Foster parents provide safe, secure homes for children removed from their birth families due to issues of abuse, trauma, neglect or other challenging situations. Successful foster parent training provides children with the home environment they require. Additionally, well-executed foster parent training encourages families to remain with the foster care program.
Instructions
Foster Parent Training
1. Create an outline for your foster parent training. Determine how many hours of training your state requires. Some agencies decide to add more hours to the state requirement to more fully train their foster parents. Decide what training topics to include by gathering feedback from case managers as well as current and past foster parents. Based on that feedback, include some or all of the following topics: general parenting, grief and loss, attachment and bonding, sexual abuse issues, birth family contact, aggression and violence, privacy and information issues and record-keeping.
2. Develop a detailed training plan. For each training session, include review of the previous session, education and training, break time, questions and answers and review of the information. Format the presentation of your training materials in engaging, participatory ways. Keep the lecture format to a minimum, and plan to include DVDs, small group activities, games and role-playing. After your training plan is finalized, generate feedback from case managers and foster parents. Revise your plan accordingly.
3. Determine what handouts should accompany your foster parent training. There could be handouts provided at each training session, or you might decide to create a complete training manual. Avoid page after page of straight text. Include color, illustrations, quotes, charts, bullet points and stories.
4. Provide foster parents with a well-rehearsed, enthusiastic presentation of your materials during the training sessions. Prepare any guest presenters with information about their audience. Acknowledge that participants may be anxious or apprehensive about the training. Encourage everyone's participation. If possible, provide an opportunity for current foster parents to answer questions from prospective foster parents attending the training.
5. Create multiple opportunities for foster parents to engage in in-service training after they have complete the pre-service training. Some states require in-service training. For other states, in-service training is optional. In-service training provides foster parents with multiple ways to learn on the job. Possible in-service options include access to books and newsletters, specialized training sessions and attendance at support group meetings.
6. Complete a formal evaluation of your foster parent-training program. Gather information from foster parents and presenters. Successful future foster parent training, shaped through positive and negative feedback, ensures the retention of qualified, confident, capable foster parents.
Tags: foster parents, foster parent training, parent training, foster parent, your foster