Foster Care Training

For years we have been told to be “strength-based and client centered”, however, we have not typically been told what this really means. We will clarify/define what it means in our work to be “strength-based” and what it means to “engage” with a family in a “client directed” way. In our field, we often focus on the negative events that have occurred, or the pathology, with which a client and/or their family members seem to present. We forget, in the midst of these difficulties, that everyone has strengths and abilities and good intentions. This training focuses on understanding the importance of teaming with family members from the beginning and being able to assess what kinds of strategies might create a “family friendly” process of engagement even with families who just don’t want to work with us!