Foster Care Training

Children and youth who suffer from serious neurological impairment and are cognitively inflexible may not respond to standard behavior management measures of rewards and consequences, given their vulnerability, volatility, inflexibility, inadequate communication skills, and underdeveloped social skills, not to mention other inherent mental health challenges. In order to guide these children and youth to “fit in socially”, a suggested approach would be to utilize Developmentally Informed Strategies. In this interactive training, we will explore how to enhance our capacity to support system-involved youth (SIY) by exploring the use of Developmentally Informed Strategies for Responding to Behavioral Challenges that foster the relationship building and strengths approaches with SIY that can motivate them to get excited about building a life worth living and that empowers them to feel connected to positive individual, teams, and communities. The practices shared in this training will enhance the skills of participants to promote the emotional development and wellbeing of SIY as well as strengthen their resilience and ability to heal from traumatic events and lead a meaningful life. Practicing and sharing the methods outlined by this training will allow us to improve the practice of how we empower.