What makes RIGHT RESPONSE

the best-in-class solution?

the best-in-class solution?

We get it. We live in a world of endless choices. While RIGHT RESPONSE may not be the only de-escalation option on the market, we believe it’s the best all around draft pick. Read through our FAQs to learn why.

We’re here with A’s for all your Q’s

Making a decision about de-escalation training for yourself and your organization is no small task. We aim to make sure you have the information, resources and tools you need to make the right choice. Browse our Frequently Asked Questions below to get started. Still not finding what you need? Don’t hesitate to send us a message so we can help further. Thank you for considering RIGHT RESPONSE.

About being an instructor

RIGHT RESPONSE does not require you as an instructor to attend periodic recertification courses to continue training.  As long as you meet the minimum requirements during your certification period, you can recertify.

Instructors must conduct a minimum number of workshops during their certification period, as well as pass the Instructor Recertification test.

For Elements Instructors, the minimum number of workshops is three workshops every two years.

For Advanced Instructors, the minimum number is two workshops each year.

You must conduct those workshops before your certification expires and the workshops can either be an Instructor-led Certification, Instructor-led Recertification, or Blended Recertification type of workshop.

If you have not conducted the minimum number of workshops before you expire, you will be ineligible to recertify.

If you have completed the minimum number of workshops, but haven’t completed the recertification test, you have 3 months following your expiration date to do so. Once you pass the test (and assuming you have conducted the minimum number of workshops) you will be recertified.

Keep in mind that during that time you are expired and may not conduct workshops. If you fail to complete or pass the recertification test during those 3 months following expiration, you will be ineligible to recertify.

If you’re expired as an instructor and ineligible to recertify either because you weren’t able to meet the requirements or you took some time away from instructing, you can reactivate your status.

If you’re still with the same organization, simply attend an Instructor Certification Course (yes there is a cost for this). You and your organization will also receive a significant discount for the cost of attending!

If you have moved organizations while you were inactive, you will also attend an Instructor Certification Course, however there is no discount for this.

Workshops are limited to 20 attendees for a single instructor. If you need to have more in attendance, you can have a second instructor co-train with you. Doing so will allow you to have 40 attendees.

No more than 40 may attend a workshop. Please make sure that you also have enough room for everyone.

Yes! Each level and type of workshop has its own length of training time, as outlined in the Terms of Use you received as an instructor.

We understand that not all workshops always run the same, with some running longer and some shorter. As such, we give some flexibility to that length of time.

The minimum length of time for a workshop must not be any less than 80% of the listed time and we can help you get the most out of your in-class training time.

Yes!  RIGHT RESPONSE does not license and certify private individuals to become instructors.  Those wishing to become instructors, must be licensed under an organization.

About our trainings

Yes!  We have levels of training and different options to fit just about any need.  Whether you are looking for a very brief overview of the topic or are needing ongoing training for your employees, we can help you find the best option.

Certification Workshops are for individuals who either don’t have a certificate or have an expired certificate.  Recertification Workshops are for individuals who currently hold an unexpired certificate.  Recertification Workshops last half the time of a Certification Workshop, so keeping certificates current is a great way to save time and money!

Blended Recertification is an option for eligible attendees to take a portion of a Recertification Workshop via eLearning, followed by an instructor-led portion.  Blended Recertification reduces the instructor-led portion of the workshop by approximately 40%, which in turn can save money and time!

While it’s best to recertify before your expiration date, we understand that situations happen where you may end up missing your Recertification Workshop. In those instances, you have 3 months beyond your expiration date to attend a Recertification Workshop.

Keep in mind that your certificate is still expired during that time. The 3 months merely means you are eligible to attend a Recertification-type of workshop.

After those 3 months, you will need to attend a Certification Workshop to obtain a certificate.

Unfortunately whether you need to recertify is a question we can’t exactly answer. People attend workshops for many reasons, whether it’s for personal knowledge, professional development, legal reasons, etc.

Ultimately we encourage you to check with your instructor and/or organization to find out what their requirements are for maintaining certification.

Keep in mind that once your certificate expires, you are expired and if you later find out you do need to recertify, so may have to attend a Certification, rather than a Recertification Workshop.

We understand that situations can happen where you’re either unable to finish a Workshop or you may need to finish it at a later date.

If you won’t be returning, you can still be certified to the level of training you finished.

If you’ll be returning, you do have 6 months to complete the course. Keep in mind that your certificate is based on when you started the class, not when you finished.

Definitely not!

We recognize that everyone and every organization has its own needs for training. Our curriculum is modular so that people who need more training can receive more training and those who need less receive less. Not training to those physical skills simply means you’re not certified in those skills. You will still receive a certificate, listing everything covered.

Unfortunately we can’t really provide a fair comparison of RIGHT RESPONSE with other de-escalation training programs, because we aren’t experts on their curriculum.  What we can provide is information about RIGHT RESPONSE, so that you can make as informed a decision as possible when it comes time to choose.

Attendee Credits are new to RIGHT RESPONSE Gen 3. In previous iterations, organizations were required to purchase a workbook for each participant, which helped support the ongoing operational costs of administering the RIGHT RESPONSE program.

As the cost of producing and shipping workbooks has increased, we chose a different approach for Gen 3 to keep costs lower for our licensees. Printed workbooks are now optional, and the required per-participant cost has been separated from the workbook itself through Attendee Credits.

One Attendee Credit is used for each participant entered into the Instructor Portal for a completed workshop. These credits help support the systems, resources, certification processing, and ongoing program infrastructure that allow organizations to deliver RIGHT RESPONSE training while giving licensees greater flexibility in how they provide participant materials.

About our pricing

RIGHT RESPONSE has a lot of options to fit your needs. Whether you’re looking for something free, an in-service training, or looking to train your organization, we can help you identify the option that works best for you. For more information on our prices, go to our pricing page or contact us for a consultation.

The eLearning portion for Blended Recertification is $10 per seat and is hosted through our own Learning Management System (LMS).  Licensees who have their own LMS, may license the eLearning to use on their own system.  Contact us for more information about this option!

As a values-based organization, with Integrity as one of our core values, we strive to ensure that all of our pricing is up front. We want you to know what the actual costs are, so that you can make as informed a decision as possible.

Are there custom requests that may have an unlisted price? Yes.

We can’t list out every customization that a customer might request here on our website. We will however make sure that you know what the pricing is for those requests, ahead of making your decision.

For organizations using RIGHT RESPONSE Gen 3, purchasing workbooks is optional. Gen 3 licensees receive access to digital participant materials and may choose whether they’d like to purchase printed workbooks for their training or use digital copies or print their own copies of the materials.

Organizations that have not yet transitioned to Gen 3 remain under the previous workbook requirements and must purchase one workbook for each participant attending a RIGHT RESPONSE workshop.

For those organizations purchasing workbook materials, make sure that you order workbooks ahead of time (we recommend 14 days) to ensure that you have them available for your training.

If you make an incorrect purchase, you may exchange your Workshop supplies for the correct item you need.  Depending on the price difference you will either pay the difference or receive a credit/refund.

If you are an organization looking to transition to RIGHT RESPONSE Gen 3, we will accept any workbooks you have purchased and exchange them for Attendee Credits at a ratio of one Attendee Credit per Workbook. To exchange workbooks for Attendee Credits, the workbooks must be received in a “like new” condition that can be inventoried and provided to organizations that have not yet transitioned to Gen 3.

We do not take items back for a refund.

Per Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5814, effective October 1st, 2025, live training and presentations are considered taxable sales within Washington State. Any events that are held or originate from within Washington State are subject to this sales tax.

This does not affect any live trainings or presentations that are held or originate outside Washington State.

*Please note, certain exclusions apply*

About anything else

Simply put, licensed means authorized, certified means a status that is listed as active and current.

Organizations that are licensed with RIGHT RESPONSE are authorized to be able to organizationally provide the training to their employees.  They must however have an instructor that is licensed and certified with their organization.

Instructors that are licensed are authorized to be able to provide workshops for their particular licensed organization.  Instructors must be licensed with an organization to provide RIGHT RESPONSE Workshops.

Instructors must also be certified, meaning they have a current certification status, to be able to actually conduct those workshops. Instructors without a current certification may not conduct workshops.

For information about cancellation or rescheduling, please go to our Terms of Service page.

Contrary to what many may think, RIGHT RESPONSE is not the name of a company, it is a product name for the de-escalation training and program created and owned by Service Alternatives.

Service Alternatives is a human services organization, based in Washington State and you can find out more by visiting our website at www.servicealternatives.com

Yes you can!  People who directly work for and with your organization such as your volunteers, contractors, temporary employees, etc., can attend your Workshops as though they were employees.

For others who do not work directly with your organization, you may still have them attend.  You will need to contact us first, prior to hosting anyone from outside your organization at your Workshops.

Instructors are not permitted to go to other organizations to provide for their training needs, unless they choose to be licensed with that organization.  Please contact us if you are looking to train at other organizations.

The Instructor Portal is an area that provides a number of resources for organizations utilizing RIGHT RESPONSE.

While we often refer to it as the “Instructor Portal”, these resources are also available to other authorized users, such as Admin and Paperwork Contacts.

Access to the portal is at no additional cost and we will provide you all the information to get you started during licensing!

Contrary to popular belief, de-escalation programs including RIGHT RESPONSE do not create public policy.  That is done by law makers and our job is to ensure that our curriculum and product meet or exceed those requirements.

Additionally, nothing that is taught in RIGHT RESPONSE should be considered to supersede organizational practices.

We are commonly asked by people if they are “allowed to…”  The simple answer is check with your laws, regulations, industry standards, and/or company policy.

We create a curriculum and set standards for certification of attendees and instructors.  Beyond ensuring that our curriculum adheres to standards and ensuring that the standards for certification are adhered to, it is up to others to determine how best to implement the concepts that are taught.

Service Alternatives and RIGHT RESPONSE utilize several different systems to communicate with customers.  If you are having difficulties in receiving communication from us, first check your junk/spam folder in case it ended up there.

We also recommend that you “whitelist”/add as safe, the following domains:

  • rightresponse.org
  • servicealternatives.com
  • zoho.com
  • talentlms.com

Check with your IT department or whomever manages your email accounts to add those as safe domains.

If you do not have someone who handles those functions, you will need to check with whichever email provider you use to find out how to do that.

*Please note: We are not able to provide troubleshooting for your email system*

Best in class de-escalation training

Get started with RIGHT RESPONSE today

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Free E-Book!

It is possible to de-escalate situations that seem to be headed out of control. You just need the right tools. You’ll learn:

  • 3 guiding principles of de-escalation

  • 5 surprising findings about conflict

  • How to optimize your emotional intelligence

So when crises arise you can remain in control, avoid the wrong response, and support anyone, anywhere, with any issue.