Foster Care Training

This training is appropriate for caregivers and staff working with you in foster care with Intellectual Disabilities. With regard to foster youth of all ages, from a trauma-informed stand point, trainer will present and discuss intellectual disabilities, the reasons for some of the disabilities and tools case managers and foster parents can implement to aid the foster youth in his or her educational journey. Trainer will discuss use of IEP process, parent’s/foster parent’s/child’s educational rights and collaboration with the Regional Center when appropriate. Discussion will also include cognitive dysfunctions which may hinder the child’s integration into the foster family and ways in which foster care givers can overcome these and enhance the child’s self-esteem.

Objectives:

1. Identify among their caseload, youth who have an intellectual or cognitive disability and will discuss their knowledge of the nature of that child’s disability and tools they are using/will use to enhance and augment the child’s abilities.
2. Identify, to the group, ways in which they have gained or re-gained services for the intellectually/cognitively disabled youth, reducing overlap of services and resources. And how the youth has benefited.
3. Practice use of person-first language and speak from a strength based stand point about their assigned foster youth.