Frequently Asked Questions, Program Information,
and Compliance Requirements

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. is committed to transparency in the delivery, certification, and authorized use of the Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour (UMAB) Crisis Intervention Training Program. This guide explains the available training pathways, what each certificate represents, where UMAB may be used, and the responsibilities of participants, Trainers, and agencies.

Our UMAB Training is grounded in trauma-informed practice, dignity, safety, professional responsibility, and the use of the least intrusive and least restrictive response appropriate to the circumstances. Training is adapted to the population served and the agency’s approved scope of practice while maintaining UMAB curriculum standards, quality assurance, and due diligence.

Training Options, Program Length, and Delivery

This category explains how to arrange training, the available Orientation and Continuing Education pathways, the separate Theoretical Component, course content, and online or blended delivery.

How does an agency arrange UMAB training?

Contact UMAB Canada by email or telephone. We will discuss:

The organization’s services and operational environment
The population supported and identified behavioural or safety risks
Applicable legislation, Ministry or licensing requirements, and agency policies
The agency’s approved scope of practice
Cultural and spiritual considerations
Documentation, reporting, and debriefing procedures
Whether approved physical containment interventions are required

A Needs Assessment may be completed to ensure that the program reflects the organization’s responsibilities while remaining consistent with UMAB standards.

Can individuals register for UMAB training?

Yes. Individuals may contact UMAB Canada regarding upcoming training opportunities or visit the Partners page at UMABCanada.com to identify an authorized provider. Availability depends on location and the required certification level.

At present, IDEA Training Collaborative and Community Capacity Building Training offer only:

The 1-Day UMAB Theoretical Component; or
The 2-Day UMAB Orientation Program, including theory, environmental and spatial awareness, self-protection, and disengagement skills.

Neither partner currently offers training in physical containment interventions. Training delivered at these partner locations is facilitated on site by Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. and authorized UMAB Trainers.

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. is the exclusive provider of the Understanding and Managing Aggressive Behaviour Crisis Intervention Training Program. Participants should enrol only through Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. or an authorized partner.

Can UMAB training be customized?

Yes. Training may be adapted to the organization while remaining consistent with the UMAB curriculum, safety standards, quality-assurance requirements, and trauma-informed approach.

Customization may address:

Service population and operational environment
Applicable legislation and agency policies
Identified behavioural and safety risks
Cultural and spiritual considerations
Approved scope of practice
Documentation, reporting, and debriefing procedures
Approved physical intervention practices, where applicable

UMAB Certification

How long is a UMAB certificate valid?

A full UMAB Orientation or Continuing Education certificate is valid for one year from the date the participant successfully completes the program. The 1-Day Theoretical Component certificate is valid for 18 months and clearly states that no physical aspects were taught.

Participants and agencies should arrange the appropriate Continuing Education Program before the annual certificate expires. The limited grace period described later in this guide is intended for qualifying circumstances and is not an automatic extension of certification.

What information appears on a UMAB certificate?

The certificate identifies the UMAB program and the components that were taught, practised, evaluated, and successfully completed. Depending on the program, this may include:

Theoretical and verbal de-escalation content
Environmental and spatial awareness
Self-protection and disengagement skills
Approved physical containment interventions, where applicable

A UMAB certificate can confirm only the training and competencies that were actually taught, practised, evaluated, and successfully demonstrated.

Does UMAB certification transfer between employers?

A UMAB training record confirms the program an individual completed; however, it does not automatically authorize the individual to use every UMAB strategy at another workplace. Each employer is responsible for determining whether the individual’s training meets its service needs, policies, approved practices, applicable legislation, and site-specific responsibilities.

In most cases, an individual may be required to complete the applicable course again to meet the new agency’s site-specific mandates. UMAB certificates are recognized for transfer only between agencies actively participating in the UMAB Program and holding current agreements with Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc.

Program Length and Content

The appropriate pathway depends on whether the participant is new to UMAB, has expired beyond an approved grace period, currently holds a valid UMAB certificate, and requires a program with or without approved physical containment interventions.

UMAB Orientation Program

Orientation is required for participants who are new to UMAB and for participants whose certification has expired beyond an approved grace period.

UMAB Continuing Education Program

Continuing Education is the recertification pathway for a participant who currently holds a valid UMAB certificate or has been approved to recertify within an applicable grace period.

UMAB Theoretical Component

The Theoretical Component is listed separately because it is not a full practical UMAB Orientation or Continuing Education certification.

What topics are covered during UMAB training?

Content is selected according to the program and the organization’s authorized scope. It may include:

Self-awareness, professional responsibility, duty of care, and ethical boundaries
Understanding behaviour, trauma, stress responses, and the continuum of aggression
Prevention, calming, defusing, de-escalation, and verbal and non-verbal communication
Environmental awareness, spatial awareness, and situational risk assessment
Least intrusive and least restrictive response principles
Personal safety, self-protection, and disengagement skills
Debriefing, including its importance following an incident
Documentation, reporting, and post-incident responsibilities
Applicable legislation, agency policies, and approved scope of practice
Physical containment sequencing, positioning, release principles, and post-incident medical monitoring, where authorized

Does every UMAB program include physical containment interventions?

No. Many organizations require a non-physical program focused on prevention, communication, de-escalation, environmental awareness, and personal safety. Physical containment interventions are included only when required, authorized, and within the organization’s approved program.

Certification in a physical component requires in-person teaching, supervised practice, and a successful competency evaluation by an authorized UMAB Trainer or Instructor.

Online and Blended Training

Where appropriate, theory and verbal-intervention content may be completed through live online instruction. Practical components—including environmental and spatial awareness, self-protection, disengagement skills, and physical containment interventions—must be taught, practiced, and evaluated in person when they form part of the required certification.

An online theory course alone does not provide full practical UMAB certification. The certificate will identify only the components completed. A blended program may include live online theory followed by the required in-person practical instruction and evaluation.

Recertification, Certificates, and Training Records

This category addresses annual recertification, expiry, the restricted grace period, certificate issuance, record ownership, and verification requirements.

Recertification, Expiry, and the Limited Grace Period

Is there a grace period after certification expires?

UMAB Canada recognizes a limited 30-day grace period only for:

Agencies with active in-house UMAB Trainers; or
Agencies trained directly by a Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. UMAB Instructor.

The grace period is intended for unexpected or emergency circumstances. It is not an automatic extension of certification and should not be treated as an additional 30 days of routine certification. Whenever possible, recertification should be scheduled before expiry.

The grace period does not apply to outside staffing agencies, their employees, independent contractors, or subcontractors, except in an extreme emergency expressly approved by UMAB Canada.

Can Continuing Education be completed during the grace period?

When the applicable criteria are met, and approval is provided, Continuing Education may be completed within 30 days following expiry. If no approved exception applies and the participant is beyond the permitted period, the applicable UMAB Orientation Program must be completed again.

What circumstances may qualify?

Qualifying circumstances may include:

A documented agency scheduling issue that affected the agency’s staffing complement - this does not include Outside Staffing Agencies
Documented maternity, parental, or caregiver leave
Documented prolonged illness or injury

The circumstance must be recorded in the individual’s personnel file where applicable. An individual on an approved leave may be eligible to complete Continuing Education within 30 days of returning to work.

What happens when certification is not updated?

Without an approved qualifying circumstance, an agency, Trainer, or employee who exceeds the permitted period is considered non-compliant with UMAB policy. It may also be non-compliant with applicable Ministry, regulatory, licensing, contractual, or agency requirements. Eligibility for the UMAB Canada Professional Liability Extension may be suspended or lost. The applicable Orientation Program is required to re-establish certification.

Certificates, Records, and Verification

Who issues a UMAB certificate?

The authorized agency or UMAB Trainer that delivered the training is responsible for issuing and maintaining the applicable certificate and training documentation.

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. will not issue, replace, or sign a certificate for training it did not conduct or directly administer. It cannot confirm competency in content that was not taught and evaluated. If theory was completed without physical containment interventions or applicable Ontario Regulation 155/18 content, those competencies cannot be added or confirmed without the required additional instruction and evaluation.

An agency that paid for training and paid employees to attend may retain certificates in-house. If an individual cannot obtain a certificate from the delivering agency, the individual may need to complete the applicable training again. This protects Trainers and agencies from the risks associated with altered or fraudulent documents.

Important notice regarding fraudulent certificates

Agencies should accept an original hard-copy certificate or a clear, readable photograph of it. A poorly reproduced, altered, unclear, or suspicious photocopy or scan—whether colour or black and white—should not be accepted as valid without verification.

Agencies using UMAB as their crisis-intervention modality, particularly those engaging outside staffing providers, are strongly advised to verify certificate validity as part of quality assurance and risk management. Fraudulent or altered documentation can create significant safety, licensing, legal, and liability risks.

Where an active agreement exists, and verification is available, certificate verification for an outside staffing agency or unlicensed child-care provider that does not employ an internal UMAB Trainer may be subject to a $25 fee per certificate. Verification is completed transparently and in coordination with the applicable organization.

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. is not required to verify or validate certificates for an organization that:

Does not have an active UMAB Trainer;
Does not hold a current UMAB agreement; or
Did not complete training directly through Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc.

UMAB certificates are individual-specific. A certificate does not, by itself, grant an organization authorization, endorsement, or liability coverage to use or deliver the UMAB Program.

UMAB Trainers, Assessment, and Training Administration

This category sets out Train-the-Trainer eligibility, authorization limits, twice-annual Trainer recertification, Trainer etiquette, required documentation, and participant assessment protocols.

Train-the-Trainer Program

The UMAB Train-the-Trainer Program is a four- or five-day, all-inclusive program, depending on participant and organizational needs.

Before entering the program, a candidate must have successfully completed the applicable UMAB Orientation or Continuing Education Program and hold a valid certificate. This prerequisite supports curriculum consistency and helps distinguish UMAB principles and approved strategies from other crisis-intervention modalities the candidate may have learned.

Successful candidates are assessed on curriculum knowledge, judgment, communication, professionalism, practical competency, participant safety, and their ability to create a supportive learning environment.

Where may a certified UMAB Trainer provide training?

An agency-sponsored Level 1 UMAB Trainer is authorized to train only for the agency that sponsored or funded the Trainer’s certification, unless Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. provides prior written authorization.

Trainer status does not permit the independent sale, reproduction, distribution, modification, or delivery of UMAB programming. A Trainer must not:

Deliver UMAB training outside the employing agency
Train external agencies or third parties
Extend UMAB use to an affiliated or secondary agency
Represent an authorization beyond what was approved in writing

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. may approve external delivery on a case-by-case basis. Level 2 UMAB Instructors may facilitate outside their organization when scheduled or authorized by Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc.

Each additional agency must hold its own agreement and maintain its own certification and recertification requirements. Unauthorized delivery may result in immediate compliance review, suspension, decertification, invalidation or review of affected certificates, and legal action where appropriate.

UMAB Trainer Recertification and Quality Assurance

UMAB Trainers must recertify twice annually, approximately every six months. This requirement supports:

Consistent curriculum delivery and quality assurance
Prevention of Trainer drift
Trainer competency, confidence, and accountability
Current knowledge of legislation and regulatory expectations
Safe and consistent practical instruction
Due diligence and continued professional standards
Eligibility for the Professional Liability Extension, where applicable

The first successful Trainer recertification of the year may be recognized with the applicable annual gold seal.

Beginning in 2026, the UMAB Trainer’s Annual Evaluation includes the Trainer’s name, skill evaluation, recertification and compliance confirmation, and an Ontario Regulation 155/18 knowledge assessment where applicable.

Trainer evaluation may include:

Governing legislation and duty-of-care awareness
Agency policy alignment and approved scope of practice
UMAB curriculum knowledge and accurate theory delivery
Trauma-informed understanding of behaviour, stress, escalation, and the impact of trauma
Professional conduct and ethical boundaries
Participant supervision and physical, emotional, and psychological learning-environment safety
Risk management during training
Debriefing, documentation, and reporting expectations
Physical-intervention sequencing, positioning, release principles, and post-incident medical monitoring, where within scope

Failure to maintain Trainer recertification may result in immediate suspension, loss of teaching privileges, review or invalidation of certifications issued after expiry, revocation of agency authorization, loss of access to UMAB materials and support, and loss of the Professional Liability Extension.

Trainer Etiquette and Program Protocols

All agencies employing UMAB Trainers acknowledge that the UMAB Trainer Etiquette Agreement is a condition of certification and authorization.

Trainers must:

Deliver UMAB content as trained and authorized, without unapproved modification
Maintain trauma-informed, least intrusive, and least restrictive practices
Protect physical, emotional, and psychological safety in the training environment
Accurately represent their certification status and scope of authorization
Maintain professional conduct, ethical boundaries, and program integrity
Follow required training hours based on the approved program and agency needs

A breach may result in corrective action, suspension, or decertification.

Documentation and Compliance Requirements

Agencies must maintain complete and accurate records for training delivered under the UMAB Program, including:

Training sign-in sheets
Testing records confirming the minimum 75% pass requirement
Signed certificates and evaluation forms
Evidence that the required training hours were completed
Documentation of accommodations, competency concerns, unsuccessful assessments, or follow-up training

Required documentation must be maintained in staff files for licensing and quality-assurance purposes. UMAB Trainers must submit training documents—including sign-in sheets and copies of signed certificates—every two months to umabtrainers.signins@gmail.com.

When a Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. Trainer delivers the training, the Trainer provides Operations with the required documentation. Failure by an agency Trainer to submit required records may result in a compliance review and loss of the Professional Liability Extension, suspension, or revocation of authorization.

Participant Assessment and Failure Protocol

Participant outcomes are determined according to UMAB standards and the professional judgment of the certified Trainer or Instructor delivering the program.

A Level 1 UMAB Trainer may not override, alter, or contradict an assessment or decision made by a Level 2 UMAB Instructor.

Where a participant is unsuccessful:

After an assessment by a Level 1 Trainer, another authorized Level 1 Trainer may attempt the training again, provided UMAB standards are maintained, and the outcome is accurately documented.
After an assessment by a Level 2 Instructor, Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. will determine the appropriate training or support plan before any further certification attempt.
Assessment decisions and next steps remain subject to UMAB standards and Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc.’s quality-assurance oversight.

A Level 1 Trainer who overrides an assessment decision or certifies a participant who was deemed unsuccessful may lose Trainer certification. Certificates issued in breach of this protocol may be reviewed and deemed invalid where non-compliance is confirmed.

Agency Authorization, Compliance, and Program Protection

This category explains agency authorization, material ownership, outside staffing restrictions, organizational responsibility, liability considerations, administrative holds, withdrawal, and decertification.

Outside Staffing Agencies and Unlicensed Programs

Outside staffing agencies and unlicensed group-care or child-care providers must have a current agreement with Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. to receive organizational authorization, endorsement, verification services, or the Professional Liability Extension.

Where no authorized internal UMAB Trainer or current agreement exists, responsibility for an incident rests with the employing organization. Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. may determine whether an outside staffing agency, unlicensed provider, or group-home setting is permitted to use the UMAB Program.

Unauthorized use of UMAB training, materials, certificates, or representations may be reported to the appropriate Children’s Aid Society, Ministry, licensing, or quality-assurance body for review where required.

These requirements support authorized crisis-intervention training, staff competency, quality assurance, and risk management in alignment with applicable Ministry expectations, the Quality Standards Framework, and the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and O. Reg. 155/18 where applicable.

Organizational Responsibility and Ongoing Support

UMAB certification confirms the training components successfully completed. The employer remains responsible for determining what an employee may use based on:

Applicable legislation and regulatory requirements
Agency policies and approved practices
The employee’s role and scope of responsibility
The needs, dignity, well-being, and safety of the person receiving support
Least intrusive and least restrictive intervention principles
Documentation, reporting, debriefing, and post-incident requirements

Authorized and compliant UMAB agencies and Trainers may contact Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. for support regarding curriculum delivery, implementation, incidents, practical application, compliance, and quality assurance.

Administrative Hold, Withdrawal, and Decertification

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. may place an agency or Trainer on administrative hold where there are reasonable grounds to believe fraudulent, misleading, unsafe, or non-compliant activity has occurred.

This may include:

Misrepresentation of certification or affiliation
Unauthorized training delivery
Falsification or alteration of documentation
Misuse, modification, or failure to return UMAB materials
Program drift or unsafe training practices
Ethical or professional misconduct
Failure to maintain certification or documentation requirements
Financial non-compliance, including unpaid invoices

During an administrative hold, training may be required to stop, certificates may be suspended or reviewed, and the agency may not represent itself as authorized.

If an agency voluntarily withdraws from the UMAB Program, the withdrawal takes effect immediately unless Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. confirms another arrangement in writing. The agency must cease using, delivering, or representing UMAB; applicable Trainer and staff certifications may become null and void; and all UMAB materials must be returned within five business days.

Decertification may apply to the Trainer, the agency, or both. Consequences may include:

Immediate cessation of UMAB training
Review or invalidation of certificates issued under the non-compliant authorization
Return of all UMAB materials within five business days
Cessation of all representation of UMAB affiliation
Notice to a governing, licensing, funding, or quality-assurance body where required

Reinstatement is not guaranteed. It may require a full compliance review, resolution of outstanding concerns, completion of required training or recertification, and execution of a new agreement.

Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. reserves all rights and remedies available under its agreements and applicable law. Actions taken to protect safety, program integrity, intellectual property, and compliance are without prejudice to any other available rights or remedies.

© 2026 Hy ‘N’ Hancement Consulting Inc. All rights reserved. UMAB course materials, curriculum, presentations, manuals, forms, certificates, and related resources may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, modified, or used without authorization.

Frequently Asked Questions, Program Information, and Compliance Requirements