Train-the-Trainer:

1. Train-the-Trainer: A Model for Travel Training Services Presented by: Julie Rosekrans Donna Stinchcomb

2. Central Maryland Regional Transit • 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1989 • Manages public transportation services in Howard County, Prince George’s County, and Anne Arundel County, Maryland • Administers afour-county Connect-A-Ride system • In FY 2011, CMRT transported approximately 1.6 million passengers

3. Project Background and Inception • Born in February 2011 • Two full-time Travel Trainers and an Outreach Coordinator • Extends into six of Maryland’s counties and the City of Baltimore • The train-the-trainer model is a success due in part to the large community partners and stakeholders that support the project • Funded through New Freedom funds: therefore, trainings are free • Realized more people could be reached via a train-the-trainer approach

4. Scope: Central Maryland

5. CMRT’s Travel Training Program

6. About CMRT’s Train-the-Trainer Program • Mission: • Empowering individuals with disabilities and older adults • to explore fixed-route transportation options via a • train-the-trainer approach • Objective: • Train paid and unpaid staff of non-profit and human service agencies, government agencies, senior centers, secondary and post-secondary schools, and other community transportation and disability advocacy groups

7. The Train-the-Trainer Approach • Different from one-on-one and small group trainings • One trainer can train medium-sized groups of people during train-the-trainer workshops and follow-up field exercises, or group bus rides • Usually intended for human services and disability professionals who can be travel trained and then train their clients • Can be a very effective way to reach more people • Requires a large degree of organization to stay on top of tracking numbers, ridership, paratransit cost savings, etc.

8. Community Buy-In • Coordinate with state and local agencies • Synchronize with human service agencies in multiple regions • Work with public and private schools • Share successes and challenges

9. Community and Outreach Events • Spreads the word about your program to potential clients in the community and connects you with training leads and potential partnering organizations • Maryland State Fair, County Fairs, Disabilities Expos, ADA Celebrations, Community College Fairs, Earth Day Celebrations, Housing and Youth Expos, Transportation Conferences, etc. • School councils, fairs, policy meetings, etc.

10. Establishing and Maintaining Training Relationships • Advisory Board with at least one individual from each region that meets quarterly • Training follow-ups at one, three, six and twelve months • Follow-up training for new staff members and retraining • Rider of the Quarter • Newsletter and press release coordination • Travel Training website and social media

11. Success Stories • Bus stop additions and schedule rerouting to accommodate mobility devices (Humanim) • Improved accessibility in communities • Increased ridership on fixed-route transportation

12. Success Stories • School system curriculum for Baltimore City & Howard County Schools • IMAGE Center Travel Training – MTA New Freedom contract for one-on-one training • Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) have been granted to trainees • To date, 781 paid and unpaid staff have been travel trained by CMRT’s train-the-trainer program

13. Types of Trainings • Systems Orientation • Train-the-trainer Workshops • Field Trainings

14. Systems Orientation Training • What transportation options are available? • How much do they cost? • How can they be safely accessed? • Basic emergency plan • Often leads to classroom training • 1-2 hours in length

15. Train-the-Trainer Workshops • What is travel training and who is it for? • What skills does a trainee need to access public transportation both safely and independently? • ADA rights and Emergency Plans • Mode of transportation, how to get there, how to pay, etc. • Pedestrian safety • Boarding, Riding and Deboarding • 4-5 hours in length

16. Field Trainings • Key component of train-the-trainer workshops

17. Challenges • Tracking numbers and data: it is easy to track who has been trained in a workshop, but tracking how many people they go on to train, how often their trainees are riding, and what the savings are to paratransit services have been difficult to accurately track • Some staff have never been on fixed-route services or are afraid of public transportation • Overextended staff, budget cuts, “not my job” mentality • Staff/client and parent barriers

18. Training Stats

19. Questions?

20. Thank You! Julie Rosekrans, Travel Trainer Julie.Rosekrans@cmrtransit.org Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George’s Counties Donna Stinchomb, Travel Trainer Donna.Stinchcomb@cmrtransit.org Baltimore City, Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties