Foster Care Training

9/10/16 – 10/1/16
Pre-service Training for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Families:
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 Five: Strengthening Family Relationships – This session focuses on how families instill identity, cultural heritage, and self-esteem in children. Participants have the opportunity to learn ways to help a child develop positive cultural identity at different developmental stages. The importance of family connections and continuity is also addressed. We review the child welfare goal of returning children in family foster care to their birth families whenever possible. Participants will discuss and consider how the team can support this goal, known as “reunification.” Participants will discuss very practical ways how to plan for visits, how to prepare children for them and how to handle their reactions when the visit ends. The class also views vignettes that illustrate specific skills related to planning and for handling visits.