These programs are intended for caseworkers, counselors, foster and adoptive parents. All of our programs are based on sound
clinical theory and presented in an upbeat, imaginative and relevant format that trainees really enjoy. Course evaluations
consistently reflect great satisfaction with these programs.
Rule
4723-14-05(A), OAC.
Please
review our course offerings and brief descriptions below. We would be delighted
to send you a detailed course description for any of our programs, including:
· Complete course outline
· Learning objectives
· Competencies addressed
If
you have a need for one or more specialized courses that you do not see here, feel free to contact us. We are always interested in developing new courses and materials to further enhance the educational advancement
of both child welfare workers and foster/adoptive parents.
Caseworker, Specialized, and Related Workshops
Verbal
De-escalation in Child Welfare
Substance
Abuse, Chemical Dependency and Kids
Educational
Advocacy: Improving Outcomes for Children in Out-of-Home Care
Creating Safe & Healing Environments for Children
Who Have Been Sexually Abused
Navigating the Whitewater of Reunification: Primary
Family, Agency and Caregiver Collaboration
Understanding
and Assessing Risk and Behavior in Adolescents
Acting
Your Way into Better Thinking: Reinforcement Theory into Action
Casework
Interviewing, Problem Solving and Crisis Intervention
Working
with and Engaging the Emancipating Adolescent
Bleeding
Heart or Purple Heart: Assessing Parenting Styles and Basic Parenting Education
Reality
Therapy and Other Cognitive Approaches to Counseling
Don't Talk...Don't
Trust...Don't Feel: Growing Up with an Addicted Parent
Motivational
Interviewing: Preparing Clients for Change - Part 1, Building Motivation
Motivational Interviewing: Preparing Clients for
Change - Part 2, Strengthening Commitment to Change
Addressing Substance Use Disorder through Effective Engagement, Screening (UNCOPE
Tool), Assessment &
Treatment
(3 or 6 hours)
Culture and Diversity Issues in Foster Care - (3 hours - satisfies OCSWMFT Board requirement for ETHICS training)
Creating Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice (a 4 Part Series) Developed by:
The National Child Traumatic
Stress Network
- Introduction & Essential Elements: What is Traumatic Stress? (3
Hours)
- The Impact of Trauma on
Children's Behavior, Development & Relationships (3 Hours)
- Assessment of a Child's
Trauma Experiences (3 Hours)
- Providing Support to the Child, Family
and Caregivers; Managing Professional & Personal Stress (3 Hours)
Developed
by the National Resource Center for Youth Development ---
Youth Development: The Vital Link
Life Long Connections: Permanency for Older Youth
Engaging Youth in Transition Planning
Engagement and Intervention with Parents Affected by Substance Use, Mental , and Co-occurring
Disorders
Supervisor/Manager Specialized
and Related Workshop
Creative Employee Discipline in Human Services Management (3 or 6 hours)
OHSTS Adult
Protective Service Core Workshop
Professional Communication - Seeing the
World Through Other Lens (6 hours)
Foster and Adoptive Parent Ongoing Workshops
Behavior Management I – Managing Surface Behaviors with
Acting-out Children
Behavior Management II - Techniques of Avoiding and De-escalating Physical Crisis Situations
Attachment, Separation and Loss in Foster Care
“Don’t Talk…Don’t Trust…Don’t Feel”…Growing Up with
an Addicted Parent
Substance Abuse, Chemical Dependency, & Kids
Opening the Door to Independent Living – Overview – Part 1
Navigating the Path to Independent Living – Process –
Part 2
Educational Advocacy: Helping Your Foster Child Succeed in School
Maximizing Honesty and Honest Behaviors in Foster Children
Culture and Diversity Issues in Foster Care
Advancing Sexual Safety and Promoting Healing in Foster Care
Fostering Physical and Emotional Health in the Caregiver
Managing the Whitewater of Reunification: Primary Family, Agency and Foster Parent Collaboration
"Holy Chaos, Batman!": Addressing Risk and Behaviors in Adolescents
Bleeding Heart or Purple Heart: Parenting Today's Troubled Youth
Hands On Behavior Management for Younger and Developmentally Delayed Children
"Do You Feel Me?": Talking, Listening and Problem Solving with Your Foster Child
Beyond Time-Out: Managing the Behavior of Maltreated Pre-school Age Children
Peek-a-Boos and Terrible Twos: Managing Behavior of Maltreated Infants and Toddlers
Caregiver Toolkit: Using Reality Therapy with Foster Children
“You Can’t Make Me”: Managing Behavior of Maltreated School Age Children
The Emotional & Behavioral Sequel to Maltreatment
Verbal De-escalation in Child Welfare
Managing the Hurt: When Your Foster Child Leaves
Preparing Foster Youth for Change: Motivational Interviewing for Resource Parents
Runaway Foster Youth
Normalcy--Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard Training
Developed by: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma
Part 1 – Trauma 101
Part 2 – Understanding Trauma's Effects & Building
a Safe Place
Part 3 – Dealing with Feelings &Behavior, and Connections
& Healing
Part 4 – Becoming an Advocate & Taking
Care of Yourself
OCWTP Foster Care Fundamentals Workshops
Understanding and Building Attachment (F13 - 3 or 6 Hours)
Primary Family to Foster Family (F-15
- 3 or 6 Hours)
Foster Families and How They Grow: Understanding the
Effects of Fostering (F16
- 3 or 6 Hours)
Fostering Self-Reliance in Children and Youth: Roots
& Wings (3 or 6 Hours)
Discipline in Foster Care: Managing Our Behaviors to Manage Theirs (3 or 6 Hours)
Recognizing and Responding to Children Who Have Been
Sexually Abused (6 Hours)
The Caregiver's Voice: Being a Valuable Part of an Effective Child Welfare
Team (6 Hours)
Adolescent Development (3 Hours)
OCWTP
Foster and Adoptive Parent Pre-Service Training
Module I: Orientation to Foster Care,
Adoption, and Kinship Care
Module II: The Child Protection Team
MODULE III: CHILD DEVELOPMENT
ModulE IV: TRAUMA AND ITS EFFECTS
MODULE V: CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
MODULE VI: MINIMIZING THE TRAUMA
OF PLACEMENT
MODULE VII: TRANCENDING DIFFERENCES
IN PLACEMENT
MODULE VIII: HELPING THE CHILD
MANAGE EMOTIONS AND BEHAVIORS
Module
IX: Understanding Primary Families
Module
X: The Effects of Caregiving on the Caregiver Family
Module XI: Long-Term Separation from Birth
Parents
Module XII: Post Adoption Issues for Families
also:
Verbal De-escalation in Child Welfare
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class will review the skills of active
listening, non-violent communication and verbal de-escalation. Levels of crisis
development and the conflict cycle are discussed, emphasizing appropriate staff response.
Trainees will participate in exercises and demonstrations concerning proxemics, body posture and motion.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Substance Abuse, Chemical Dependency and Kids
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Drug and alcohol abuse takes an enormous
toll on families. It may be a factor in two-thirds of all substantiated cases
of abuse and neglect. This class will give staff an understanding of substance
abuse and chemical dependency and how it affects the family. Through case studies,
we will examine risk and protective factors determining the appropriateness of child removal or reunification.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Educational Advocacy: Improving Outcomes for
Children in Out-of-Home Care
(Caseworker
Workshop)
One of the best ways case workers can help
to improve educational outcomes for at risk youth is to know the facts, to identify roadblocks that may hamper educational
success, and to make a plan. This class will provide caseworkers a skill building
model to use with biological or substitute parents in improving educational outcomes for their children. This course also examines special education for children with disabilities, and serves as a basic introduction
to Surrogate Parenting.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Creating Safe & Healing Environments for
Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This workshop is designed for professionals
interested in developing their knowledge in addressing the special needs of their children who have been sexually abused. Special emphasis will be devoted to creating an environment of safety, developing
a sexual safety plan and talking with children who have been abused.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Navigating the Whitewater of Reunification: Primary
Family, Agency and Caregiver Collaboration
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Historically, children service agencies
have aligned themselves with children to protect them from their parents. Yet, in doing so, they jeopardize the connection
between parents and their children, which undermine efforts to preserve or rebuild birth families. This class will examine
the complex dynamics facing principal actors before, during and after placement. Emphasizing the advantages of safe reunification
of children with birth families, this training will develop a framework for shared parenting, including promoting and building
the “parent - foster parent team.” Further, it will explore the relationships between foster parents and agency
staff, and potential organizational and value conflicts that may obstruct therapeutic parenting and case management of children.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Understanding and Assessing Risk and Behavior
in Adolescents
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class reviews the fundamentals of behavioral
assessment in adolescents within the context of their physical, cognitive and psycho-social development. It will explore issues related to family and culture and their effect on behavior. Further, it explores the behavioral manifestations of common adolescent emotional problems, including
depression, eating disorders and cutting and suggests various treatment options available.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Acting Your Way into Better Thinking: Reinforcement
Theory into Action
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Understanding the concepts of social learning
theory and utilizing it’s principles to effect behavior change may be two entirely different matters. This class will review reinforcement theory and offer workable models to put it into practice. Those attending
will learn how to perform a functional analysis of child behavior recognizing the various drivers within the social ecology. Behavior management approaches, including token economies & behavior contracts
will be explored.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Casework Interviewing, Problem Solving and Crisis
Intervention
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Acknowledging the many challenges of caseworker
interviewing, this class will present several effective interviewing techniques, including motivational interviewing, and
offer strategies to help families resolve their unique problems. Also, this
workshop will examine the dynamics of crisis and offer suggestions for crisis counseling, verbal de-escalation and stress
management.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Working with and Engaging the Emancipating Adolescent
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class will examine strategies of engagement
and effective planning for emancipating adolescents. The essentials
of various data collection strategies, including assessment measures and strength focused interviewing will be reviewed. Finally, tools for assessing adolescent
readiness for independent living and strategies to assist them will be explored.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Bleeding Heart or Purple Heart: Assessing Parenting
Styles and Basic Parenting Education
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This workshop explores models of effective
parenting including STEP, PET & Behavior Modification. Special emphasis will be given to assessing parenting styles and
applying discipline strategies and parenting techniques appropriate to the child’s developmental level and individual
needs. Concrete strategies will be shared on how to help parents tackle the many challenges of parenting today’s troubled
youth.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Reality Therapy & Other Cognitive Approaches to Counseling
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class reviews the fundamentals of Reality
Therapy and it’s applications in child and family services. Strategies
for creating as strength focused environment of alignment and engagement with clients will be shared. Finally, the efficacy of assertive individual and family communication and behavior will be explored.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Don’t Talk..Don’t Trust…Don’t Feel: Growing up with an Addicted Parent
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class examines the dynamics of growing
up with an addicted parent, including the family drama and its emotional effects on children. Referencing the powerful documentary: An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrist, this workshop examines
issues of co-occurring depression and a pathway to triumphant recovery.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Motivational Interviewing: Preparing Clients for Change - Part 1 - Building Motivation
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Motivational Interviewing is an evidence based counseling
style which adopts a brief intervention format, using critical elements that serve as catalysts for motivation and change.
MI addresses how to strengthen client intrinsic motivation to change and reduce ambivalence. This class serves as an introduction
to MI and focuses on strategies to build client motivation to change.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Motivational Interviewing: Preparing Clients for Change - Part 2 - Strengthening Commitment to Change
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class serves as a follow-up to MI Part 1 and focuses specifically
on strengthening client’s commitment to change. Completion of MI Parts
1 and 2 will give trainees the basic tools necessary to incorporate this intervention into their practice.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Addressing Substance
Use Disorder through Effective Engagement, Screening (UNCOPE Tool), Assessment & Treatment
(Caseworker Workshop) This
workshop is a primer for all child welfare professionals who work with
individuals presenting symptoms of substance use disorder. The first steps to
help someone resolve substance use issues are to gain their trust, screen
for potential problems, encourage clinical assessment
(if appropriate)
and support and encourage treatment. This
class serves as an overview guiding this process.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Culture and Diversity Issues in Child Care
(Caseworker
Workshop)
This class begins by introducing caseworkers
to the concept of cultural sensitivity and moves them toward improving their
ability to understand and work with people from different backgrounds. This
is done by examining our own values and codes of conduct, making an effort to learn more about other cultures and people,
and by talking to coworkers and foster parents about these issues. By the end of the session, caseworkers should begin to have a greater appreciation for the unique opportunities
and blessings inherent in a diverse experience.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Creating
Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice
(Caseworker
Workshop)
Child welfare caseworkers are frequently
faced with the challenge of working to provide safety, permanency & wellbeing for children who are victims of trauma.
This four part series, developed in partnership with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network explores the cumulative nature of trauma and its effects on children’s
development and behavior. Further, it proposes a model of assessment and treatment designed to guide caseworkers dealing with
children who have experienced trauma.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Youth Development: The Vital Link
(Caseworker/Caregiver
12 hour Workshop)
Youth
are a tremendous and often overlooked resource. Agencies can improve their independent/transitional living programs by utilizing
skills youth possess. Participants will learn creative ways of empowering youth by allowing them to take on leadership roles,
aid in decision-making, and assist in program implementation. Barriers and benefits will be discussed as well as attitudes
regarding youth as resources. Trainees will explore levels of youth involvment in programs which include advisory boards,
mentor programs, peer helping and community involvement.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Life Long Connections: Permanency for Older Youth
(Caseworker/Caregiver Workshop)
When planning for permanency with adolescents, one has to think about things differently
and use approaches differently than we do when planning for younger children. Permanency for older youth is not centered around
the living arrangement, or simply providing independent living or adoption services. It is providing youth with lifelong
permanent connections to people the youth identifies as important to him/her. This training allows participants to hear, see,
and experience the concepts of what permanent connections are and why they are important. The presentation will allow participants
to understand how adolescent development relates to permanency; the link between independent living services activities
and permanent connections.
Engaging Youth in Transition Planning
(Caseworker/Caregiver Workshop)
Building on NRCYD's Positive Youth Development and Life Long Connections training,
this workshop addresses how child welfare professionals can more effectively engage youth in their own transition planning.
Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Engagement and Intervention with Parents Affected by Substance Use, Mental
and Co-occurring Disorders
(Caseworker Workshop) This module describes skills that child welfare professionals
need to engage individuals from diverse communities including the screening and documentation process, supporting the connection
to assessment and treatment services, and appropriate strategies for engaging families in treatment. Skills and promising
practices for enhancing motivation to change are described.
. Return to Caseworker Workshop List
Creative Employee Discipline
in Human Services Management
(Supervisory Workshop)
Historically, methods for
maintaining employee discipline have been punitive in nature. The relatively new concept of a non-punitive positive discipline
system is winning increasing acceptance among many human service agencies. This class will help the human service manager understand the philosophy of positive
discipline and give them the tools to incorporate it into their management practice.
Return to Supervisory Workshop List
Behavior Management I – Managing Surface
Behaviors with Acting-Out Children
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This program explores pre-placement dynamics
and how those influence behavior. It also gives substitute caregivers a model for structuring a supportive and therapeutic
setting for behaviorally challenged children. Further, it reviews fundamental social learning theory; and finally examines
ten tried and true techniques for handling surface behaviors.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Behavior Management II –Techniques of Avoiding
and De-escalating Physical Crisis Situations
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class will examine how pre-placement
experiences and current stressors may affect a foster child’s behavior. The
skills of active listening, non-violent communication and de-escalation will be reviewed.
Levels of crisis development and the conflict cycle are discussed, emphasizing appropriate foster parent response. Trainees will participate in exercises and demonstrations concerning personal space,
body posture, and motion.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Attachment, Separation and Loss in Foster Care
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class introduces foster parents to
the concept of attachment and the biological bond. Separation will be addressed by reviewing the five stages of grief vis-à-vis
a foster care placement. Strategies for helping insufficiently attached
and grieving children are reviewed.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
“Don’t Talk…Don’t Trust…Don’t Feel”…Growing
Up with an Addicted Parent
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class will
give trainees an understanding of the dynamics of growing up in a home where one of the primary caregivers is abusing substances
or is addicted. We will examine roles children take on to meet their needs, bring balance to their family and how those roles
may transfer into the foster home. Foster caregivers will be armed with tools & strategies to support these children during
out of-home placement and upon return.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Substance Abuse, Chemical Dependency & Kids
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Drug and alcohol abuse takes an enormous
toll on families. It may be a factor in two-thirds of all substantiated cases
of abuse and neglect. This class will give trainees an understanding of substance
abuse and chemical dependency and how it affects the family. We will also examine
factors related to special risk for substance abuse, and review methods of prevention and treatment.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Opening the Door to Independent Living –
Overview – Part 1
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This workshop will introduce caregivers
to the many challenges that adolescents face when leaving foster care, and moving toward independent living. After a review of adolescent physical, cognitive and psycho-social development, this class will identify
some of the major blocks & barriers that youth face upon emancipation and strategies caregivers can use to help them along
this journey.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Navigating the Path to
Independent Living – Process – Part 2
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class is designed to systematically
walk foster parents through the process of preparing their foster youth for independent living. A very practical & helpful
assessment is introduced which will help caregivers and their youth develop a roadmap document, which will set
goals and objectives leading to successful emancipation. A model contract will be shared
which will help all parties involved make a commitment to follow through with the plan.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Educational Advocacy: Helping Your Foster Child
Succeed in School
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
As surely as you are your children’s
most important teachers, your children’s ideas about education and its significance begin with you. Therefore, foster
parents have a responsibility to participate actively in your children’s education.
This class will offer caregivers an opportunity to enhance their own skills to assist children with their academic
achievement. This course serves as a basic introduction to Surrogate Parenting.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Maximizing
Honesty and Honest Behaviors in Foster Children
(Foster/Adoptive Parent Workshop)
The
goal of this class is to help resource parents maximize honesty and honest behaviors in their foster children. Considering
dishonest behavior (lying, stealing and cheating) in a framework of moral development, this workshop will help caregivers
shape honest behaviors and advance moral reasoning and problem-solving skills in children.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Culture and Diversity Issues in Foster Care
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class begins by introducing caregivers
to the concept of cultural sensitivity and moves them toward improving their ability to understand and work with people from
different backgrounds. This is done by examining our own values and codes of
conduct, making an effort to learn more about other cultures and people, and by talking to our foster children about these
issues. By the end of the session, caregivers should begin to have a greater
appreciation for the unique opportunities and blessings inherent in a diverse foster family experience.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Advancing Sexual Safety and Promoting Healing
in Foster Care
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This workshop is designed for foster families
who need to develop their knowledge and parenting skills to address the special needs of children who have been sexually abused. Since sexual abuse is the ultimate betrayal of the parent-child relationship, the
primary resource available to these victimized children is understanding and committed families who can prove to them that
families can be trusted and nurturing.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Fostering Physical and Emotional Health in the
Caregiver
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
“You’re in time-out!”
This workshop explores the value of foster parents taking care of themselves.
Trainees will experience a mini-retreat that is chock filled with ideas and experiences that include approaches to
the physical, spiritual and mental well-being of the caretaker. Participants will walk away with a recipe for establishing
daily self-nurturing practices and routines.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Managing the Whitewater of Reunification: Primary
Family, Agency and Foster Parent Collaboration
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class will examine the complex dynamics
facing birth families before, during and after placement. Emphasizing the advantages of safe reunification of children with
birth families, this training will help foster parents come to further appreciate the “biological bond” as well
as challenge them to consider forgiveness as a foundation of collaborative work with parents.
It will also develop a framework for shared parenting, including promoting and building the “parent - foster
parent team” and provide practical guidelines for such issues as visiting, phone calls and establishing boundaries.
.” Further, it will explore the relationships between foster parents and agency staff, and potential organizational
and value conflicts that may obstruct therapeutic parenting and of children.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
"Holy Chaos, Batman!": Addressing Risk and Behaviors
in Adolescents
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class reviews the fundamentals of behavioral
assessment in adolescents within the context of their physical, cognitive and psycho-social development. It will explore issues related to family and culture and their effect on behavior. Further, it explores the behavioral manifestations of common adolescent emotional problems, including
depression, eating disorders & cutting and suggests various treatment options available.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Bleeding Heart or Purple Heart: Parenting Today's
Troubled Youth
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This workshop explores models of effective
parenting including STEP, PET & Behavior Modification. Special emphasis will be given to discipline strategies and parenting
techniques appropriate to the child’s developmental level and individual needs. Concrete strategies will be shared on
how to help foster/adoptive parents tackle the many challenges of parenting today’s troubled youth.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Hands-on Behavior Management for Younger and
Developmentally Delayed Children
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Understanding
the concepts of social learning theory and utilizing its principles to effect behavior change may be two entirely different
matters. This class will review reinforcement theory and offer workable models
to put it into practice for younger and developmentally delayed children. Caregivers will learn how to perform a functional
analysis of child behavior recognizing the various drivers within the social ecology.
Behavior management approaches, including token economies & behavior charts will be explored.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
"Do You Feel Me?”: Talking, Listening and Problem Solving with Your Foster Child
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
“Seek ye first to understand…then
to be understood”. Pretty good advice; but does this apply to our children? You better believe it! Lacking a feeling of empowerment, foster children desperately need someone to truly understand the feelings
they are experiencing. This class will explore the importance of understanding and share practical strategies to help foster
parents better understand their children’s feelings. In addition, we will
offer a helpful problem solving paradigm for the family.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Beyond Time-Out: Managing the Behavior of Maltreated
Pre-school Age Children
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Parenting a pre-school child in foster care
is a daunting task, especially when the child comes into care as a result of maltreatment. This workshop focuses on the special
needs of these children. Effects of abuse and neglect on the development of
pre-school children will be examined vis-à-vis the major domains of their development. Behavior problems resulting from maltreatment
will be discussed and suggestions for effective behavior management will be outlined, including Parent Child Interactive Therapy.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Peek-a-Boos and Terrible Twos: Managing Behavior
of Maltreated Infants and Toddlers
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Parenting an infant or toddler in foster
care is a challenging task, especially when the child comes into care as a result of maltreatment. This workshop focuses on
the special needs of these children. Effects of abuse and neglect on infant & toddler development will be examined vis-à-vis
the major domains of their development. Behavior problems resulting from maltreatment will be discussed and suggestions on
behavior management will be outlined.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Caregiver Toolkit: Using Reality Therapy with Your Foster Children
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
This class reviews the fundamentals of Reality
Therapy and its potential applications in out of home care. Strategies for creating
as strength focused environment of alignment and engagement with children will be shared.
Finally, the efficacy of assertive individual and family communication and behavior is explored.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
“You Can’t Make Me”: Managing Behavior of Maltreated
School Age Children
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Parenting a child in foster care is a challenging
task, especially when the child comes into care as a result of abuse and neglect. This workshop focuses on the special needs
of these children. Effects of abuse and neglect on school age children development will be examined vis-à-vis the major domains
of their development. Behavior problems resulting from maltreatment will be discussed and suggestions on behavior management
will be presented.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
The Emotional & Behavioral Sequel to Maltreatment
(Foster/Adoptive
Parent Workshop)
Parenting a child in foster care is a challenging
task, especially when the child comes into care as a result of abuse or neglect. This course will focus on the special
needs of these children. Basic facts and issues regarding neglect and abuse (psychological, physical & sexual) and their
effect on the child’s psyche will be explored. Positive strategies for parenting are examined from school age through
young adulthood.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Verbal De-escalation in Child Welfare
(Foster/Adoptive Parent Workshop)
This class will examine how pre-placement
experiences and current stressors may affect a foster child’s behavior. The skills of active listening, non-violent
communication and de-escalation will be reviewed. Levels of crisis development and the conflict cycle are discussed,
emphasizing appropriate foster parent response. Trainees will participate in exercises and demonstrations concerning
personal space, body posture and motion and their cultural implications.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Managing the Hurt:
When Your Foster Child Leaves
(Foster/adoptive parent workshop)
This class addresses the very real
“hurt” that resource families experience when their foster child moves to another placement. Typical emotional reactions to this transition will be reviewed and acknowledged. Caregivers will be given practical ideas about how to best manage this separation.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Preparing Foster Youth for Change: Motivational Interviewing
for Resource Parents
(Foster/adoptive parent workshop)
Caregivers are frequently challenged by youth’s lack of motivation to change
negative behaviors. Notwithstanding the application of behavior management strategies, some problems seem to persist. Motivational Interviewing is an evidence
based approach which caregivers can use to strengthen youth’s intrinsic motivation to change. This class serves as an
introduction to MI for resource parents and gives them the basic tools necessary to incorporate this intervention into their
parenting practice.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Runaway Foster Youth
(Foster/adoptive parent workshop) This workshop attempts to meet the special needs of
foster care youth by providing resource parents with awareness and intervention techniques to deal with runaway behavior. This
learning focuses on two specific areas: understanding recognizing and preventing runaway behavior, and responding to
and coping with runaway behavior.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Normalcy and Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard
(Foster/adoptive parent workshop)
This three hour
training introduces caregivers to the concept of normalcy and defines the
Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard (RPPS).
Caregivers will learn what needs to be considered when applying the RPPS,
and will practice applying the standard in a number of scenarios. Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Caring for Children who have Experienced Trauma
(Foster/adoptive parent workshop)
Many children in foster or kinship care have a history of exposure to trauma. Using a combination of didactic information and exercises, this training can help resource parents
understand the link between trauma and their children's often baffling behavior, feelings, and attitudes. It gives resource
parents practical tools to help their children move forward from their traumatic pasts, to recognize and reduce the impact
of their children's traumas on themselves, and to seek useful support from others.
Return to Foster & Adoptive Parent Workshop List
Understanding and Building Attachment (6 Hours)
(Foster
Care Fundamentals)
This workshop. designed for licensed foster
caregivers with placement experience, focuses on the initiation and development of attachment in children. Distinctions between secure and insecure attachment are presented along with how separation and placement
impacts the child’s attachment pattern. A template for parenting children
with attachment problems will be advanced.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Primary Family to Foster Family (6 Hours)
(Foster Care Fundamentals)
This workshop is designed for the licensed
and experienced foster family. Issues related to the foster families ability to work with primary families towards permanency
& to support contacts between children and their primary families are addressed.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Foster Families and How They Grow: Understanding the Effects of Fostering
(6 Hours)
(Foster
Care Fundamentals)
This workshop is designed for licensed foster
parents in the early years of foster parenting. Issues unique to fostering are
discussed, including: 1) Understanding and dealing with the new set of challenges; 2) Recognizing stages of adjustment and
changing family relationships; and, 3) identifying stressors and developing strategies to build a healthy fostering experience.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Fostering Self-Reliance in Children and Youth: Roots and Wings (6 Hours)
(Foster
Care Fundamentals)
This workshop presents methods to assess the
needs of foster children and youth for developing independence. Specific strategies are presented to help prepare young children
as well as teens for life as self-sufficient adults.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Discipline
in Foster Care: Managing Our Behaviors to Manage Theirs (6 Hours)
(Foster
Care Fundamentals)
This workshop focuses on understanding
the caregivers' overall styles of parenting and their approach to children. Participants
will explore how changing their approaches and parenting strategies affect the child's behavior. Additionally, specific strategies
to enhance the caregivers ability to individualize discipline to each child;s needs and issues will be discussed
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Recognizing and Responding to Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused (6 Hours)
(Foster
Care Fundamentals)
This workshop examines the definition and
dynamics of the sexual abuse of children, explores the pervasive pathology existing within the sexually abusing home, and
presents extensive parenting strategies to prepare the home and enhance the child’s ongoing care.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
The Caregiver's
Voice: Being a Valuable Part of an Effective Child Welfare Team (6 hours)
(Foster Care Fundamental & Caseworker Workshop)
This workshop explores the roles and responsibilities of all members
of the child welfare team, particularly focusing on primary team members:
the caregiver, caseworker and birth parent. Both caseworkers and caregivers are encouraged to attend this workshop to learn
strategies to work together more effectively. The training will enhance communication and collaboration skills of caregivers
in woking with the licensing agency, the birth parents, schools, courts and other stakeholders.
Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
Adolescent Development (3 Hours) (Foster Care Fundamentals) This workshop focuses on the physical, cognitive, social and emotional
development of adolescents (ages 12-21). Participants will learn about typical development, why adolescents can have such
challenging behaviors, and how to support healthy development in adolescents. Return to Foster Care Fundamentals List
|