Vol. 4, No. 1 • Fall 1999

North Carolina Expanding Corps of Foster Parent Trainers
by John McMahon

In an effort to hone the skills of North Carolina�s foster parents and improve outcomes for children in foster care, the N.C. Division of Social Services has launched a new training program for foster parents. Offered in collaboration with Independent Living Resources, Helping Youth Reach Self-sufficiency is designed to meet foster parent demands for training specifically about working with teens. This program aims to do this by developing a core group of foster parents who will provide continuing education and training to local foster parent associations on the topic of helping foster youth attain self-sufficiency.

Nancy Carter, who heads up the program for Independent Living Resources, says, �The most exciting part for me is that this program will really do a lot to make foster parents a part of the team. For a while foster parents have been asking for more, for a higher level of involvement. Helping Youth Reach Self-sufficiency provides them with an opportunity to become involved on a different level in the professional development of foster parents across the state.�

Program profile
The heart of this program is a three-day seminar that takes place over a weekend. Over the course of the seminar, the foster parents who attend learn how to teach other foster parents the skills they will need to help their teens achieve independence. Specifically, they learn basic information about independent living for teens in foster care, activities to conduct with local foster parent groups, and group facilitation techniques. They also learn activities that individual foster parents can conduct with their teens.

Helping Youth Reach Self-sufficiency got off to a good start on October 8, 9, and 10, 1999 in Burlington, NC. The class was full (24 participants) from counties around the state.

Although participants seemed to enjoy the entire weekend, two of the biggest highlights were presentations by current and former foster children. At dinner on the first night of the seminar, participants heard from Karen Carter, a former foster child who �graduated� from the Wake county system and is now a social worker at Atlantic Behavioral Health Systems in Raleigh. And during lunch on Sunday, October 10, current foster child O�Brae talked about his independent living program, as well as his plans for the future.

About six months after the seminar, participants will gather again for a one-day follow-up training event to address any questions or needs which may have come up since they were trained.

Requirements
Because the focus of this program is training participants to teach other foster parents, before participants can attend they must have the support of the foster care licensing social worker in their county, as well as a commitment from the social worker that he or she will make teaching opportunities available once the foster parents come back from Helping Youth Reach Self-sufficiency.

Once they have this support, participants are required to attend all three days of the seminar. So that they can fully experience the seminar, everyone is also encouraged to stay at the hotel during the weekend. The N.C. Division of Social Services covers the cost of this training (there is no registration fee) as well as lodging and most meals for the seminar weekend.

For information
For information about Helping Youth Reach Self-sufficiency or other ways for foster parents to become involved in training, contact your local county department of social services, or contact the N.C. Division of Social Services� Joan McAllister (tel: 919/733-4622).

John McMahon is editor of Fostering Perspectives.

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families