Current Foster Parents

Ongoing Training Requirements

• All license holders are required to complete 1 hour of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) training
• All license holders are required to complete 1 hour of training related to children's mental health 
• All license holders are required to complete 12 hours of annual training 
• Applicable license holders should complete the C.A.R.S. and SUID&AHT every 5 years
• Applicable license holders should complete the Vulnerable Adults Mandated Reporting training annually
  • A Self-Study Questionnaire should be used for all trainings that do not have a certificate or a post-test

Required Trainings

1. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

This training must be completed within one year of obtaining a license and annually after that.

• Watch the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) video

2. Children's Mental Health

You must complete one training hour (of your choice) related to children's mental health.

3. Car Seat Training 

This training is required if providing care to children 7 years of age or under and must be completed every 5 years.

Visit the develop website and search "C.A.R.S." in keywords. You may have to create an account to register for one of the courses. Winona County only offers this class 4 times per year. You may also check with your licensor for other training options and locations. There is a cost associated with this training.

4. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS) & Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) 

This training is required if providing care to children 5 years of age or under and must be completed every 5 years.

• Watch the SUIDS video produced by Hennepin County (4:17)
• Watch the SUIDS video produced by Eastern Virginia Medical School (5:50)
• Watch the SUIDS video produced by Dakota County (6:28)
• Watch the Never Shake video (7:48)
• Watch the 'The Doctors' video (1:48)
• Watch the Forever Shaken video (33:17)
• Complete the Verification Form (PDF) and submit it to your Child Foster Care Licensor

5. Vulnerable Adults Mandated Training

This training is required if providing care for young adults ages 18 to 21 years old in extended foster care and must be completed annually.

• Review the Vulnerable Adults Mandated Training (1 hour)
• Complete the Certification Assessment and provide Certificate of Completion to your Child Foster Care Licensor

6. 10 Additional Training Hours of Your Preference

These trainings can be trainings of your choice. You do have the option of using up to 6 hours from the foster parent support group and 6 hours of therapy in which you attended with the child in your care. See list of potential options below. 

Additional Training Options

 **Newly Added**    

• 11/6/23 - BRAIN FIRST: The essential framework for parenting your child with challenging behaviors (1 hour 34 minutes)
• 11/28/23 - Minnesota Assessment of Parenting for Children and Youth (MAPCY) – Supporting Children in Care and Permanency (1 hour 43 minutes) 

Videos

Addiction

• Addiction and Child Welfare (1 hour)
• Caring for the Infant Experiencing Withdrawals presented by Becky Baker MSN, RNC and Megan Main BSN, RNC (2 hours)
• What Works for Addiction and Child Welfare? (1 hour)

     Child Development

• Parenting for Brain Development and Prosperity (12 minutes)
• Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood (1 hour)

     Mandated Reporting

• Mandated Reporter (45 minutes)

     Mental Health

• ADHD presented by MN Department of Human Services (1 hour)
• Anxiety presented by MN Department of Human Services (1 hour)
• Autism presented by MN Department of Human Services (1 hour)
• Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope - African American Community (15 minutes)
• Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope - Hmong Community (18 minutes)
• Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope - Native American Community (14 minutes)
• Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope - Latino Community (16 minutes)
• Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope - Somali Community (17 minutes)
• Child Complex Trauma and Parental Belief Systems (30 Minutes)
• Children's Mental Health videos presented by MN Department of Human Services
• Depression presented by MN Department of Human Services (1 hour)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder presented by MN Department of Human Services (1 hour)
• Secondary Traumatic Stress (45 minutes)

     Race & Ethnicity

• Knowing Who You Are (25 minutes)
• Transracial Families (33 minutes)

     Sexually Exploited Youth

• Patterns of Disclosure in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse (30 minutes)

     Other

• Court System (30 minutes)
• Crossover Youth: Implications for Research and Practices (30 minutes)
• Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare (45 minutes)
• Parents with Disabilities in Child Welfare (1 hour)
• Safe Sleep
• Siblings in Foster Care: Assessment Considerations for Child Welfare Professionals (30 minutes)

Podcasts

• Mighty Parenting- Raising Teenagers
• Foster Care 101
• Foster Adopt MN Podcast Library
• Adoptees On conversations through the adoptee's eyes

Articles

     Court

• A guide to court proceedings for foster parents
• Understanding Child Welfare and the Courts (PDF) (11 pages)

     De-Escalation

• De-Escalation and teenagers

     Race & Ethnicity

• Parenting in Racially and Culturally Diverse Adoptive Families (PDF) (14 pages)
• The Realities of Raising a Kid of a Different Race
• Seven suggestions for a successful transracial adoption

     Other

• Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (1 hour) - Complete the reading and take the test.
• Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption (PDF) (10 pages)

Websites

• The Care Courses School, inc.
• Centene Foster Care EDU
• Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
• ChildTrauma Academy
• The Minnesota Quality Improvement and Registry Tool
• Eager-to-Learn
• The Foster Care Institute Trainings
• FosterClub
• FosterParentCollege.com
• FosterParents.com
• FosterParentTraining.com
• Foster Adopt MN
• National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Books

• LGBT Related List
• Multicultural List
• The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption ($22.99) Also in audio ($11.95)

Movies / Documentaries / Webinars

• Closure: A Documentary About Adoption (Buy $6.99 or Rent $2.99) 76 minutes
• Lion (2016) 2 hours
• Love and Logic Online ($99) 6 hours
• Sexually Exploited Youth - Very Young Girls Documentary (warning: profanity) (1 hour 30 minutes)
• Struggle for Identity (rent $10) 40 minutes

In Person/Classroom

• Foster Care Adoption Education Class (16 hours) This class will satisfy all your annual training requirements.

Therapy Sessions

Therapy sessions can be counted for up to 6 hours of training/year if the foster parent participates in the entire session with the child.

• Please complete a self-study questionnaire and return the questionnaire to your Child Foster Care Licensor.

Support Groups

Support groups can be counted for up to 6 hours of training per year.

• North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) Virtual Support Group Calendar
• Local support group hosted by other foster families dates:

          November 2nd, 2023 from 5:30pm-7:30pm at Pleasant Valley church- Foster care information- childcare and pizza provided.

          January 18th, 2024 from 5:30pm-7:30pm at Pleasant Valley Church- Speaker TBD- childcare and pizza provided.

          March 23rd, 2024 from 9:30am-11:00am at Pleasant Valley Church- Easter egg hunt and fun for the whole family.