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~ Treatment Foster Care Training ~

Lucas County Children Services offers free treatment foster care training to caregivers that hold a current public foster care license from one of the Northwest Ohio counties. This training will provide participants with skills necessary to pursue becoming a treatment foster parent, and secure skills needed to assist families with special needs children. 

LCCS has staff that are certified Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care trainers. They have completed the requirements to train the Pressley Ridge Foster Parent pre-service training curriculum. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate of completion. 

This course is offered in person only, and is offered to caregivers and agency staff. Both caregivers and staff must be approved by their employing or licensing agency to participate. Candidates for a treatment foster care license have additional requirements that must be completed before receiving a license.

APPLY FOR TRAINING

After completing Online Application Form above, an LCCS staff member will contact you.
For additional information, contact Melonny King, Manager, Training and Development, at [email protected]

About Pressley Ridge
Since 1981, Pressley Ridge has successfully trained thousands of foster parents and foster care agencies across 31 states in our competency-based curriculum. Nearly 170 agencies are currently training their staff and resource parents using the Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care Parent Pre-Service curriculum, which reflects many years of research, writing, and experience.

Parent Training Manual

The Parent Training Manual is an invaluable resource that captures the core competencies of effective treatment parenting. Organized in 12 units, the participant manual contains the essence of the course content in the form of summary readings, case examples, job aids, and worksheets to reinforce the transfer of learning into everyday practice.

**Now available in Spanish!**

Curriculum Overview

The following is a summary of each of the units contained in the Pressley Ridge Treatment Parent Training. The summary is in the form of critical questions that you can expect your participant/parents to answer at the conclusion of each unit.

  • What are the purpose, goals and expectations of the training?
  • What is the history and purpose of treatment foster care?
  • What are the core elements of treatment foster care and where does it fit in the continuum of services for troubled children?
  • How does treatment foster care differ from traditional or regular foster care?
  • What do we mean by “permanency planning”?
  • What are some of the realities and challenges of being a treatment parent?
  • What does it mean to be a “professional parent”?
  • What are the key behaviors and characteristics of professional treatment parents?
  • What are some of the challenges for treatment foster families?
  • What are some of the “sticky situations” that foster families might experience?
  • What level of supervision should parents provide children?
  • What is a Family Policy and why are they important for foster children?
  • What is a Sexual Safety Contract? How does it maintain safety in our relationships?
  • What is my role as an advocate for children in my care?
  • What exactly are my roles and responsibilities as a treatment foster parent?
  • Are there paperwork requirements or documents that I need to complete?
  • What type of support will I receive from others?
  • What are the legal obligations and expectations of a treatment parent?
  • What about correcting misbehavior — can I discipline as I do/would my own children?
  • How do I respond to allegations of abuse? What if a child shares secrets of abuse?
  • What is my role as a member of the agency’s treatment team?
  • What do I need to know about child and adolescent development?
  • How should I respond to developmental needs and behavior challenges?
  • What affect does childhood trauma have on children and their development?
  • How do I support a child with a history of traumatic experiences?
  • What do I need to know and understand about sexual abuse?
  • What are neurodevelopment disorders and how do they affect treatment foster children?
  • What are some of the common psychiatric diagnoses of children in care today?
  • What are some skills and techniques I can sue to support children with some of the most common psychiatric diagnoses?
  • Will my foster child have psychiatric diagnosis and be on some special medications? What do I need to know and do regarding medications?
  • How do I go about forming a relationship with my foster child? What can I expect?
  • What influence does a child’s separation from his/her parents have on their new relationship with the foster parents?
  • How can I demonstrate respect for the child’s biological family? What are some ways that I can include a child’s cultural background into my home?
  • How can I promote attachment and build a positive relationship with my foster child?
  • What is therapeutic communication and how does it differ from typical parental responses?
  • How can I communicate in a way that builds relationships?
  • How can I listen so that children will talk? What is active listening?
  • How can I communicate in a way that helps children manage their feelings, behavior and solve problems?
  • What are the components to therapeutic communication?
  • Why do children behave that way, and what can we do about it?
  • How do children learn to behave?
  • What is the difference between natural and imposed consequences?
  • What are the criteria for selecting a child’s behavior for change?
  • How can I. manage my own feelings while teaching a child to behave appropriately?
  • Discipline versus punishment — what’s the difference?
  • What parenting skills do I need to influence a child’s behavior?
  • What is a behavior motivation system? Do they really work?
  • What are behavior contracts, and how can they help change behavior?
  • What behavior support and discipline strategies do professional treatment parents use to promote positive behavior change?
  • What if a child is able but not willing to behave appropriately?
  • How do I know when and what to teach? Is there a criterion for deciding?
  • What does skill teaching look like? Are there steps I can follow to teach a child positive behaviors?
  • Why is it important to focus on a child’s personal strengths?
  • What kind of conflict might I experience as a treatment parent?
  • Can conflict be healthy and constructive?
  • What approaches can I use in responding to conflicts?
  • Is there a techniques or steps that I can follow to resolving conflict?
  • What is a crisis? What does a crisis look like in treatment foster care?
  • What are the main objectives for a treatment parent in response to a crisis?
  • How can my understanding of the Crisis Cycle and Stages help me manage my response to children in crisis?
  • What are some early prevention techniques that I can use to prevent a crisis?
  • How can I help turn a crisis into a learning opportunity?