Foster Care Training

This pre-service training utilizes the PRIDE Curriculum and is a 27 hour competency based curriculum to develop knowledge and skills in five essential competency categories –

• Protecting and Nurturing Children
• Meeting Children’s Developmental Needs and Addressing Developmental Delays
• Supporting Relationships between Children and their Families
• Connecting Children to Safe, Nurturing Relationships intended to last a lifetime; and
• Working as a Member of a Professional Team

Session One: Connecting with PRIDE (Parent Resource for Information Development and Education) – Participants learn about the world of family foster care and adoption through the stories of children receiving child welfare services through video “Making a difference” and how families come to the attention of child welfare agencies and how the team of child welfare professionals works together on behalf of the child. They learn how different foster families and adoptive families function as part of that team to provide for the challenging needs of children in their care. Participants also learn how the training series relates to the process of assessing and selecting foster families and adoptive families. They are informed of the certification process. Session one addresses the competencies that successful foster and adoptive families need, as well as, several regular feature s of the PRIDE foster/adopt handbook including: family assessment tools that link classroom learning with life experiences; stories illustrating the rewards of fostering and adopting; additional at home reading and review and; stories/letters from parents to promote understanding of families of children in care.

Session Two: Teamwork toward Permanence: in this session we will address one of the most challenging tasks for foster and adoptive families involving developing an understanding of birth family issues-knowing how to talk with children about their families and being able to support their family relationships. This session lays the foundation for this understanding by first exploring ways in which families support a child’s identity, cultural heritage, and self-esteem. Participants view the video “Family Forever” and video vignettes that demonstrate the skills of “shared parenting.” This session also addresses the importance/value of permanence in the lives of children, as well as, why team work is presented as the best way to promote permanence for children. Session two explores the unique role of foster and adoptive parents as members of a professional team.