Michael D. Clark, MSW - Director The CSBS welcomes you! Our goal is to increase a Strengths approach across all of the helping professions for work with individuals and families. We believe that when a person’s strengths, assets and resources are balanced with their faults and failures, then a more accurate view of the person is realized—a view that is truly helpful to all who are concerned with increasing a healthy life. Our vision is to help the Strengths model become the standard for all helping efforts. Our Center champions direct practice, the one-to-one venue in which the helper and person meet. There have been decades of attention to how people “fall down” and plumbing the depths of troubles. We now advocate for the science of “getting up” and how the troubled surmount their difficulties. Our focus is on the techniques and strategies, the "how to's" that helpers can use to raise motivation levels. We seek to advance techniques and strategies--paying special attention to applied methods. How can organizations (staff, management, structure, policies and programs) help a Strengths approach to take root and thrive? Our Center provides technical assistance to diverse professional groups—those who work with voluntary clients and especially those clients mandated to accept services by our courts and justice system. Although our Center is based in the United States, we have worked with and shared with helpers and helping organizations from around the world and invite all to gain a global perspective. News from 2012
MARCH 21, 2012 Our Director will give a keynote address at the upcoming TASC National Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. (TASC – Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities) “The Matter of Motivation: The Implementation of Motivational Interviewing Across the TASC Community” 
NEW ARTICLE: (January 2012) Clark, Michael D., “Why Do Criminals Desist?” The IACFP Newsletter (International Association of Correctional & Forensic Psychology), Vol. 44 (1) 1-4. For a free PDF copy, click on the sentence below (wait 10 secconds to load) We now advocate for the science of “getting up” and how the troubled surmount their difficulties.
Recent News on Note: United Nations 
(Hosted by the Government of Brazil) Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Salvador, Brazil that took place April 12-19, 2010. __Mr. Clark delivered an invited panel presentation sponsored by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS): Strength-Based Interventions for Prevention and Corrections: Moving from High Risk to High-Yield
An Active 2011Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina
2011 Keynote Address(Delivered September 16-18, 2011) An International Conference initiated by the Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice, Brisbane, Australia & Council Of Bosnia And Herzegovina Diaspora, - "Strengths Based Management Of Social Change With Special Focus On Transition Countries"-- Click on this link for more information about this September 2011 conference:
Denver, Colorado  2011 Keynote Address(Delivered April 26, 2011)
--Three sponsors: (1) Colorado Alliance for Drug-Endangered Children – (2) Colorado Judicial Division of Probation Services Annual Conference and (3) Colorado Drug Court Annual Conference--“Best Practices Meet the Community- Establishing the Connections”
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING TRAIN-THE-TRAINER Our Center has become one of the leaders in the United States for the instruction of MI trainers and coaches. Currently, there are over 200 Wyoming Protocol™ MI Trainers, located across18 states.In the MI field, available to anyone who wishes to train/coach Motivational Interviewing, there are at present, three assignments for trainers and coaches:
1. “MINT” status, which can only be granted by the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)
2. “Wyoming Protocol™ – Motivational Interviewing Trainer” which can only be granted by following the MI trainer/coach protocol as published by the Michigan-based Center for Strength-Based Strategies
3. “Motivational Interviewing Trainer” We have claimed trademark rights to this status (“Motivational Interviewing Trainer - Wyoming Protocol™”) to protect it’s rigorous standards.
In an April 6, 2011 Memorandum, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has supported the Wyoming Protocol™ by giving it “first priority” for their Motivational Interviewing train-the-trainer selection process. High standards are assisting these critical implementation efforts.
Website updates – 2012· Updates to the “Training Schedule” Section are now posted for the first quarter of 2012.
● New In 2012: "Treatment Court Tune Up Training - Reversing the Drift Towards Punishment." A helpful Team Retreat for Specialty Courts who find themselves drifting away from thier treament mission. Click on "Drug Courts" in our Summaries and Resources section to learn more about this training
· New efforts to aid organizational readiness to for Motivational Interviewing (MI) and keeping MI enduring. Motivational Interviewing Coaching and Motivational Interviewing Coding.
· A book chapter and a recent article (2009) are available below and one article just published last year in 2010
● Check out international conferences in the "News and Updates" Section
· Extensive delivery of Motivational Interviewing Train-the-Trainer initiatives with both Motivational Interviewing Coaching and Coding of Audio Tapes for Quality Assurance (see below) _________________________________________________________ Article published in 2010(Summer 2009) Clark, Michael D., Juvenile Justice and a Strengths Perspective: Compliment or Clash? Reclaiming Children & Youth Journal, Vol 18 (2), 21-26. Click on this link to download this article in PDF format:http://www.buildmotivation.com/images/36%20reclaming%20youth%20-%20jj%20%26%20sb.pdf
Book chapter published in 2009 (2009) Clark, Michael D., The Strengths Perspective in Criminal Justice. In D. Saleebey (ed.) Fifth Edition (2009). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice.. New York: Longman Click on these three links to download this chapter: Part one:http://www.buildmotivation.com/images//34%20sp%20in%20cj%20part%20one.pdf Part two: http://www.buildmotivation.com/images//34%20sp%20in%20cj%20part%20two.pdf Part three:http://www.buildmotivation.com/images//34%20sp%20in%20cj%20part%20three.pdf ____________________________________________________________________ Article published in 2009:(Summer 2008) Clark, Michael D., “Moving From Compliance To Behavior Change: Motivational Interviewing and the Juvenile Court.” Juvenile and Family Justice Today, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Vol. 17 (3), 22-23. Click on this link to download this article in PDF format: http://www.buildmotivation.com/images//32%20today%20-%20mi%20%26%20juvenile%20courts%202pgs.pdf _________________________________________________________ We’ve done extensive work in developing and delivering Motivational Interviewing Train-the-Trainer initiatives over the last two years. Here is a partial listing of clients that the Center for Strength-Based Strategies is currently -- or has facilitated -- train-the-trainer initiatives in Motivational Interviewing: · Los Angeles County Probation (Juvenile Probation & Facilities) · Wyoming Department of Corrections · Hawaii District - Federal Probation and Pretrial Services · State of Nebraska – Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center – Kearney, NE · South Central Behavioral Health Services – Hastings, Nebraska · Mid-Plains Center for Behavioral Healthcare Services – Grand Island, NE · Utah Department of Corrections · Montgomery County Juvenile Court – Dayton, Ohio · Montgomery County Adult Community Corrections – Dayton, Ohio · Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards · Brazoria County – Texas, Community Corrections Department · Bay-Arenac Community Mental Health, Bay City, Michigan · Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole ● Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections ● Nueces County Community Corrections – Corpus Christi, Texas ● Texas Dep't of Criminal Justice – Community Justice Assistance Division ● Starr Commonwealth – Adolescent Residential / Community Programming ● El Paso Juvenile Court, El Paso, Texas ● State of Idaho - Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections State of Hawaii - Oahu Juvenile Court / Child Protective Services (Sponsored by the University of Hawaii - Manoa) Shelby County Juvenile Court - Memphis, Tennessee Nashville County Juvenile Court - Nashville, Tennessee (Sponsored by University of Tennessee) ______________________________________________________________________ Our website offers numerous publications for downloading. They describe Strengths work with both adolescents and adults and almost all focus on working with challening clients or mandated (court-involved) populations. Many are journal articles, such as these two publications:(Summer 2006) Clark, et al., “Importance, Confidence and Readiness to Change: Motivational Interviewing for Probation and Parole.” Perspectives. Journal of the American Probation & Parole Association. Vol. 30 (3). 36-45. [Part Two of Two Part Series] Click here to download the full article
(June 1998) "Strength-Based Practice: The ABC's of Working With Adolescents Who Don't Want To Work With You" Federal Probation Quarterly, (62)1, 46-53. Click here to download the full article
** NOTE:Mr. CLARK WAS NAMED AN "EXEMPLARY FORENSIC SOCIAL WORKER." AN EXCERPT FROM A NEW (2007) BOOK CHAPTER HAS BEEN ADDED TO OUR "NEWS & UPDATE" SECTION.
Some speak to our mission of offering "how to's" for direct practice. Here are several "Tips & Techniques" for direct service that can be applied to a wide-range of populations and problems (September, 1999) “Strength-Based Practice: Tips and Techniques for Line Staff & Managers” Triad Communicator. Vol. 1(2). 14-15. Click here to download the full article
(Fall 2000) “Tips, Research and Techniques for Direct Practice” Juvenile Justice Training Notes Journal of the Juvenile Justice Trainers Association. Vol. 11(3). 4. Click here to download the full article
(Spring, 2002) “Tips for Direct Service Practitioners: Practice Principles That Build Partnerships for Juvenile Court Work.” Juvenile Justice Training Notes Journal of the Juvenile Justice Trainers Association. Vol. 13(1). 7-8. Click here to download the full article
(2005) “Clark’s Corner: Examining Client Perceptions—Techniques to Achieve Positive Change” Inside Justice: A National Perspective on Juvenile Justice. Vol. 4(1). 6-7. Click here to download the full article
For information on training workshops and technical assistance, please click on the “Contact Us” section. *Thanks for checking back! There are now over 25 articles on our website ready for downloading. Click on the buttons in the “Summaries & Resources” section to review these publications. |
