Foster Care

Melissa and I are going to finish up the foster care classes that we started last year. I don't know if now is the time to do foster care or adoption, but we do want to get liscensed. That way when the time is right we have already done all of the needed preparation.

Here is our schedule (All classes start at 5:30pm and go until 9:30pm):

July 27: Adoption
The class focuses on issues children who have been adopted may have and issues adoptive parents may have. Parents understands the three common parental responses to a child. The adoptive parents recognize common post-adoption issues for both parent and child, including loss, identity, control, and divided loyalties. Adoptive parents understand how parental fantasies about a “dream child” and the child’s fantasy of his/her birth parents can impact the long-range adjustment of the family. The adoptive parent recognizes how a child’s cognitive and emotional development can affect the child’s understanding of adoption, and his/her ability to cope with conflicting feelings. The adoptive parent can identify events that trigger adoption issues. The adoptive parent also understands the positive impact of utilizing resources. The adoptive parent understands the importance of talking to the child about adoption, discussing adoption issues, and the birth history of the child in a positive manner.

July 31: Cultural Issues and Primary Families
Class discussion includes defining the difference between culture versus race, ethnicity and gender. Caregivers recognize the harm in stereotyping and ethnocentrism. Trainers present material on how culture may affect the perceptions and reactions of children, teens and their families in placement. The caregivers will understand the importance of helping children maintain a healthy cultural identity and incorporate elements of a child’s cultural heritage into family practices. The second half of class focuses on working with the birth families. The caregivers will better understand the type of problems that contribute to risk of abuse and neglect of children. Discussion will also include the dangers of stereotyping birth families, how to recognize strengths in the birth families, recognizing a child’s feelings toward their parents and understanding the grieving cycle from the eyes of a birth parent that has had children removed.

August 9: Medical, Licensing, and Policy
The first half of class is taught by Division of Child and Family Services nurses. They explain the expectations with doctor appointments, dental appointments and eye exams. After this class, a foster parent should know and be familiar with time frames of getting children physical examinations, etc. The last half of class is DCFS policy and procedure. Class discussion focuses on level of care, level of reimbursement, the application process, the licensing process and general policies of DCFS.

August 14: Abuse and Neglect
The first half of class focuses on abuse and neglect while the second half focuses on sex abuse. This class provides an overview of what constitutes child abuse and neglect, to learn how to recognize indicators of maltreatment in children, and to help potential foster and adoptive parents begin to understand the stresses and dynamics in families in which maltreatment occurs. The second half of class discussion will focus around the definition and types of child sexual abuse, the dynamics of child sexual abuse, sexual behaviors that can constitute child sexual abuse, characteristics of children who have been sexually abused, understanding children who have suffered from sexual abuse need time and understanding to recover, and potential families will have a greater understanding that sexual abuse is a complex problem and on-going training is highly recommended to successfully care for children who have experienced sex abuse.

August 21: Attachment, Separation, Grief, and Loss
Class discussion revolves around potential negative effects of separation for the child and birth family, and how to help children handle feelings of sadness, loss, anxiety, and anger. Caregivers will recognize the negative impact of multiple placements on a child’s emotional, cognitive, and social development and behavior. Caregivers will learn how emotional conflict may arise for a child during the placement process related to issues of divided loyalty, perceived abandonment or rejection, reactivation of feelings from previous separations, and ambivalence about attachment and permanence. Caregivers will also have a greater understanding of how a child’s developmental level affects his/her understanding of and reactions of out-of-home placement.

August 23: Discipline and Effects of Care Giving
Class discussion revolves around appropriate goals of discipline, the understanding of why children are perceived to misbehave and effective discipline strategies. Trainers present materials on why physical discipline is very harmful for children in general, especially children who have experienced abuse. Discussion will also include selecting discipline that is age appropriate, parallels a child’s developmental level, his/her past experiences and his/her situation. The second half of class focuses on recognizing the potential effects of foster parenting children who have experienced maltreatment and loss. The trainers present material on family stress, how to recognize it and how to cope. The class also addresses what to do in case of allegations.