Foster Care Training
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Foster Care Training - Public and Private
AFS provides free, comprehensive foster care training to public and private agencies and individuals on a variety of topics related to foster care, mental health and family support. Contracted by Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, every class is led by certified personnel who conform to best practices.
Examples of training subjects include:
- pre-service training for adoptive and foster parents
- working within the child welfare system
- foster and adoptive parent orientation
- trauma-informed parenting
- de-escalation techniques
- First Aid/CPR
- cultural competency
- compassion fatigue
FAQs on Training for Resource Families and Professionals
Who are these service trainings open to?
Trainings are primarily open to current and applying foster and adoptive parents (Resource Parents), kinship caregivers, mental health and child welfare service providers, staff at accredited foster family agencies and individuals in need of continuing education and requisite training hours (CEUs).
Where are training sessions located?
Training classes are available in the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano. Please see below for our training calendar and to register for an upcoming session.
How often does service training occur?
We aim to provide training sessions at least once a month, if not more frequently. For specific dates and information about classes and training sessions coming up, please see below for our detailed training calendar.
Get in Touch
Interested in learning more about service training and upcoming foster care training sessions and classes? Contact us via email at traininginfo@afs4kids.org o
Helpful Links
To learn more about foster care, mental health and the Resource Parent application process, be sure to check out these helpful links:
- Foster Care Training website for Chabot-Las Positas Community College District.
- How to Become a Resource Parent through AFS
- Resource Parent Application
- All About the AFS Adoption Process
- Current Job Openings with AFS
Training Calendar
Sign up for any class via email at: traininginfo@afs4kids.org
Please include the training, date and city in the subject line.
Resource Family Pre Approval Training - Session 3&4
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/21/2023
10:00AM - 4:00PM
This training is designed to prepare resource families to work with youth in the foster care system. Participants will receive a better understanding of the foster care system structure and explore how to provide a well-planned, safe, and secure environment designed to meet children's individual and unique needs, and how to create an environment that promotes children's social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will continue to review; Interim Licensing Standard, Child Growth and Development, Medication Guidelines, Discipline, Working with Biological Families and understanding the Effects of Trauma.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach - English
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/25/2023
10:00AM - 11:30AM
This introduction will preview the fundamentals of The WisdomPath Way Reparative Parenting Approach for Case Workers and Family Support Workers This model is a culturally inclusive parent child coaching model for resource, adoptive,
and biological parents who are raising children with trauma history childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances The WPW RP approach teaches caregivers that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it Case Workers and Family Support workers will then be able to assist Resource and Adoptive families to implement the WPW RP approach in the home and family life.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/26/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach - Spanish
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/27/2023
6:00PM - 7:30PM
This introduction will preview the fundamentals of The WisdomPath Way Reparative Parenting Approach for Case Workers and Family Support Workers This model is a culturally inclusive parent child coaching model for resource, adoptive,
and biological parents who are raising children with trauma history childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances The WPW RP approach teaches caregivers that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it Case Workers and Family Support workers will then be able to assist Resource and Adoptive families to implement the WPW RP approach in the home and family life.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/2/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Non-Violent Crisis Prevention When Working With System Involved Youth - Part 2
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/6/2023
5:30PM - 8:30PM
This training will introduce Crisis Prevention Interventions, with an emphasis on early intervention and nonphysical methods for preventing or managing disruptive and assaultive behavior. Trainers will review effective communication and human physiology during aggressive moments, as well as core philosophy of maintaining Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security, which provides the training’s solid foundation. Many human service professionals around the world have participated in CPI training programs to learn proven strategies for safely resolving situations when confronted by anxious, hostile, or violent behavior, while protecting the therapeutic relationships with those in their care.
Fundamentals of Infant and Toddler Care - Spanish
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/6/2023
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Presenter will review in Spanish the basic care and precautions while caring for infants in the foster care system. The training covers best practices in sleep rules when caring for infants. Presenter will discuss new crib standards, crib recalls, safety hazards and how they affect a safe sleeping environment. Training addresses the proper way to feed and burp a new born infant and how to make certain the infant is consuming the proper amount formula, basic diaper rash symptoms and how to properly treat and prevent rashes. Presenter also discusses common health issues in infants and toddlers in Foster Care. Presenter will discuss teething, infant development stages and milestones, well baby checkups, and immunizations. The basic side effects from prenatal drug exposure will be reviewed and how it can prevent the child from reaching age appropriate milestones, creating significantly more health issues and caregiving demands.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/9/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Medication Handling When Working with System Involved Youth
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/16/2023
10:00AM - 12:00PM
Information and worksheets are reviewed to assist Resource Parents in understanding the importance of medication management and documentation when working with youth in the foster care system; per Community Care Licensing. Discussion regarding foster parents and youth recognizing when medication evaluations are necessary, weighing options for medication use, asking questions about their diagnosis and treatment, taking medication safely and documentation and compliance. This information pertains to any medication prescribed or recommended for youth in out of home care. This information can be used directly by youth or serve as a discussion tool for treatment team, foster parents, mentors, and others working with youth in foster care.
Medication Handling When Working with System Involved Youth - Spanish
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/17/2023
10:00AM - 12:00PM
Information and worksheets are reviewed in SPANISH to assist Resource Parents in understanding the importance of medication management and documentation when working with youth in the foster care system; per Community Care Licensing. Discussion regarding foster parents and youth recognizing when medication evaluations are necessary, weighing options for medication use, asking questions about their diagnosis and treatment, taking medication safely and documentation and compliance. This information pertains to any medication prescribed or recommended for youth in out of home care. This information can be used directly by youth or serve as a discussion tool for treatment team, foster parents, mentors, and others working with youth in foster care.
Trauma Informed Parenting- "Parenting in Oz" Part 1
Trauma Impact
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/18/2023
10:00AM - 1:30PM
“Parenting In OZ!” is an experiential, memorable, trauma-informed, parenting curriculum designed to help parents and staff understand and respond therapeutically to the acting-out behaviors often exhibited by children who have experienced the trauma of neglect, abuse, and loss. Utilizing the vivid imagery from “The Wizard of OZ” and the emergency room, this unique training is an entertaining, multi-sensory approach to working with trauma that both professionals and parents cannot help but remember and integrate into their work. Trauma informed parenting is a paradigm shift for many parents who have often been trained to utilize tools designed to bring external controls to address or remediate problematic behaviors within a particular environment.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/23/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach- Session 1 Spanish
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/24/2023
10:00AM - 11:30AM
This is part 1 of a 5 part series. The WPW RP Approach is a culturally inclusive parent-child coaching model for resource, adoptive, and biological parents who are raising children with trauma-exposed, childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances. The WPW RP Approach teaches parents that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.” The WPW RP Approach first illuminates the relational intersection between the traumatized child’s developing brain/body and the parent’s challenging job to identify and heal the “stuck” places in attachment, self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and compliance to the social contract of rules, limits, and boundaries. Secondly, the WPW RP Approach provides parents with strategic methods and tools to help children “surrender to belonging” and to rediscover their innate desire to connect, fit, and belong within the relational LifeSpace the parents inhabit. This 15-hour training introduces key components of the WPW RP Approach to caregivers to shift their understanding of parenting from behavior management/control to a relational, coaching approach in which they can confidently teach their children the social contract of “this is what we do and how we do it.” These reparative parent-child LifeSpace coaching moments help promote the development of self-love, selfdiscipline, and self-regulation for these children. the WPW RP Approach highlights the parent-child relationship and larger family system as unique dyadic and multi-relational units of enduring value that serve as the fundamental training ground for the child's successful participation in the greater social community. Human children, like the young of all mammalian species, require the addition of parents to not only protect and nurture but to have the necessary knowledge and authority to teach and coach how to be human; the nexus of which includes acceptable and unacceptable conduct, development of a value system and moral code, and adaptive defensive strategies.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/19/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Trauma Informed Parenting- "Parenting in Oz" Part 1
Trauma Impact
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/21/2023
10:00AM - 1:30PM
“Parenting In OZ!” is an experiential, memorable, trauma-informed, parenting curriculum designed to help parents and staff understand and respond therapeutically to the acting-out behaviors often exhibited by children who have experienced the trauma of neglect, abuse, and loss. Utilizing the vivid imagery from “The Wizard of OZ” and the emergency room, this unique training is an entertaining, multi-sensory approach to working with trauma that both professionals and parents cannot help but remember and integrate into their work. Trauma informed parenting is a paradigm shift for many parents who have often been trained to utilize tools designed to bring external controls to address or remediate problematic behaviors within a particular environment.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach - English
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/25/2023
6:00PM - 7:30PM
This introduction will preview the fundamentals of The WisdomPath Way Reparative Parenting Approach for Case Workers and Family Support Workers This model is a culturally inclusive parent child coaching model for resource, adoptive,
and biological parents who are raising children with trauma history childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances The WPW RP approach teaches caregivers that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it Case Workers and Family Support workers will then be able to assist Resource and Adoptive families to implement the WPW RP approach in the home and family life.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach - Spanish
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/27/2023
10:00AM - 11:30AM
This introduction will preview the fundamentals of The WisdomPath Way Reparative Parenting Approach for Case Workers and Family Support Workers This model is a culturally inclusive parent child coaching model for resource, adoptive,
and biological parents who are raising children with trauma history childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances The WPW RP approach teaches caregivers that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it Case Workers and Family Support workers will then be able to assist Resource and Adoptive families to implement the WPW RP approach in the home and family life.
Trauma Informed Parenting- "Parenting in Oz" Part 2
Trauma Impact
DISTANCE LEARNING
1/28/2023
10:00AM - 1:30PM
“Parenting In OZ!” is an experiential, memorable, trauma-informed, parenting curriculum designed to help parents and staff understand and respond therapeutically to the acting-out behaviors often exhibited by children who have experienced the trauma of neglect, abuse, and loss. Utilizing the vivid imagery from “The Wizard of OZ” and the emergency room, this unique training is an entertaining, multi-sensory approach to working with trauma that both professionals and parents cannot help but remember and integrate into their work. Trauma informed parenting is a paradigm shift for many parents who have often been trained to utilize tools designed to bring external controls to address or remediate problematic behaviors within a particular environment.
Fundamentals of Infant and Toddler Care
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/6/2023
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Presenter will review the basic care and precautions while caring for infants in the foster care system. The training covers best practices in sleep rules when caring for infants. Presenter will discuss new crib standards, crib recalls, safety hazards and how they affect a safe sleeping environment. Training addresses the proper way to feed and burp a new born infant and how to make certain the infant is consuming the proper amount formula, basic diaper rash symptoms and how to properly treat and prevent rashes. Presenter also discusses common health issues in infants and toddlers in Foster Care. Presenter will discuss teething, infant development stages and milestones, well baby checkups, and immunizations. The basic side effects from prenatal drug exposure will be reviewed and how it can prevent the child from reaching age appropriate milestones, creating significantly more health issues and caregiving demands.
Medication Handling When Working with System Involved Youth
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/8/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
Information and worksheets are reviewed to assist Resource Parents in understanding the importance of medication management and documentation when working with youth in the foster care system; per Community Care Licensing. Discussion regarding foster parents and youth recognizing when medication evaluations are necessary, weighing options for medication use, asking questions about their diagnosis and treatment, taking medication safely and documentation and compliance. This information pertains to any medication prescribed or recommended for youth in out of home care. This information can be used directly by youth or serve as a discussion tool for treatment team, foster parents, mentors, and others working with youth in foster care.
Resource Family Pre Approval Training - Session 1&2
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/11/2023
10:00AM - 4:00PM
This training is designed to prepare resource families to work with youth in the foster care system. Participants will receive a better understanding of the foster care system structure and explore how to provide a well-planned, safe, and secure environment designed to meet children's individual and unique needs, and how to create an environment that promotes children's social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will continue to review; Interim Licensing Standard, Child Growth and Development, Medication Guidelines, Discipline, Working with Biological Families and understanding the Effects of Trauma.
Exploring Foster Care and Adoption
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/16/2023
6:00PM - 8:00PM
This training is designed to introduce prospective Resource Families to the Child Welfare System and the role of a resource parent. Participants will receive an overview of the steps to becoming a resource parent with Alternative Family Services.
Resource Family Pre Approval Training - Session 3&4
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/18/2023
10:00AM - 4:00PM
This training is designed to prepare resource families to work with youth in the foster care system. Participants will receive a better understanding of the foster care system structure and explore how to provide a well-planned, safe, and secure environment designed to meet children's individual and unique needs, and how to create an environment that promotes children's social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Participants will continue to review; Interim Licensing Standard, Child Growth and Development, Medication Guidelines, Discipline, Working with Biological Families and understanding the Effects of Trauma.
Introduction To
WisdomPath
Ways Reparative
Parenting Model
A Trauma Informed Parenting Approach- Session 1 English
For Caregivers
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/22/2023
6:00PM - 7:30PM
This is part 1 of a 5 part series. The WPW RP Approach is a culturally inclusive parent-child coaching model for resource, adoptive, and biological parents who are raising children with trauma-exposed, childhood experiences that result in emotional and behavioral disturbances. The WPW RP Approach teaches parents that the LifeSpace children are born into provides the training ground for the child’s developmental journey in which the brain itself is learning and encoding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.” The WPW RP Approach first illuminates the relational intersection between the traumatized child’s developing brain/body and the parent’s challenging job to identify and heal the “stuck” places in attachment, self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and compliance to the social contract of rules, limits, and boundaries. Secondly, the WPW RP Approach provides parents with strategic methods and tools to help children “surrender to belonging” and to rediscover their innate desire to connect, fit, and belong within the relational LifeSpace the parents inhabit. This 15-hour training introduces key components of the WPW RP Approach to caregivers to shift their understanding of parenting from behavior management/control to a relational, coaching approach in which they can confidently teach their children the social contract of “this is what we do and how we do it.” These reparative parent-child LifeSpace coaching moments help promote the development of self-love, selfdiscipline, and self-regulation for these children. the WPW RP Approach highlights the parent-child relationship and larger family system as unique dyadic and multi-relational units of enduring value that serve as the fundamental training ground for the child's successful participation in the greater social community. Human children, like the young of all mammalian species, require the addition of parents to not only protect and nurture but to have the necessary knowledge and authority to teach and coach how to be human; the nexus of which includes acceptable and unacceptable conduct, development of a value system and moral code, and adaptive defensive strategies.
Trauma Informed Parenting- "Parenting in Oz" Part 2
Trauma Impact
DISTANCE LEARNING
2/25/2023
10:00AM - 1:30PM
“Parenting In OZ!” is an experiential, memorable, trauma-informed, parenting curriculum designed to help parents and staff understand and respond therapeutically to the acting-out behaviors often exhibited by children who have experienced the trauma of neglect, abuse, and loss. Utilizing the vivid imagery from “The Wizard of OZ” and the emergency room, this unique training is an entertaining, multi-sensory approach to working with trauma that both professionals and parents cannot help but remember and integrate into their work. Trauma informed parenting is a paradigm shift for many parents who have often been trained to utilize tools designed to bring external controls to address or remediate problematic behaviors within a particular environment.