenile detention standards and the use of developmentally appropriate alternatives to arrest. Officers learn how to make informed, lawful detention decisions that prioritize youth safety, accountability, and community protection while reducing unnecessary system involvement and long-term harm.

YES For Agency Command Staff And Leadership Program Overview

Youth encounters escalate fast when agencies lack a consistent approach across patrol, SRO operations, investigations, and supervision. Communication mismatches and uneven expectations create high-risk moments that leadership must defend later.

When escalation happens, the impact spreads. Safety risk increases. Complaints rise. Trust drops. And leadership ends up managing inconsistency across units, along with policy questions and performance gaps that could have been avoided with a clear framework and reinforcement plan.

YES provides command staff with a practical framework for safer youth encounters at the organizational level. YES aligns developmentally appropriate methods with trauma-informed practice and legal standards, then supports implementation with reinforcement tools leaders can standardize, coach, and sustain.

Why Agency Command Staff And Leadership Choose YES

YES helps leadership standardize youth encounter expectations across units and reinforce them after training. It supports consistent practice, supervisor coaching, and defensibility tied to standards agencies must answer to. Some of the benefits of this program are:

  • Standardized Youth Framework

  • Supervisor Reinforcement Tools

  • Cross Unit Consistency

  • Reduced Escalation Risk

  • Defensible Decisions

  • Stronger Public Trust

Schedule a consultation to confirm agency goals, implementation needs, and delivery options, then receive a clear plan you can standardize and reinforce across units.

Any Questions? Let’s talk

(817) 502-9197

Our Professionals

Meet the YES Team

Collectively, the YES team brings more than 100 years of combined experience

across policing, juvenile justice, victim services, and national policy leadership.

Theron L. Bowman, PhD

Founder/CEO/Instructor

Jaya Davis, PhD

Contributor/Instructor

James Hawthorne, MS

Contributor/Instructor

Cynthia Erich, MS

Contributor/Instructor

testimonials

What Leaders Say About YES

Our work is focused on one goal: improving outcomes for youth,

their families, and the professionals who serve them.

YES is built for moments that escalate quickly—and are often reviewed later.

Leaders who have implemented the training report that it helps professionals better understand youth behavior and approach encounters differently.

Free Consultation Available

Ready To Strengthen

Youth Encounter Outcomes?

Schedule a free consultation to discuss your current challenges, training goals, and delivery options. We'll recommend a practical approach tailored to your organization that improves safety, consistency, and youth engagement outcomes.

Youth Engagement Strategies gives agencies a practical framework for safer youth encounters and more defensible decisions.

  • Phone: (817) 502-9197

Business hours

monday: 8am - 5pm

tuesday: 8am - 5pm

wednesday: 8am - 5pm

thursday: 8am - 5pm

friday: 8am - 5pm

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