A Compassionate Approach for Professionals & the Individuals They Serve

For Caitlin Dalton, becoming a Safety-Care Master Trainer was not just a professional step forward. It was a natural extension of values she has carried throughout her career in special education and applied behavior analysis. From the beginning, her work has been grounded in relationship building, promoting individuals’ dignity, and a deep respect for the humanity of both learners and the professionals who support them.

Caitlin first found Safety-Care through her previous employer when she was certified to be a trainer in her organization. “What I loved about QBS, that really hooked me in when I went to my initial training, was the ‘communicate respect and promote dignity’ and how often that’s repeated and stressed throughout the training.”

Caitlin’s approach to training is shaped by her commitment to trauma-informed and compassionate ABA, not only for the individuals who are served, but for the professionals serving them. She recognizes that everyone who enters a Safety-Care training brings their own experiences with them, including stress, burnout, and past challenges. “Everyone comes in with their backpack full of experiences and oftentimes those are not positive experiences.”

This perspective shapes how she supports professionals who work in high stress, people-facing roles. Caitlin openly acknowledges how demanding this work can be and how essential it is to care for the wellbeing of staff alongside the individuals they serve.
“People-facing careers are so prone to burnout. Especially people-facing careers where we’re interacting with individuals with challenging behavior.” She also reminds trainees that trauma responses are human, not personal failures.

For Caitlin, Safety-Care is most meaningful when it moves beyond compliance and becomes a framework for lasting, values-driven change.
“I really hope that trainees have had a positive experience so they see Safety-Care as something that is going to actually enhance their organization versus something that’s a check box to be compliant.”

Ultimately, she believes the heart of Safety-Care lies in its mission.

“By communicating respect and promoting dignity, we have that ability to make a lasting change.”

Through her work as a Master Trainer, Caitlin Dalton helps ensure that Safety-Care training remains not only effective, but deeply compassionate for everyone involved.

About Caitlin Dalton

Caitlin Dalton is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 20 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities. She completed her bachelor’s degree in special education from Illinois State University. Caitlin taught self-contained special education, specializing in autism while also working part-time in the field of ABA before completing her Master’s degree in Behavior Analysis in Practice from Florida Institute of Technology. Caitlin has worked in a variety of settings including public and therapeutic school, home, center-based, community-based, and adult residential.