Foster Care Education
The Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges has the lead role in providing high quality education for resource families throughout the state of California. The term resource family is used to describe families who care for children in out-of-home placement through the child welfare system.
Resource families may be:
- Foster care families, families who are licensed to provide a home for children in the child welfare system
- Kinship care families, families who are caring for a relative who is in out-of-home placement. For example, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and older siblings often provide homes for children in the child welfare system
- Non-relative extended family members (NREFMs), families who had a previous relationship with the child before becoming their caregiver. For example, NREFMs may be the child’s teacher or coach, or a family friend
The Chancellor’s Office collaborates with the California Department of Social Services on issues affecting the education and training of resource families. There are currently 67 community colleges with FKCE programs.
Locally, Cabrillo College FKCE works with the County of Santa Cruz Human Resources Agency, Family & Children’s Services to provide training for the resource families in the county. Cabrillo FKCE provides 24 hours of pre-service training for prospective foster & adoptive parents with the PRIDE training, based on a curriculum developed by the Child Welfare League of America. The training includes such topics as child development, positive discipline, grief & loss, working with the child welfare system, and cultural competency.
Program of classes
Cabrillo FKCE also provides in-service trainings, which focus on the needs of resource families, but are open to anyone in the community who works with children—health care providers, mental health providers, educators, social workers, CASAs, group home staff, etc.
In-service trainings are provided on such topics as:
- Positive discipline
- Self-esteem
- Cultural diversity
- Behavior challenges
- Accessing community resources for children
- Learning disabilities/educational resources
- Effects of trauma and abuse on behavior and learning
Cabrillo FKCE also provides support groups for foster & adoptive parents and kinship caregivers.
How to Enroll & Participate
Call or write Deborah Helms,
Director, FKCE, Cabrillo College
dehelms(at)cabrillo.edu
(831) 479-6114
