Learning to Communicate: Developing Social Skills will equip parents to understand the process of communicating with children, teaching children to communicate with adults and peers, and developing interpersonal social skills. It offers strategies and ideas to help parents and children communicate with each other more effectively and offers strategies to help children in care specifically. […]

Preventing Child Abuse: Types, Signs & Symptoms will inform parents of the definition of child abuse and ways it can be prevented. It provides descriptions and statistics of different types of abuse and the signs and symptoms of each type of abuse. The training discusses the difference between discipline and punishment and strategies for abuse […]

Positive Adoption Language: Part 1 will discuss the power and impact of words and terminology related to adoption and foster care. This training will provide strategies to help parents reword common terms and misconceptions into positive language that is unique to foster care and adoption, such as working with birth families, facing diversity and society’s […]

New Placements: Preparing & Adjusting Family Roles will help foster and adoptive parents introduce new placements into their existing family units. It gives ideas and strategies on how to prepare children and family already in the home to best welcome a new foster or adoptive child. It also describes challenges children already in the home […]

Understanding the Brain and Fear Responses in Traumatized Children provides an overview of brain development and how fight/flight/freeze fear responses may manifest in children who have experienced trauma. In addition, strategies for caregivers to manage fear based behavior is discussed. After completing this training, participants will be able to: Articulate the basics of brain development […]

Confidentiality in Foster Care explores the importance of protecting the confidentiality of children in care. It offers strategies for how sensitive information about children in care can be communicated in appropriate ways while maintaining confidentiality. Maintaining a child’s confidentiality across a variety of settings, including social media, is addressed. After completing this training, participants will […]

Learning to Communicate: Developing Social Skills will equip parents to understand the process of communicating with children, teaching children to communicate with adults and peers, and developing interpersonal social skills. It offers strategies and ideas to help parents and children communicate with each other more effectively and offers strategies to help children in care specifically. […]

Preparing Children for Permanency equips foster/adoptive parents with strategies to prepare children for permanency. It offers insight on the thoughts and emotional reactions that a child transitioning to permanency may experience. It also explores ways to help children understand and express their emotions during this time of transition. After completing this training, participants will be […]

Transracial Parenting: Ages 12-18 explores the unique experiences of transracial foster/adoptive families and examines developmental stages of racial identity development in youth ages twelve to eighteen. The training provides strategies on how to handle situations brought about by racism and views within society on transracial families. After completing this training, participants will be able to: […]

Attachment & Bonding with your Foster & Adopted Child equips parents to enhance their relationship with foster/adopted children by teaching them the basics about bonding and attachment. This training also provides practical tips for promoting both bonding and attachment. After completing this training, participants will be able to: Articulate attachment styles and challenges to attachment […]

Adoption: Understanding Your Commitment explores adoption dissolution. It addresses the impact on a child and family when adoption dissolution occurs and offers strategies and resources to prevent it. After completing this training, participants will be able to: Interpret information about adoption dissolution and reasons why it occurs. Identify strategies to prevent adoption dissolution. ASK-VIP trainings […]

Creating Memories & Meaningful Family Traditions for Blended Families will inform parents of triggers children in their home may have and what they can do as parents to help create new memories that will add to their healing process. This training will also discuss activities and ideas for creating memories and new family traditions with […]

Description A Child’s Education: Rights & Responsibilities will inform parents of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The training informs foster and adoptive parents of the processes used to determine eligibility requirements for children with disabilities. In addition, this training will equip participants to ensure children ages three to twenty-one have access to the […]

Transracial Parenting: Ages 0-5 explores the unique experiences of transracial families and examines developmental stages of racial identity development in young children. It offers strategies to create an environment that is conducive to the formation of a positive identity, as well as strategies to help children develop coping skills and methods of maintaining a positive […]

Healthy Boundaries in Teenage Relationships explores healthy and unhealthy dating behaviors. It is designed to assist caregivers in identifying warning signs that a teen may be involved in an abusive dating relationship and provides suggestions for talking to teens and/or their friends who find themselves involved in such relationships. After completing this training, participants will […]

Drugs: Things You Need to Know is designed to inform parents of the many different classifications of illicit drugs, as well as the current trends related to adolescent drug abuse. Detailed descriptions of commonly abused drugs are provided, including the appearance of these drugs and the effects they produce in users. The importance of identifying […]

Blended Families: Parenting Children When They Don’t Get Along assists caregivers with identifying issues that children may experience that are unique to blended families. It offers strategies to create a peaceful environment for children within a blended family who are experiencing difficulty getting along with one another. It also offers tools to empower children to […]

Healthy Boundaries: Strategies for Answering Tough Questions helps foster and adoptive parents understand the importance of setting boundaries in their lives. It explains the different types of boundaries (Physical and Emotional) and offers strategies and ideas to help parents work with children to build their own boundaries, especially when it comes to intrusive questions asked […]

ARC Meetings & IEPs: The Basics will help foster and adoptive parents understand the process of an ARC Meeting and gain a better perspective of what an IEP will look like. It offers strategies and ideas to help parents be prepared the ARC meetings. This training also offers sample IEP goals and objectives to give […]

First Steps: Kentucky’s Early Intervention System explores the services provided by this program. Participants learn how to refer children ages zero to three who have developmental delays, or medical conditions known to cause developmental delays, for First Steps services. How to work with the program to create an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is explored. […]

Working with Birth Families to Achieve Permanency will equip foster parents many different ways to positively work with birth families toward the initial goal of reunification. The training also discusses the alternatives to reunification including relative placement and open adoption. It explains why including the birth families in these various placements is vital for the […]

Helping Foster & Adopted Children Transition to a New School will assist foster/adoptive parents in preparing to enroll a child in a new school. It will also provide practical tips for helping their children explain adoption to their classmates in a way that is comfortable to them and gives suggestions regarding answers to common adoption […]

Promoting Stability & Increasing Resiliency for Children in Care explores the concepts of stability and resiliency and introduces skills for building resiliency in children who have experienced trauma. After completing this training, participants will be able to: Identify the differences between stability and resiliency and what it means to children in care. Describe ways to build […]

Helping Your Child to Succeed in School will increase the ability of foster/adoptive parents to understand educational challenges faced by foster/adopted children. It will give resource parents the tools for creating a positive educational experience for their foster/adopted child, and equip them with the necessary tools to help support their children in the educational setting. […]

Keeping Families Strong provides foster parents insight on how to keep partnerships, families and friendships strong while providing care to out of home children. It will also provide strategies for foster parents to build workable boundaries around these key elements to keep their core families strong while providing foster care. After completing this training, participants […]

Bullying provides parents an overview of bullying behaviors that children, teens, and young adults may encounter and the effects it has on children, youth and society as a whole. This training also provides strategies to help prevent and intervene if bullying is suspected, or what to do if you suspect your child is exhibiting bullying […]

Transracial Parenting: Ages 5-12 explores the unique experiences of transracial families and examines developmental stages of racial identity development in elementary and middle school-aged children. It offers strategies to create an environment that is conducive to the formation of a positive identity, as well as strategies to help children develop coping skills and methods of […]