Foster Care Training

From the time they enter the state’s care and likely long before, foster youth experience trauma that can severely alter their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. The impact of trauma on foster youth can mean that this vulnerable population faces numerous additional challenges as they grow and develop into adulthood. Foster youth experience trauma in many ways, often starting at home. Youth will enter the foster care system because they have experienced physical or sexual abuse, neglect, a loss of a parent, or abandonment, forcing the state to step in. Other family stress factors such as poverty, substance abuse, mental illness, and incarceration can lead to a child’s removal from their home. This training will review ways to support and optimize the development of foster youth in different domains and settings such as the foster home, schools, and communities. Facilitated discussion, didactic material, and experiential exercises will be used to discuss the themes and address class objectives.