Foster and Adoptive Parent Caregiver Training
Welcome! Here you will find training opportunities to help you prepare for your important role:
Pre-Placement Training
is an online course that introduces key information you will need to care for children .
Nurturing Connections: Training for Foster and Adoptive Parents
builds on Pre-Placement, equipping you with additional information and skills you can use to meet children’s needs. This NEW program draws on the lived experience of foster and adoptive families, former foster and adopted youth, as well as up-to-date research.
Foster, adoptive and relative families complete different combinations of the “Nurturing Connections” themes.
Reasonable and Prudent Parenting standard
Reasonable and Prudent Parenting standard explains how the Reasonable and Prudent Parent standard applies to private adoption foster parents, unlicensed out-of-home care providers, or congregate care staff. Other foster or adoptive parents will learn about the standard in their required training.
Private Adoption Foster Parents
Pre-Placement
Please complete the Introduction and each of the 7 modules that follow before fostering or adopting. Click on Pre-Placement to begin.
Click on Notepad to find a document for recording your notes, questions, and thoughts for each module. Be sure to complete all the “Check your Understanding” questions at the end of each module.
Licensors can click on Licensor Guide (English) (.doc file) or Licensor Guide (Spanish) (.doc file) for the Licensor guides in English and Spanish.
Nurturing Connections: Training for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Click on your licensing level or status below to see your requirements.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Level 1
You are not required to complete any themes but you are invited to attend any that you wish. Click on the Nurturing-Connections-Framework for all your options.
Once you have identified the themes you would like, click here to log into PDSonline. Enter the title(s) you are looking for in the search bar. Click on the title to sign up.
Level 2 (Non-relative)
FP Level 2 Initial Licensing Requirements
To register, log into PDSonline. Once you have logged in, enter “Level 2” into the search bar. Then locate the curriculum title of:
“Nurturing Connections Foster Care Level 2 Non-Relative Initial Licensing”
Click on the title to request the curriculum and open to see the list of themes offered and sign up.
Level 3
FP Level 3 Pre-placement Requirements
To register, log into PDSonline. Once you have logged in, enter “Level 3” into the search bar. Then locate the curriculum title of:
“Nurturing Connections Foster Care Level 3 Pre-Placement”
Click on the title to request the curriculum and open to see the list of themes offered and sign up.
Level 4
FP Level 4 Pre-placement Requirements
To register, log into PDSonline. Once you have logged in, enter “Level 4” into the search bar. Then locate the curriculum title of:
“Nurturing Connections Foster Care Level 4 Pre-Placement”
Click on the title to request the curriculum and open to see the list of themes offered and sign up
Public Adoption
Public Adoption Training Requirements
To register, log into PDSonline. Once you have logged in, enter “Public Adoption” into the search bar. Then locate the curriculum title of:
“Nurturing Connections Public Adoption”
Click on the title to request the curriculum and open to see the list of themes offered and sign up.
Did you already start the prior training program?
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Find information on new class here
Click on Nurturing Connections Crosswalk—Foster Parent”” or Nurturing Connections Crosswalk—Adoption” to find the themes from the new “Nurturing Connections” program you can take instead of modules from the prior program that you have NOT completed.
Once you have identified the themes you need, click here to log into PDSonline. Enter the title(s) you are looking for in the search bar. Click on the title to sign up.