The CHANGE A LIFE (CAL) Program

Thank you for sharing this. This is wonderful.
I will be THE ONE for a child in need.

- Anne Elizabeth McDougle

Unique Evidence-Based Online Program

Developed by the leading global researcher in the field and endorsed by U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Children’s Mercy Hospitals, CHANGE A LIFE (CAL) is the only evidence-based online program of its kind in the world today. It is a 40-minute, simple, FREE online program designed to teach any caring adult how to become The ONE for a child growing up with domestic violence (or any other major childhood adversity) – a caring adult who steps in and offers simple support and messages of hope that can foster a child’s resiliency and help change their life.

“Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human.”– Ann Masten, Regents Professor, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, “Ordinary Magic: Resilience Processes in Development”

How the Program Was Built

In the spring of 2010, some of the world’s leading researchers, therapists, child advocates, and life coaches came together to answer one essential question:  How can we help children and adults across the globe who are or were impacted by Childhood Domestic Violence overcome the negative impact and reach their full potential? We wanted to create ONE SCALABLE PROGRAM that could help as many people as possible.
Two years later, the CHANGE A LIFE program was completed. The program was empirically tested in a 2-year university study and proven effective to help guide, prepare and qualify adults to step into the lives of children growing up with domestic violence. The study’s findings were published in the Journal of Family Violence. The program also provides a guide to support friends or other adults who previously experienced CDV.

To date, CHANGE A LIFE has been taken by nearly 5,000 caring adults worldwide. Many represent organizations focused on child development, youth crisis prevention, or helping at-risk adults.

CDV.ORG Change A Life

What People Say about Change A Life

I am program director for a children’s advocacy center as well as a DV survivor. I am thrilled to have stumbled across this program and plan to encourage all of my volunteers who work with children to take this course.

- Nancy Dunsmore

Thank you for providing this wonderful training on how to make a difference in a child’s life. It’s true that one person can make a difference!

- Ann DeBellis

Our Children’s Counselor has utilized the video with several shelter children with wonderful results where children have opened up about the violence at home and our Outreach Coordinator has used the videos and book when counseling adults in our in shelter program and our Outreach Program.

- Joan Duncan, Penelope House

Our Children’s Counselor has utilized the video with several shelter children with wonderful results where children have opened up about the violence at home and our Outreach Coordinator has used the videos and book when counseling adults in our in shelter program and our Outreach Program.

- Joan Duncan, Penelope House

CAL Serves as a Baseline for Other Groundbeaking CDV Tools

While in the process of developing other tools and resources it became evident that CAL could be the baseline to develop new resources, as well as be complimentary and synergistic with these resources.

CAL is a direct lead in for our program on resilience training, which is called BE THE ONE, which provides a more in-depth resource to continue the teachings of CAL.