ACADEMY OVERVIEW · OCTOBER 2026
Strengthening the workforce behind the care.
R.E.A.C.T. STRTP Workforce Development Academy™
A practical workforce-development and implementation system for California Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs.
The Institute
R.E.A.C.T. Workforce Institute exists to strengthen the child welfare and behavioral health workforce through education, professional development, workforce resilience, and evidence-informed practice. We equip organizations and the professionals serving children, youth, and families with knowledge, skills, and support for stronger teams and healthier service environments.
R.E.A.C.T. means Resilience, Emotion, Activity, Connection, and Transition.
What the Academy brings
- Workforce assessment and customized training planning.
- A 27-module curriculum bank with facilitator guides, presentations, and learner workbooks.
- Case practice, knowledge checks, and scored application.
- Supervisor follow-through, attendance and completion records, and implementation action tracking.
- Quarterly review and year-end recommendations within the annual scope.
Partnership options
Assessment & Planning
A focused review for one site, including leadership interviews, a staff needs survey, a limited authorized deidentified record sample, findings, and a leadership readout.
90-Day Implementation Pilot
One site and one cohort of up to 30 staff. Four two-hour courses cover placement stability, documentation, workforce resilience, and team handoffs. A one-hour REACT orientation, two one-hour supervisor meetings, limited baseline review, action register, and final report support implementation.
Annual Academy Partnership
One site and cohort of up to 30 learners. Twelve selected two-hour courses, twelve supervisor implementation meetings, four quarterly reviews, and a year-end report. Onboarding is planned before the first delivery month.
Customized / Comprehensive Partnership
Selected courses, additional sites or cohorts, or expanded applied practice labs can be scoped separately. Final lab content, readiness, fees, staffing, and deliverables are confirmed before delivery.
Assessment & Planning: $5,500. 90-Day Implementation Pilot: $12,500. Annual Academy Partnership: $30,000. Base fees cover the defined scope for one site. Comprehensive and customized work is quoted after scoping. Written scope defines delivery format, timing, staffing, materials, expenses, responsibilities, payment milestones, and any additions. Travel, additional sites or cohorts, translation, specialized experts, and professional CE administration are quoted separately when needed.
Curriculum at a glance
| Module | Course | Scheduled minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | STRTP Foundations | 90 |
| 02 | Trauma Separation Grief and Loss | 120 |
| 03 | Placement Instability | 120 |
| 04 | Trauma Informed Residential Practice | 120 |
| 05 | Youth Rights Voice Choice and Advocacy | 120 |
| 06 | Relationship Based Care | 120 |
| 07 | Behavior as Communication | 120 |
| 08 | Emotional Regulation and Co Regulation | 120 |
| 09 | Crisis Prevention and Verbal De Escalation | 120 |
| 10 | Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children | 120 |
| 11 | Suicide and Self Harm Awareness | 90 |
| 12 | Cultural Humility | 120 |
| 13 | California Integrated Core Practice Model | 120 |
| 14 | Child and Family Team Practice | 120 |
| 15 | Professional Boundaries Ethics and Self Awareness | 120 |
| 16 | Documentation That Matters | 120 |
| 17 | Transition and Permanency | 120 |
| 18 | Workforce Resilience Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress | 120 |
| 19 | The REACT Method | 120 |
| 20 | High Performing Residential Teams | 120 |
| 21 | Child and Adolescent Development | 120 |
| 22 | Supporting Nonminor Dependents | 120 |
| 23 | SOGIE Affirming Residential Care | 120 |
| 24 | Educational Stability and Safe Inclusive Schools | 120 |
| 25 | Family Outreach Engagement and Participation | 120 |
| 26 | Permanency Well Being and Educational Success | 120 |
| 27 | Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights | 120 |
The catalog totals 53 scheduled hours. An annual pathway selects twelve courses; it does not include the entire catalog. Scheduled minutes are planning allocations, not automatically eligible workforce hours or professional CE credit.
Clear training boundaries
The Academy supports workforce development and implementation. It does not guarantee licensing, reimbursement, professional credit, regulatory compliance, or a specific organizational outcome. Facilities verify current requirements, their approved plans, instructor qualifications, agency procedures, employee completion, and specialized training needs.
Professional CE availability, provider details, eligible licenses, and approved credit must be confirmed for an offering before registration. Workforce completion records are separate from professional CE and CDSS administrator CE approval.
Founder and curriculum developer
Dr. Jonathean Reese, DSW, brings 20 years of child welfare experience, including 10 years in STRTP and group home settings. His roles have included line staff, lead staff, Residential Supervisor, Associate Clinician, and Duty Officer. He works for Children and Family Services and serves as Director of Technical Assistance and Consulting for Behavioral Health Training & Policy Institute, supporting behavioral health reform and workforce-development priorities. His doctoral work developed and evaluated a R.E.A.C.T. staff education seminar in an STRTP. Subsequent Academy and workforce applications extend that foundation without implying validation of every offering.
Funding partnerships
RWI welcomes conversations about a proposed 12-month, three-STRTP workforce-development pilot. Funding, site participation, eligibility, evaluation arrangements, and final scope remain subject to partnership development. Federal 501(c)(3) recognition has not yet been obtained; tax-deductible donations are not represented as available.
Contracting and records
Dr. Jonathean Reese is RWI’s Founder, sole trainer, and authorized signer. Delivery is onsite and/or via Zoom; dates and service hours are agreed per contract. Each client reviews and signs a service agreement and site-specific scope before delivery. Both parties receive the completed agreement, and RWI retains the signed version and any signing audit trail with that client’s records.
Agreed access, exchange, retention, and disposal arrangements apply to client records. Training uses fictional or deidentified examples. Dr. Reese owns and authorizes the RWI curriculum; client use is limited to the agreed internal purpose. BHTPI has not contributed to or acquired ownership of these materials.
Business mailing address: 8605 Santa Monica Blvd PMB 889840, West Hollywood, California 90069-4109 US.
Start with a conversation
Select a site, an executive sponsor, and one or two practice priorities. Request a 30-minute discovery conversation to identify an appropriate assessment or implementation scope.
RWI welcomes direct staff-development contracts with STRTPs across California. Required staff-training credit is subject to facility verification; CDSS-approved administrator certification and renewal credit are not offered. Dr. Jonathean Reese is Founder and sole trainer; onsite and Zoom delivery dates are agreed per contract.