Learn how to: 1) Register as a New User; 2) Log In; 3) Enroll in the Preservice Curriculum; 4) Locate and Register for Sessions; 5) Launch a Self-Directed Course; 6) Locate and Download Handouts; and 7) Complete the Evaluation
Foster & Adoptive Parents Pre-Service Training Series
Our Foster & Adoptive Parents Preservice Training Series consists of fifteen (15) required courses.
There are two types of series: 1) Online Series and; 2) Hybrid Series (combination of online and in-person courses). The Online Series consists of: 1) courses that you can complete at your own pace and; 2) scheduled, instructor led courses. The Hybrid Series consists of: 1) eleven courses that are presented in a socially distant classroom format; 2) three online self-paced course and; 3) one online scheduled, instructor led course.
In-person training is held in Lucas County at The Northwest Ohio Regional Training Center at 301 Adams St., Toledo, OH 43604. While you are encouraged to complete the entire in-person program in one series, participants may “pick up” any missing classes during a future in-person series.
Pre-Service Training Series
2026 Schedule (Lucas County)
- Friday, January 23, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Sunday, January 25, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Monday, February 23, 2026 | 9:00am – 2:00pm
- Tuesday, February 24, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:15pm
- Thursday, February 26, 2026 | 9:00am – 12:45pm
- Friday, March 27, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Saturday, March 28, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Sunday, March 29, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Saturday May 2, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Friday, June 8, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Saturday, June 9, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Sunday, June 10, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Friday, August 14, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Sunday, August 16, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Monday, September 14, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Monday, October 5, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:45pm
- Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:30pm
- Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Monday, December 7, 2026 | 9:00am – 1:15pm
- Tuesday, December 8, 2026 | 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Wednesday, December 9, 2026 | 9:00am – 3:15pm
- Thursday, December 10, 2026 | 9:00am – 12:15pm
Registration Instructions for Virtual or In-Persons Courses
Three options:
1) Fill-out online Preservice Registration Form
2) Call 419-213-3336
3) or Email [email protected]
Thank you for your interest in becoming a foster/adoptive parent.
If you need assistance signing up for CAPS or registering for the online or in-person courses, please call the LCCS Recruitment unit at 419-213-3336 or email [email protected]
1 Hour (Online/Self-Paced)
Introduces learners to the child protection system and the homestudy process.
The differences between foster care, adoption, and kinship care are also discussed.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the goals of child protection
- Explain the difference between foster care, kinship care, and adoption
1.5 Hours (Online)
Helps learners understand their role on the child protection team as defined by state rules and agency policies. This course also provides an overview of the caregiver’s responsibilities including advocacy, mandated reporting, supporting the Family Case Plan, partnering with the primary family, and meeting the child’s needs.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the primary members of the child protection team and their roles
- Describe your responsibilities to the agency
- Describe your responsibilities to the child
- Describe your responsibilities to the primary family
- Describe your responsibilities to yourself
0.5 Hour (Online/Self-Paced)
Discusses the caregiver’s role in medication management and advocacy. The five “rights” of medication administration are introduced, and medication-related rules are reviewed.
Learning Objectives:
- Can properly manage the child’s medication
- Can support the child’s rights regarding medication
2.5 Hours (In-Person)
Helps learners understand how children come into care and are matched with a family. Laws influencing matching decisions are discussed, including MEPA, ICWA, Title VI. Learners will understand the importance making an informed
decision about the placement and how to create an environment in which the child feels welcomed and safe.
1.5 Hours (In-Person)
Defines trauma and explores how trauma influences brain architecture, development, and the ability to attach.
Learners will:
- consider how trauma may impact not just the child, but others on the child protection team.
- think about how their trauma histories may impact how they will provide care.
1.5 Hours (In-Person)
Focuses on how trauma impacts the children in care. Learners will consider what new skills and knowledge they will need to provide appropriate care to children who have been impacted by trauma.
1.5 Hours (In-Person)
Explores the importance of maintaining the child’s connections to their primary family and other important adults and peers. Learners will be introduced to the C.A.R.E. Guide, Ohio’s recommended best practice in co-parenting. Learners will consider strategies to support the child’s important relationships.
1.5 Hours (In-Person)
Helps learners understand their need to partner with the primary family for the child’s benefit. The importance of empathy is explored, and learners consider child protection from the perspective of the primary family. Learners will hear about the value of partnering from those with lived experience.
1.5 Hour (In-Person)
Introduces the concepts of diversity competence and cultural humility, disproportionality, and disparity. Learners will consider how equity and inclusion efforts can mitigate disparity and disproportionality. Learners will also explore their own implicit bias and think about how they can confront their bias. Strategies for creating an inclusive and equitable home will be discussed.
2 Hour (In-Person)
Discusses the knowledge and skills needed to appropriately discipline children. Learners will consider the importance of re-framing behavior and taking an approach that focuses on relationship, managing their emotions, and being intentional. Learners will also discover how to determine if a discipline strategy is appropriate.
1 Hour (In-Person)
Explains the importance of permanency and reviews permanency options for children in care, including reunification and adoption. Adoption supports, including subsidies, are discussed. Learners will consider how they can help prepare children for permanency.
2 Hour (In-Person)
Module XI of Preservice discusses adoption dynamics impacting families and adopted children. Participants will explore adoption from a developmental perspective as well as consider issues such as maintaining connections “openness” and sharing adoption-related information with the child. Post adoption services including subsidy are also discussed in this module.
2 Hours (In-Person)
Discusses how to find and apply good child development information. It introduces the importance of providing positive childhood experiences and supporting nurturing relationships. Learners are made aware of the concept
of normalcy and how to apply the reasonable and prudent parenting standard.
1 Hour (In-Person)
Explores what happens during adolescence, including brain development, identity development, and life skills development. Learners will consider how they can support adolescents through this period of development.
3 Hours (Online-Live Instructor Lead)
Provides caregivers with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and respond appropriately to cardiac, breathing, first aid, and environmental emergencies. Participants will gain awareness in giving immediate care to an injured or ill person and to decide whether advanced medical care is needed for all ages, including adults, children, and infants.
If you are married or if you have a partner (living in your home), both of you will need to attend preservice training.
The 24-hour preservice training, home study and licensing must be completed in 18 months or less. The time starts from the first day of training to approval of the homestudy.
It depends on how quickly you complete your paperwork, get your fingerprints done and get the appropriate references and letters. From there, we have a home study worker meet with you in your home for a site and safety inspection and to review the types and number of children you’re interested in fostering or adopting. The entire process can take anywhere from two to six months. It must be completed within 18 months without starting the entire process over again.
Everyone in the household over the age of 18 must do a BCI criminal record check and be fingerprinted. JIS checks are also done for any children over the age of 10.
No, but they need their own bed. Same-gender children may share a bedroom with other foster children or your own children. Bunk beds are acceptable for children over 6. Children cannot share sleeping quarters with you if they are over 12 months old.
Once you are licensed, it could be at any time. When a child needs a foster family, we go through the list of available homes and try to match the family to the child’s needs as closely as possible.
Let your caseworker know. Each foster family needs a backup plan or an alternative care plan that has been pre-approved by LCCS.
Yes. You will fill out a child characteristic inventory form about the types of children and behaviors you are willing to accept. Then when the caseworker calls about a child (or children), he/she will provide you with information about the child and you can make your decision.
Right now, the agency’s greatest need is for families willing to take babies and groups of brothers and sisters, but we need families to care for children and teens of all ages.
You can be married or single, a homeowner or a renter. The only financial requirement is that you have enough of an income to support yourself and your family aside from the stipend you will receive to care for your foster children.
Many foster children attend daycare – paid for by ODJFS, or LCCS when funds are available – which allows foster parents to work outside the home. Foster parents just need to apply through ODJFS.
There is no age requirement (other than you must be at least 18 years of age). You must also have a doctor certify that you are physically able to care for a child. Many “empty nesters” find foster parenting to be a rewarding experience.
No. You just need to be a responsible person who will make a commitment to children through the training provided by LCCS.
No. Children need stability, and LCCS offers foster parents plenty of support to maintain children in their home. Before you even take in your first child, the LCCS staff works with you to develop a profile of the type of child best suited to the experience and capabilities of your family. Caseworkers – one for you and one for the child – visit your home monthly to talk through any concerns you have. We provide free, ongoing training so you are constantly learning new tips and strategies for caring for children. Counseling is provided for children who need help understanding and processing their trauma.
Foster parents receive a monthly stipend to care for the child based on his/her age and needs. The child will also receive periodic clothing vouchers. We provide some assistance for childcare and help you apply for child care support through ODJFS. The Lucas County Foster Parent Association provides an opportunity to network with other foster parents. The agency provides recreational opportunities, such as vouchers for sporting events and local performances, as they are made available.
Yes, there is additional training each year. Family foster caregivers are required to complete 30 hours in two years. Treatment foster caregivers are required to complete 45 hours. We provide the training at no charge. A calendar of training opportunities is made available each month, and you can register online in CAPS LMS. Your caseworker will recommend specific training classes for you based on your strengths and the needs of the children in your home. These training are spelled out in your Individual Training Needs Assessment (ITNA).
No. Foster parents do not pay any of a child’s medical expenses, other than over-the counter medicines and supplies. You are reimbursed for all prescriptions covered by Medicaid.
Thirty-nine percent of the children we see have suffered physical abuse. Thirty-one percent have suffered neglect. Ten percent have been victims of sexual abuse. Twenty percent are victims of emotional abuse.
We arrange for children in foster care to see their parents in supervised settings, usually here at the agency or at one of a handful of community centers. These visits take place while parents work their case plan, and continue as long as the family’s goal is reunification.
No. Children are amazingly resilient. Foster parents can make the difference by providing a structured, nurturing environment. Also, along with the supports from LCCS and other community resources these children can grow up to be productive adults in our society. How we respond to their needs now will largely determine what kind of citizens they will be in the future.
Children placed in your home for foster care can stay anywhere from a few days to a couple of years. Generally, the stay is from 9 to 18 months. The Juvenile Court usually wants to make a permanency plan for the child after about a year.
Sometimes, this happens…birth parents have problems that they aren’t able to fix. The Juvenile Court decides whether to sever parental rights. If the judge makes this decision, the child comes into the permanent custody of the agency. From that point, we begin the process of finding a new, adoptive family. If possible, we try to identify a relative to adopt the child. Very often, foster parents adopt the foster children that they’ve cared for, since they’ve become part of the family.
You’ve decided that you want to learn more about becoming a foster and/or adoptive parent. You may have come to that decision on your own, or after speaking with a member of our recruiting team.
Your first step is to register for, and complete, the state-mandated pre-service orientation training. This 24-hour program will familiarize you with the rules you must follow as a foster parent, the needs of the children entering care, and other relevant information.
Once you have completed the training, you will be asked to complete an application to foster and/or adopt, along with other documents that collect information about you and your family. This may include, but is not limited to: physical exams and medical statements; financial statements; employment verification; background checks, and a safety audit of your home. An instruction guide accompanies these materials.
Once you have submitted all of the required documentation, LCCS will assign a state certified adoption assessor to guide you through the actual home study process. The worker assesses your family’s readiness and appropriateness to care for children who have suffered maltreatment. It is not a single visit; rather, it is a series of activities that help you decide whether fostering and/or adopting is right for you. It will include information about the way family members in the home interact; historical information that may affect your ability to safely care for children placed in your home; information about any pets in the home; and the physical safety of the environment.
At that point, your home study worker will submit all of your documentation, and a conclusion is drawn as to whether your home study can be recommended to the State of Ohio for approval.
The home study process can take up to six months to complete, but many families complete the process more quickly.
For additional information, please fill out the form below, call 419-213-3336 or email [email protected] and an LCCS staff member will be in contact with you. Thank you.
To learn more about becoming a foster/adoptive parent:
Call 419-213-3336, attend a community recruitment event,
and/or fill out the “Foster/Adoptive Parent Inquiry Form” form below.