Preparing and Supporting Foster Parents Who Adopt

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Course Description:  Foster parent adoption is an important permanency option for children in the child welfare system, and can best be understood by analyzing the benefits, costs and practice implications to this type of adoption practice.

In Preparing and Supporting Foster Parents Who Adopt, Participants will begin with a synopsis of trends in foster parent adoption.  

Next, Participants will consider benefits of foster parents adoption for children and youth, the adopting family, the birth family and larger society.  Additionally, Participants will learn about the costs assumed by foster parents when they adopt as well as how these costs may be mitigated by adoption assistance and other postadoption services.  

Also, Participants will explore the following practices associated with moving families from foster care to adoption: assessment; preparation for adoption; facilitating an ongoing connection between the child and birth family; and working with families who choose not to adopt.  Next, Participants will become familiar with pre- and postadoption services.  Finally, Participants will consider a number of important questions for further research.

This course is intended to provide child welfare professionals, mental health professionals and social workers with an overview of foster parent adoption.

Course Objectives:

• To be familiar with trends in foster parent adoption
• To be aware of foster parent adoption benefits for children and youth, the adopting family, the birth family and society in general
• To identify the costs felt by foster parents
• To consider a number of practices associated with foster parent adoption
• To learn about available pre- and post adoption services
• To explore prospective questions for further research

Child Welfare