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Courses in Development

On an average day at Foster Parent College, 10 or more courses are typically in some stage of development. Each new course is created in collaboration with a nationally recognized expert in the field, reviewed by additional outside experts, and produced by our in-house production studio. Our course development process is intense and usually takes at least a year to complete.

Courses in Production

  • Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in Care (tentative title)

    Like all children and youth, those who identify as LGBTQ+ thrive and succeed when their families, schools, and communities support and nurture them. This course is designed to help resource parents understand the stresses and concerns of LGBTQ+ youth in care, as well as how to create a supportive and affirming home and family. It is being developed by Angela Weeks, DBA, who has extensive experience creating and implementing programs that improve the lives of LGBTQ+ youth in care. The course also features videos from six former foster youth who identify as LGBTQ+ talking about their experiences while in care.

    Anticipated release: Early 2024

  • CPR: An Awareness-Level Training (tentative title)

    This awareness-level interactive training is being developed by Foster Parent College and Angie Buckalew and Megan Wendling of HTH Safety Solutions. The course is designed specifically for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents to increase their knowledge, skills, and preparedness to provide CPR for infants, children, and adults. The course also provides training on how to use an AED with CPR and how to prevent injuries that could lead to the need for CPR.

    Anticipated release: Summer 2024

  • First Aid: An Awareness-Level Training (tentative title)

    Being developed with Angie Buckalew and Megan Wendling of HTH Safety Solutions, this awareness-level interactive course will provide resource parents and caregivers with practical knowledge and resources to be ready to use the life-saving skills of first aid. The training will build resource parents’ knowledge of how to recognize that a medical emergency is taking place; how to care for injuries; and how to apply trauma-informed parenting skills before, during, and after an emergency. The course will also cover how to prevent injuries that could lead to the need for first aid.

    Anticipated release: TBD

  • Secondary Trauma: A Self-Care Course (tentative title)

    Caring for children who have been exposed to trauma can be traumatic itself. In this course, being developed with Rowena Mudiappa, LCSW, we help resource parents understand how stress, especially secondary traumatic stress, can impact their own health. Then we guide them through developing an individualized plan for managing this stress.

    Anticipated release: TBD

  • Parenting Youth Who Have Been Trafficked (tentative title)

    Supporting youth who have experienced labor and/or sex trafficking requires resource parents to understand the nuances of a youth’s risks, respond appropriately when trafficking is happening, and engage in effective prevention education. This course is being developed with Carolina Fuentes, LCSW, who has experience developing curricula for both preventing human trafficking and supporting youth who have experienced it.

    Anticipated release: TBD

Recently Added Courses

  • Healthy Sexual Development

    Sexual health is a critical part of all youth’s development, especially youth who have experienced trauma. This course takes a broad approach to sexual health, with the goal of helping all young people in care develop the skills to set safe boundaries, have healthy relationships, and develop sexual competence. Scripted in collaboration with Ellen Friedrichs, MA, a health educator, and presented by Theresa Reed, MEd, an experienced resource parent trainer, this course will give resource parents the tools to talk with the youth in their care about sexuality and sexual health. It also includes four foster care alumni talking about their experiences around sexual health while in care and the impact of those experiences on their lives. It is filled with practical strategies and conversation starters that will help resource parents have conversations with youth that fit the youth’s developmental, emotional, and cognitive levels.

    Added: October 2023

  • ¿Es posible que sea TEAF? (translated from Could It Be FASD?)

    While fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are surprisingly common in children in care, they can often be difficult to diagnose, as the signs and symptoms are associated with a number of other conditions. This course was developed by Kathryn Page, PhD, a former director of an FASD diagnostic clinic and author on the subject of FASD, and Robert Nickel, MD, a developmental pediatrician. It explores fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, how to identify them, and how parents can support children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol. This Spanish-language version was translated from and dubbed over the original English-language course.

    Added: June 2023

  • Preparación de adolescentes para la educación superior (translated from Preparing Teens for Postsecondary Education)

    Attending college or other postsecondary education can be a challenge for any person. However, children in care face unique educational challenges as a result of the complex trauma they have experienced and a lack of resources and support. This course, developed with John Burton Advocates for Youth, explores how resource parents can help youth in grades 6 to 10 overcome obstacles, prepare for postsecondary education, and achieve their educational and career goals. This Spanish-language version was translated from and dubbed over the original English-language course.

    Added: May 2023

  • Autism: A Strength-Based Approach

    This course was developed with Robert Nickel, MD, a developmental pediatrician, and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD, an autism advocate, an autistic woman herself, and adoptive mother of a child with autism. It will help resource parents understand what autism is, what it’s like to be autistic, what services are available, and which parenting strategies will help children get the right supports.

    Added: May 2023

Courses Being Scripted

  • Toxic Stress, Complex Trauma, and Insecure Attachments

  • Helping children tell the truth

  • Sleep problems, 3rd Edition