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Fire Play and Fire-setting Course Updated on FosterParentCollege.com®

September 14, 2016

Screen shot from Fire Play and Fire-setting
Eugene, OR — Most parents are understandably concerned when they discover that their foster or adoptive child has been playing with matches or is involved with setting a fire. To help resource parents understand these two behaviors, Foster Parent College has updated their course Fire Play & Fire-Setting which is now available on the FosterParentCollege.com website.

This introductory course, led by Dr. Rick Delaney, helps all parents increase their understanding about the complexities of fire behavior. As Dr. Delaney outlines in the course, almost all children show an interest in fire, however, sometimes this interest leads to playing with fire or even purposefully setting fires. Dr. Delaney discusses three levels of concern – average, high, or extreme – based on the characteristics of the child, the child's social circumstances, and the fire scenario.

Interactive exercises within the course revolve around three families with children who exhibit fire behavior: young Billy who accidently sets a fire in his bedroom; Tray who shows a higher level of concern; and 15-year-old Catherine, who is now in residential care because of her extreme fire behavior. Through these scenarios, participants learn how to assess the levels of concern. However, as Dr. Delaney reminds us, "fire play and fire-setting are both dangerous and even those situations which might be considered average, should be taken seriously."

This 2 credit course is available on FosterParentCollege.com. FPC provides over 45 interactive, self-paced, online trainings for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents.

FosterParentCollege.com is:

  • Rated by the California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
  • Endorsed by the NFPA, the Foster Family-based Treatment Association and the Canadian Foster Family Association
  • Approved by CASA and the National Adoption Center.

For more information about Fire Play and Fire-setting for resource parents contact Lee White at Lee@Northwestmedia.com.