Home foster parent training

IYI Library Has Free Resources, Direct to You

The Virginia Beall Ball Library at the Indiana Youth Institute is home to a wide variety of books, DVDs and digital materials—all available to borrow for FREE.

Adult and Child staff has partnered with the Indiana Youth Institute library, and in the near future, you will receive information about a library account that has been created specifically for you. You will be able to log in and browse the catalog to request materials that will be mailed directly to your doorstep at no cost to you, with a postage-paid return envelope included! Your library account will also give you free access to great digital content—both eBooks and audiobooks are available to download anytime, anywhere.

Materials from the Subject Guides, such as Resources for Foster & Adoptive Parents, can be requested by clicking on a title, logging in and placing a request. If you are looking for free access to resources that will help you complete training for licensing requirements, the library has created a link to nearly 60 titles in the library catalog that are listed on the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) approved Alternative In-Service Training List. You can always contact IYI’s librarians at or 1-800-343-7060 if you need any help finding resources and for answers to your questions.

Judge Moores Raises Awareness Around Importance of Foster Homes

Thank you, Judge Moores for bringing awareness to the critical need for more foster homes!

Know someone who is considering fostering? Please have them call 317-893-0207, or email .

Adult and Child Center offers monthly training opportunities for individuals interested in fostering. Our next training is scheduled for Saturday, May 16.

IN*SOURCE Webinar: Transition to Adult Services

Planning for a student’s transition from school to adult life can be complex.  It may include post-secondary education or training and/or community employment, community living and leisure opportunities with family and friends.

IN*SOURCE is hosting a webinar on Monday, March 30, from 7-8:30 p.m. for parents of transition-age youth. This webinar will help parents understand some of the issues addressed in the transition planning process, including: the transition IEP; the roles of the student and family; accessing adult services and supports; the importance of the Rehabilitation Act to transition-age students.

  • When: Monday, March 30, 7-8:30 p.m.
  • Where: Online/ Webinar
  • Registration: Register online by Friday, March 27
  • Please note: Space is limited; registration will be capped. Alternately, if fewer than 3 registrations are received, this webinar may be cancelled.

Presented by Cathy Boswell,  IN*SOURCE Regional Program Specialist. For more information, please contact her at (219) 552-1992 or .

 

“In-Classroom” Training Available at Home

Adult and Child Center is offering field training for foster parents – a customized approach to training that is offered at your home. Field training is an opportunity for you to address the immediate behavioral health needs of the foster children in your care, provide support to you as a foster parent in working with the children on the needed skills, and also give you credit towards your annual training requirements (up to 4 hours each year, per child in your care; maximum of 8 hours per year total training). The goal of this personalized approach is to meet the present needs of the children in your care – with an added benefit of receiving training credit.

Details about field training are included here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is field training? Field training is a customized approach to educating foster parents. When a foster care staff member works with a foster child on a specific skill, or behavior management technique, that foster care staff member will then follow up with the foster parents so the guidance can be continued in the staff member’s absence.

How much training credit will I get? Foster parents will receive credit for training, based on the amount of time the foster care staff member spent educating them on the skill building/behavior management technique, rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes. (See the “Field Training Parameters” for more detail)

What do I need to do to get credit? First, spend time with the foster care staff understanding the skill building/behavior management technique. Then, use what you learned to address that behavior with the foster child. Finally, complete the “Foster Parent Field Training Credit” form (available as a Word file or PDF) and return it to: Adult and Child Center/ Attn: TFC Licensing/ 603 E Washington St., Suite 700/ Indianapolis, IN 46204.

I’ve read the Field Training Credit information and still have questions! No problem – contact our licensing staff at 893-0207.

SafeTALK Suicide Prevention Training

Mental Health America of Greater Indianapolis is offering “safeTALK”, a 3-hour training that prepares anyone over the age of 15 to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first aid resources.

Most people with thoughts of suicide invite help to stay safe. Alert helpers know how to use these opportunities to support that desire for safety.

 

safeTALK attendees will be better able to:

  • move beyond common tendencies to miss, dismiss or avoid suicide;
  • identify people who have thoughts of suicide;
  • apply the TALK steps (Tell, Ask, Listen and KeepSafe) to connect a person with suicide thoughts to suicide first aid, intervention caregivers.

 

When: January 20, 2015 / 2pm-5pm

Where: United Way of Central Indiana, Dale DePoy Conference Room, 1st floor, 3901 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208

Cost: $40 per person

Registration is required.  For questions, please contact: Kelly Turner (Director of Education and Public Affairs, Mental Health America of Greater Indianapolis) 317-251-0005 x1008 or

NAMI offers free “Family to Family” training

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is offering a FREE course for family members of an individual living with a serious mental illness. This 11-week class is for parents, siblings, spouses, adult children, friends and significant others of persons with a serious psychiatric illness, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD. Foster parents who complete the course will receive credit towards their annual training requirement, equal to the time spent attending the sessions.

Classes fill up quickly; early registration is recommended. To register, or for more information, call NAMI Indianapolis at 317-257-7517 or email 

What: “Family to Family” education course
When: Wednesdays, March 25 through June 3 / 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Adult and Child Center / 8320 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46227
Who: Linda Williams & Sue Tarplee, Instructors
Cost: No charge, but registration is required

 

“Mental Health First Aid” training available

Just as CPR training enables you to help an individual having a heart attack – even if you have not had clinical training – Mental Health First Aid provides guidance to assist someone experiencing a mental health-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns; strategies for helping someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations; and where to turn for help.

Attendees who attend the full day will receive credit for 8 training hours and will learn about: depression and mood disorders; anxiety disorders; trauma; psychosis; and substance use disorders.

Please register for the training by contacting Susan Peterson at 893-0207 or emailing .

When: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015/ 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: 603 E Washington St., Indianapolis (6th floor large conference room)
Please Note: You must attend the full day to receive credit (8 hours)

For a complete list of upcoming trainings, please view our training calendar. 

The List: Ongoing Training Opportunities for Licensed Foster Parents

Adult and Child Center provides frequent classroom-style trainings for licensed foster parents (see the schedule here). There are several other options for foster parents to complete their annual training requirements. This document provides a brief outline of several opportunities to complete the required annual training, including: alternative training (often completed on your own schedule, at the library or at home); workshops (in-person trainings offered in a group setting), and individuals instruction (one-on-one training from an Adult and Child staff member).