Foster Care Training

“””But I don’t want to go among mad people,”” Alice remarked. “”Oh, you can’t help that,”” said the Cat: “”we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”” “”How do you know I’m mad?”” said Alice. “”You must be,”” said the Cat, “”or you wouldn’t have come here”- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland In this course, we will explore the concepts of madness and neurodivergence from personal, historical, and socio-cultural perspectives. Together we will consider the impacts of stigma and stereotype that equate madness and neurodivergence with intellectual disability, social incompetence, and dangerousness. We will explore the impacts of socialization and the ways that our healthcare system and criminal legal system are designed to pathologize mental, developmental, and cognitive disability in ways that are harmful and often life-ending. We will also generate and dream of alternatives for care providers to support clients and families who are facing systemic barriers and social discrimination. Through a series of prompts, videos, and other tools, we will share ideas for what it might mean to have care-centered, just systems in a society that values conformity, efficiency, and normativity as a means of control under the guise of care.”