Foster Care Training

Somatic movements are important for system-involved youth because they offer a trauma-informed approach that helps youth reconnect with their bodies and promote healing. Somatic movements aid in emotional regulation, empowering youth to identify, express, and regulate their emotions effectively. By developing body awareness, system-involved youth gain a sense of empowerment and make informed decisions regarding their well-being. Engaging in somatic movements also builds resilience, enhances coping skills, and provides a non-verbal mode of self-expression and communication for youth who may struggle with verbal expression. In this training, participants will be guided through a sequence of learning discussions to explore and understand somatic movements. Learning activities will include: lecture with concrete […]

This training is designed to assist professionals working with foster youth to connect to stories of themselves within the work that are fulfilling and sustaining.

Expressive arts and mindfulness practices significantly benefit emotional health and trauma recovery; however, without trauma-informed practices, they can inadvertently trigger distress in individuals with trauma histories. This training provides foundational understanding and hands-on experience in trauma-informed expressive arts and mindfulness, teaching participants practical tools specifically adapted for supporting system-involved youth (SIY), their families, and support staff. Participants will gain immediate, actionable skills to introduce expressive arts and mindfulness practices within trauma-informed environments safely. By attending this training, participants will be better equipped to promote trauma recovery and resilience in system-involved youth.

This course offers a focused look at how grief shows up in the early stages following significant loss or removal, specifically for youth in foster care. Participants will explore the first three months of grief through a trauma-informed lens, identifying ways grief can be masked, delayed, or misread as defiance or disinterest. We will examine cultural, developmental, and systemic factors that shape early grief responses, and practice tools that support recognition, language, and connection during this critical window. Participants will engage with interactive reflection, narrative prompts, and relational strategies designed for practical use with youth navigating disrupted placements or sudden loss. The training also includes creative activities that help channel […]

This is a live instructor-led remote course, with pre-requisites to complete before the course date. Instructors will email you in advance of the course date with additional details to complete pre-work online. Mental Health First Aid is a certification course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. This training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis. The content is applicable for supporting any person, however special emphasis will be placed on how to use […]

Dive deep into the world of neurodiversity and autism spectrum disorders with this dynamic training opportunity tailored for professionals working with system-involved youth.

This training introduces professionals to a wide range of somatic and movement-based practices that support emotional regulation and healing, especially for youth impacted by trauma, disability, or system involvement

This course will provide a basic understanding of autism and creative support strategies for working with system-involved youth on the autism spectrum. Participants will explore the core challenges of autism, including social interaction, communication, sensory processing, and behavior. Through didactic, collaborative, and interactive learning, they will become familiar with strength-based creative strategies for supporting autistic children and youth in care. We will also discuss arts-based strategies that can be used with system-involved youth with autism and their benefits.

In this workshop, we will demonstrate through theory, case studies, and practice how the sandtray can be a powerful tool to use for children and adolescents and their family members.

Cultural competency training was the focus of many providers who were serving increasingly more diverse population, with the idea that if they could become more culturally sensitive or competent, that they could provide better care for their patients. While the intention was a good one, the dynamic it often set up was that they were still the expert, the client was “the other,” and ultimately that the providers knew better than the clients and what the clients’ experience was and needs were. Through a process of self-reflection, identifying our different locations of identity, which parts have been historically excluded and which parts of our identity have been historically included, participants […]

Restorative justice principles have become increasingly popular amongst juvenile justice and social service providers. The focus is on repairing and restoring relationships with system-involved youth and teaching them tools to repair relationships in their personal lives. This course will provide an overview of restorative justice principles as well as strategies to implement them when working with youth in care.

Youth in foster care are often placed in systems where their voices are minimized, their choices are limited, and their rights are unclear or unprotected. Many experience instability, frequent disruptions, and decisions being made about their lives without their input. While legal protections exist, systemic challenges, institutional policies, and decision-making dynamics often make it difficult for youth to advocate for themselves or access the resources they need. This session will explore the rights youth in care are entitled to, the structural challenges that limit their ability to exercise those rights, and the role of professionals and caregivers in either reinforcing or interrupting these patterns. Participants will critically examine how policy, […]

This 4-hour course is designed to provide staff serving in Group Homes and STRTP’s skills to enhance Pro-Social behavior for staff working with traumatized youth and families. The aim of the course is to assist adults working with System-involved youth and families acquire clarity regarding Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), which has been known as Domestic Violence (DV) through definitions, statistics, symptoms seen in youth and helpful tools for families.

Youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation present with a unique set of needs, requiring a specialized approach to engagement and support. The CSEC 102 training will provide an advanced and comprehensive curriculum on best practices for serving youth that are commercially sexually exploited. In this 16-hour training, we will build on the skills and concepts learned in CSEC 101, including but not limited to: an exploration of common dynamics when serving and supporting commercially exploited youth and how these dynamics impact the work and the providers. We also discuss how the trauma of exploitation impacts the behavior, health, help-seeking, general engagement, and healing of youth who have been exploited, as […]

During this session participants will explore the common dynamics when serving and supporting commercially exploited youth and how these dynamics impact the work and the providers. participants will also engage in discussions on how the trauma of exploitation impacts the behavior, health, help-seeking, general engagement, and healing of youth who have been exploited.

LGBTQ youth in care often face unique challenges that can increase their risk of negative outcomes, including rejection, isolation, and lack of affirming support. This training is designed specifically for caregivers and focuses on how supportive, youth-centered case planning can reduce these risks and promote safety, stability, and well-being. Caregivers will learn practical strategies to affirm the identities and experiences of LGBTQ youth, build trusting relationships, and collaborate effectively with case teams. Through real-life scenarios and guided reflection, participants will leave with tools to create a more supportive and affirming home environment that meets the diverse needs of the youth in their care.

This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.

This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.

Child sexual exploitation is a major child protection issue for communities across the country. Hidden from view and often unnoticed, vulnerable young girls and boys are recruited, groomed and then abused, leaving them traumatized and without support. This training is a framework for engaging with sexually exploited youth and will offer suggestions for talking with youth.

This training is designed to prepare resource families to work with youth in the foster care system. Participants will receive a better understanding of the foster care system structure and explore how to provide a well-planned, safe, and secure environment designed to meet children’s individual and unique needs, and how to create an environment that promotes children’s social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will continue to review; Interim Licensing Standard, Child Growth and Development, Medication Guidelines, Discipline, Working with Biological Families and understanding the Effects of Trauma.

This training is designed to prepare resource families to work with youth in the foster care system. Participants will receive a better understanding of the foster care system structure and explore how to provide a well-planned, safe, and secure environment designed to meet children’s individual and unique needs, and how to create an environment that promotes children’s social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will continue to review; Interim Licensing Standard, Child Growth and Development, Medication Guidelines, Discipline, Working with Biological Families and understanding the Effects of Trauma.

As online care becomes part of many providers service provision, it is important that they are aware of the legal and ethical issues related to telemental health. In this class participants will learn: 1) California Telehealth legal codes and Telehealth professional codes of ethics including: informed consent, privacy, working with people out of state, preparing for crisis, and handling technology failure; 2) research on Telehealth and 3) best practicing when providing online health and wellness services.

This course provides foster care professionals and caregivers with essential knowledge, research, and strategies to effectively support individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS, particularly youth involved in systems of care. Participants will gain foundational knowledge of the disease, including transmission, risk factors, and evidence-based prevention strategies.

The goal of this presentation is to describe Seeking Safety specifically as it is implemented for adolescents. Seeking Safety teaches present-focused coping skills to help clients attain safety in their lives.

This training is designed for those that support system-involved youth (SIY), focusing on strategies to recognize, address, and support young individuals experiencing teen dating violence (TDV). Participants will gain insights into the dynamics of TDV, its impact on youth, and effective strategies for supporting youth experiencing TDV. The training will incorporate interactive discussions, case studies, and role-playing exercises to enhance understanding and practical skills.

This full-day workshop equips community-based providers, social workers, and allied professionals with the tools to identify, understand, and address school refusal through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens. Participants will explore the root causes of school avoidance—such as anxiety, trauma, community violence, systemic inequities, and family stressors—and learn to differentiate it from truancy and other behavioral concerns.

As social services case planning, mental health treatment, and general support has become more commonly provided via telehealth, it is important that those who support system-involved youth are aware of the legal and ethical issues related to services and support provided via telehealth. In this class participants will learn: 1)  California Telehealth legal codes and Telehealth professional codes of ethics including: informed consent, privacy, working with people out of state, preparing for crisis, and handling technology failure; 2) Research on Telemental Health and 3) best practices when providing online support for system-involved youth.

We can’t know how to develop plans to support system-involved youth if we don’t understand fully the youth’s context including family relationships, historical trauma, and intergenerational influences. Learn how the history of the biological families of our system-involved youth impacts their current functioning and how a family’s life cycle developmental challenges are intricately related to a youth’s own developmental challenges and attachment issues. We will review the importance of creating family trees and timelines with families in order to learn about their life experiences and other important values. This information guides our case planning and service provision of all kinds. Without context, we cannot possibly understand what the behaviors of […]

This session will support participants in exploring the impact that fatphobia and beauty standards have had on their lives and the lives of the young people they support. Through the work of Sonalee Rashatwar and Sonya Renee Taylor, participants will grapple with content related to how bodily hierarchy exists in our society in the ways we deem some bodies superior and others disposable. Participants will utilize journal reflection, media examples, discussion prompts, and videos to deeply reflect on how these standards show up in their work with youth and in their communities.

There are numerous legal and ethical issues specific to working with system-involved youth in community-based organizations and school settings. They include privacy, use of electronics, consent to treatment, mandatory reporting laws, and dual relationships. Through case vignettes, discussions and lecture, participants will explore the intricacies of these issues.

This training invokes effective narrative practices to improve and deepen engagement. More specifically, it speaks to the identification and utilization of “Intentional Strengths” as a foundational piece of the engagement and relationship building process.

This training teaches how to understand family dynamics from a relational perspective that supports the development of plans for system-involved youth using a strength-based lens with the Pain in the Heart (PITH) healing questions. These questions were developed to utilize evidence-based elements from structural & attachment-based family theories in an applied way for youth who have experienced multiple serious trauma & attachment ruptures. We will explore the link between past trauma, current feelings about the past trauma, & fear of what might happen in the future. Since system-involved youth can act out traumas in their behavioral symptoms, it is important to be able to understand these from their perspective so […]

*This six-hour training is required every two years for those supervising ACSWs, AMFTs, APCCs, and Psych interns.* Clinical Supervision is an important tool used to enrich the relationship between providers and clients in child welfare. This six-hour training shows providers supporting youth in foster care how clinical supervision is performed, and how that performance directly effects clients in care. It discusses how clinical supervision courses are required every two years for those supervising MFTis, LPCCis and Psych interns. Topics covered will include effects of paperwork in supervision, exploration of supervisory styles and choices, as well as challenges and obstacles encountered in supervision. Time will be allowed for questions, cases and […]

Youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation present with a unique set of needs, requiring a specialized approach to engagement and support. The CSEC 102 training will provide an advanced and comprehensive curriculum on best practices for serving youth that are commercially sexually exploited. In this 16-hour training, we will build on the skills and concepts learned in CSEC 101, including but not limited to: an exploration of common dynamics when serving and supporting commercially exploited youth and how these dynamics impact the work and the providers. We also discuss how the trauma of exploitation impacts the behavior, health, help-seeking, general engagement, and healing of youth who have been exploited, as […]

During this session participants will explore the common dynamics when serving and supporting commercially exploited youth and how these dynamics impact the work and the providers. participants will also engage in discussions on how the trauma of exploitation impacts the behavior, health, help-seeking, general engagement, and healing of youth who have been exploited.

Child sexual exploitation is a major child protection issue for communities across the country. Hidden from view and often unnoticed, vulnerable young girls and boys are recruited, groomed and then abused, leaving them traumatized and without support. This training is a framework for engaging with sexually exploited youth and will offer suggestions for talking with youth.

When helping people who have experienced trauma in their lives we tend to focus only on the effects of the trauma. Although this can be important work, it can also trap people in a story of how they have been victimized.

This 4 hour course is designed to provide staff serving in Group Homes and STRTP’s skills to enhance Pro-Social strategies for staff working with traumatized youth and families. Participants will explore three specific areas where mental health professionals can become triggered when working with emotional disturbance.