Foster Care Training

There is well documented evidence that working long term with system-involved youth can, if not addressed, contribute to the experience of vicarious trauma and organizational burnout amongst employees. This vicarious trauma, also referred to as compassion fatigue and secondary trauma can often cause high employee turn-over; a bi-product that is particularly detrimental to a population of infants, children and youth that have experienced significant disruption.

Combating burnout and stress-induced health problems involves cultivating and maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Research shows that when individuals actively and intentionally take time to focus on self-care and wellness, they increase their resilience both within and outside of the workplace. This training will teach specific wellness tools that individuals working with system involved youth can use to create more work/life balance and decrease the stress associated with chronic exposure to secondary trauma.

OBJECTIVES

1. Participants will be able to identify their top 5 values which contribute to their own personal health and well-being and will conduct a baseline self-assessment of their current level of health and wellness.
2. Participants will identify the current areas of their work lives that are most likely to lead to vicarious trauma and burnout and will create 1-3 action steps that will increase their wellness and resilience.
3. Participants will be able to articulate their vision of success and health in the workplace and will be able to identify “warning signs” for burnout and compassion fatigue.
4. Participants will identify accountability partners within the agency to whom they will report their progress and success in working towards their health and wellness goals.