| Piszchala Associates, LLC
"Training people to stay safe in emergency situations"
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Meet your Trainer: Walt Piszchala
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families employed Walt Piszchala for 33 years (now retired), working with children in a variety of capacities, in residential care.
For 27 of those years Walt worked as a trainer in the field of Crisis Intervention and Health and Safety, teaching both verbal and physical intervention technique and CPR, AED, First Aid, Blood Borne Pathogens Walt retired from the Connecticut Juvenile Training School as a full-time training coordinator. His main focus had been in the development and implementation of a comprehensive behavior management and crisis intervention program. In addition, he was responsible for developing, training, and monitoring all Health and Safety Programs (AED, CPR, First Aid, Blood borne Pathogens, etc.) for the staff at CJTS. Walt has trained several staff who have recorded life-saves involving choking emergencies. Walt was the only Department of Children and Families employee with the certification to train and certify new trainers in any health and safety curriculums for the American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI). He has certified new trainers for all four DCF Facilities.
From 1997 to 2006 Walt was an adjunct staff trainer at the Department of Children and Families training academy. He was responsible for creating a curriculum entitled "Worker Safety". Walt personally trained every new social worker hired during this time period in this course to help them identify escalating behavior, how to appropriately and effectively de-escalate that behavior and how to develop safe working habits and strategies to stay safe when visiting with clients in their homes. Walt was called upon to consult with other State and private agencies regarding issues involving Crisis Intervention and Physical Restraint.
In 1998, Walt served on the Physical Behavioral Task Force for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, established by then Governor John Roland. Walt was the chairperson for the sub-committee for curriculum development. This task force developed regulations and guidelines for issues regarding physical restraint and seclusion for the State of CT.
In 2006, Walt began to offer a new training from the American Safety and Health Institute entitled Pet First Aid. This course has received the ASPCA seal of approval. Walt donated his time to train the Windsor Police departments Canine Unit in this course. The Windsor Journal covered this in an article entitled "Police K-9 teams receive pet first aid training." Additionally, since 2006 Walt has trained members of the Connecticut Chiropractic Association in Professional Rescuer CPR. These doctors served as First Responders in medical emergencies at the CT Nutmeg Games. Since retiring in January of 2007, Walt has become a member of the training faculty for the Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents, Dare Family Services and the CT Association of Non-Profits. He is offering courses in Verbal De-Escalation and working with Oppositional and Defiant Children, as well as CPR and Basic First Aid.
In 2008, Walt began training all municipal staff in Westchester County, NY and also all NY Housing Authority staff members in Professional Rescuer CPR and Wilderness First Aid (RTE).
Walt has presented trainings and workshops in crisis intervention and health and safety to the following organizations:
- The University of Connecticut School of Social Work
- New York City Housing Authority
- Westchester County, NY Municipality
- Connecticut Association of Non-Profits
- Police Canine Units
- The Connecticut Chapter of the National Organization of Social Workers
- The Rhode Island Council of Residential Placements
- The Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens
- The Connecticut Department of Education
- The National Convention for Foster and Adoptive Parents
- The New England Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents
- The Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents
- Various school and church organizations
- Day Care and Nursery Providers
- Behavioral Health Services
Piszchala Associates, LLC
“Training people to stay safe in emergency situations”
Certificates and Affiliations:
Master Instructor for Handle with Care Behavior Management Systems, Inc
Member of the Juvenile Justice Trainers Association
Member of the International Association of Correctional Trainers
Basic and Advanced Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
Co-Team leader of the Assaulted Staff Action Program at CJTS (a debriefing program to assist staff members who have been victimized by physical assault or who have witnessed an assault situation)
Mandated Reporter Trainer for DCF
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