The target audience here is the non-profit organization with a budget of a half million to $10 million: family service agencies, child care centers, programs for troubled kids and adults with developmental disabilities, nursing homes, mental health centers etc. They rarely will have IT capacity within the organization and staff may or may not have access to computers. Some of these technology deficits are due to money, others are due to attitude, a factor we will discuss later in this article. They have 15 or more staff. 75% of their budget is consumed by personnel costs...salaries and benefits. They have very few discretionary funds available for anything, especially training and staff development. In-house training which they do make available to staff is based on requirements of funding or licensing and it is provided by staff who normally wear other "hats". There is no dedicated training person, and so consequently, nobody has the time to think about other training needs they may have, let alone the time to develop and prepare training on other topics. So, that's the organizational profile to whom we are addressing these comments.

How can these organizations provide their staff with a comprehensive, ongoing training program? It must be a solution that will be: affordable; the envy of their more well-endowed competitors; a solution for staff wanting to learn and grow; the impetus for moving the program toward ever higher quality levels and it must reduce staff turnover by giving staff a reason to stay for a few more years.

Sounds like a tall order, but it can be done by even the most cash-strapped organizations. This is how you can do it for less that $1000 per year.

1. Prepare yourself for the reality that training programs in your future will be mostly provided via the internet. The internet is accessible 24 hours a day, no one has to drive a great distance which saves both time and travel costs, and tuition costs can be small. The attitude adjustment here has to do with accepting the idea that the old, face-to-face training model may be a thing of the past. If you can earn an accredited Ph.D on-line, most of what staff need to learn and do a good job professionally can be learned on line too.

2. Set up six computers with internet access. Some agencies who operate group homes are reluctant to put computers into their group homes out of the fear that their use will be abused, either by clients or staff. So, forgetting about the reality of that concern for the moment, if you can find space in the agency office for a small computer lab, you will be good to go. With desktop computers selling for $500 or less today, you can set up a six station lab for less than $3000; amortize that over a five year life span for those computers and you have an annual cost of $600 or less.

3. Look for training webinars that are either free or very low cost. Some training companies will bundle a series of courses, give you unlimited access to the training for one low, up-front payment of less than $500. You can probably even get some customization work for your agency's unique needs without breaking the bank; this might include a test-out feature which would add documentation regarding the training experience of each participating staff member.

4. If your organization operates on a 24 hour basis, you can even provide training at non-traditional times, and if you have ever had the challenge of training overnight staff, you know how much of an advantage that could be.

5. Web-based training can be for everyone! The more you involve, the less expensive it is per person. It's the democratization of training from the janitor to the CEO. Agencies have traditionally made attempts to provide middle and upper level staff with training. This has resulted in a whole lower level that is neglected and where there exists little alignment with the mission and vision of the organization, It is also where there is usually the highest turnover. Programs are weaker because of this.

This is 2009. Times are hard. If there was ever a time when human service organizations should re-think how they can afford to provide a comprehensive training program for all staff, it is now! Spend some time surfing the web and you'll quickly see the range of possibilities. You could launch your new staff training program within the next 30 days. Dream no longer, you can do it now.