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Are You Ready to Redefine Your Professional Impact?
The Advanced Practitioner Credential™ Course: A Transformational Journey for Professionals Working with Children, Families, and Communities
By Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW
President & CEO – Fathers and Families Coalition of America
In today's climate of uncertainty, rising demands, and deep-rooted inequities, professionals serving children and families—particularly those in nonprofit agencies, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, child welfare systems, behavioral health, and education—are being asked to do more than ever before. Yet, they are often doing so with fewer resources, higher caseloads, and increased emotional toll.
The Advanced Practitioner Credential™ (APC) Course is not just another certification. It is a bold, purpose-driven response to the urgent need for elevated leadership, intentional practice, and trauma-informed transformation. This course is built for those who refuse to settle for surface-level professional development. It is designed for those who know that the families and communities we serve deserve our very best—grounded in evidence, powered by purpose, and sustained by compassion.
Whether you are a seasoned clinician navigating burnout, a Head Start family service worker committed to generational change, a fatherhood practitioner striving to build bridges in underserved communities, or a community leader advocating for equity, this course offers an immersive journey of growth and renewal.
With 11 intensive modules, each rooted in frameworks such as PERMA, emotional intelligence, cognitive neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and culturally responsive leadership, the APC Course integrates both the science of transformation and the heart of service. You'll walk away with the tools to enhance your personal well-being, elevate your professional effectiveness, and most importantly—deepen your impact.
Now is the time to reinvest in your why. To lead with greater insight. To serve with renewed strength. And to join a growing movement of practitioners who are reshaping what it means to work with purpose.
Are you ready?
Enroll today—and redefine your professional impact from the inside out, let's go through this journey and learn more.
This is more than a certification. It’s a movement.
The Advanced Practitioner Credential™ (APC) Course offered by Fathers and Families Coalition of America (FFCA) is a groundbreaking training for those who work with children, parents, families, and communities. Designed to cultivate purpose, strengthen emotional intelligence, build trauma-informed capacity, and integrate evidence-based strategies, this 11-module, CEU-approved course goes far beyond conventional professional development.
Whether you are a social worker, Head Start family advocate, fatherhood practitioner, child support professional, or therapist, this course will transform the way you lead and serve.
Summer 2025 Program Schedule – Now Hybrid in Los Angeles
Class Dates: Every Wednesday from June 18 to July 16, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM Pacific Standard Time
Registration Link: https://17121.ezfacility.com/login?SmuFormId=F4B480EB-3B1A-4FD4-91B8-B913DB2CC132
Format:
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In-Person + Zoom Hybrid on June 18, July 2, and July 16 at our new Training Center:
8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90045 -
Virtual Only on June 25 and July 9
Upcoming Cohorts:
Fall Program: September 3 – October 1, 2025
Winter Program: November 12 – December 10, 2025
Time Options:
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM PST
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM PST
What Makes the APC Course Unique?
This credential program is built on over 25 years of service and leadership in national and international professional development, integrating four domains of growth: psychological, emotional, behavioral, and noological.
Participants engage with 15 advanced modules, each with structured CEU questions, assessments, and exclusive access to an extensive FFCA learning library with over 20 custom-created workbook activities.
A few of the APC highlights include:
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Emotional Intelligence and Regulation Techniques
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Trauma-Informed Care Strategies
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The DiSC FFCA Model: Behavior, Masking & Purpose
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Logotherapy and Life Meaning Planning
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Cognitive Neuroplasticity and Resilience Science
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Responsive Methods for Engaging Fathers
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PERMA & Eastern Philosophies (Ikigai, Ichigo Ichie, Kintsugi)
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The Pyramid of Success by Coach John Wooden
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Mindfulness Practices
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Program Evaluation using the Whole Leadership Framework & PAR
A Real Example: Module 6 – PERMA and Ikigai Goal Setting Activity
One of the most powerful exercises in the program, “Discovering Your Ikigai,” integrates the PERMA model of well-being with the Japanese framework of Ikigai (a reason for being).
Objective:
Participants reflect on their purpose by mapping what they love, what they’re good at, what the world needs, and what they can be paid for—then align it with Seligman’s five elements of flourishing: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
CEU-Aligned Learning Outcomes:
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Integrate PERMA reflections into personal and professional growth
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Understand how adversity strengthens psychological resilience
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Use Logotherapy principles to support long-term vision and client goals
This activity alone embodies our commitment to holistic training rooted in research, reflective practice, and cultural humility.
Featured Activity: Discovering Your Ikigai
Objective:
Help participants explore their unique “reason for being” by identifying the intersection between what they love, what they’re good at, what the world needs, and what they can be paid for.
Instructions:
Participants complete a Venn diagram mapping the four elements of Ikigai, followed by reflections aligned with the five PERMA elements: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
Example Reflection Prompts:
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How does your Ikigai bring you joy?
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What activity makes you lose track of time (engagement)?
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How does your purpose strengthen the relationships around you?
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How does meaning manifest through adversity (Kintsugi)?
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What have you accomplished in your healing journey?
CEU Assessment Questions (Aligned with NASW & CSWE):
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Demonstrate insight into aligning passion, skills, service, and value.
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Apply PERMA reflections to validate healing and transformation.
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Integrate Logotherapy principles in identifying long-term purpose.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will be able to articulate their Ikigai, align it with PERMA elements, and apply this framework with clients navigating trauma, transition, or disconnection.
Professional Standards & Continuing Education
This course aligns with:
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National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Standards
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Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Core Competencies
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American Psychological Association (APA) Continuing Education Criteria
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Head Start Relationship-Based Competencies (RBCs)
Each session includes CEU-aligned questions, interactive workbook activities, and a capstone practicum that ensures direct application of all concepts.
What You’ll Receive:
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15 hours of advanced practitioner training
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11-modules of live Zoom and/or in-person instruction
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Access to recorded sessions and Google Drive course library
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Digital workbook + over 20 advanced training activities
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End-of-course CEU assessment and formal certification
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Practicum evaluation with feedback from FFCA’s instructional team
Tuition Structure:
Group rates, agency billing, and scholarship opportunities available.
To request special enrollment options, email:
Real Impact From Real Professionals
“The journaling and Ikigai tools helped me reconnect with my purpose as a Head Start supervisor—and reinvigorated how I train my staff.”
— Family Services Director, California
“This course is in a class of its own. Every session blended science, heart, and hands-on learning.”
— Marriage and Family Therapist, New York
“I’ve taken several national certifications—none have come close to the depth of this one.”
— Fatherhood Program Leader, Texas
Register Now and Unlock Your Potential
This summer, join professionals across the country in a course that goes beyond compliance and into purpose, identity, healing, and leadership.
Visit the official course page to register: https://fathersandfamiliescoalition.org/programs.html
Let this be the summer where you rise with vision and lead with heart.
I remain at your service,
Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW
President & CEO
Fathers and Families Coalition of America
