Training Course Catalog

Post Approval Training Calendar Self-Directed Learning Required Training Chart

Required for all foster parents by June 30, 2024

Preventing Suicide among Foster Care Youth - 3 hr
While suicide is a significant public health crisis for the general population, the risk for suicidal ideation and behavior increases for youth in care because of the complex circumstances they often face.
- At any given time, there are estimated to be approximately 400,000 youth in care.
- Youth in care may have complex medical, mental, and behavioral health concerns stemming from a trauma history.
- Children who are adopted wait an average fo almost three years.
- Youth in care may struggle with separation anxiety.
This training module discusses facts, myths, and signs regarding suicide risk for youth involved with the child welfare system and specialized topics such as trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Material is presented by a professional speaker and people with lived experience (former foster youth, foster and adoptive families, and experts in the field). Suggested protective factors and recommendations are provided for caregivers.

Required during first year of approval

All foster parents are required to complete 15 hours of training during the first year of approval. All parents must complete Creating Normalcy through Prudent Parenting and What to Know about Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking. Kinship parents are also required to complete Preserving Kinship Families.

Foster parents must also complete one trauma informed training annually. See the Trauma-informed section of this page for a list of courses that meet this requirement. Additional hours may be earned by completing other couress listed on this webpage.

Creating Normalcy through Prudent Parenting - 3 hr
This training introduces and instructs participants on how to create normalcy through reasonable prudent parenting standards which is characterized by careful, thoughtful parental decision making that is intended to maintain a child’s health, safety, and best interest, while creating a more normal life.

What to Know about Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking - 2 hr
This course will equip foster parents with information and training about Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking. Foster parents will gain insight into the criminality of child exploitation and human trafficking while learning about the physical and psychological impact it has on children. Participants will learn about the importance of protecting and educating children about the dangers of being lured into this fast-growing illegal activity that is considered modern day slavery.

Preserving Kinship Families - 3 hr - Required for kinship parents only
This course is designed to help kinship families face the unique stressors that may arise when becoming a kinship placement. Family dynamics are constantly shifting based on a number of factors including family members' differing communication styles, traditions, and changes in parental roles, such as the ones required when families become a kinship placement. This workshop allows participants to explore ways to adapt to the changes in the family dynamic, how to work with the birth parents, and address role conflicts within the family.

Biennial requirements

All foster parents must complete Medication Administration Refresher and CPR & First Aid biennially (every other year), within 2 years of the last completion date noted on the training certificate for each course.

CPR & First Aid - 6 hr
This course, required for all foster parents every two years after approval, instructs participants in basic CPR and first aid skills that can sustain or save a life while professional emergency help is on the way. This training will make the home and work environment safer by preventing illness and injury as well as allowing parents to quickly recognizing and responding to emergencies

Medical Resources and Information Refresher - 2.5 hr - formerly Medication Administration Refresher
This course is required for all DCS foster parents every two years after approval. This refresher course includes an update on medication administration policies and procedures. The course also provides an update on the knowledge to safely and effectively administer medications to children in care. Topics included in this class range from self-storage and disposal of medication to common errors in medication administration.

Specialty requirements

Adoption and Guardianship Prepration - 8 hr
AGP pre-adoption services are required for all DCS foster families serving a DCS custodial child placed in their home for the purpose of adoption. As part of ASAP services, parents will complete Adoption Prep Training. The training and services are offered by Harmony Family Center. Parents needing to participate in these services will be referred by the region at the appropriate time.

Fostering Pregnant or Parenting Youth - 1 hr
In this training, foster parents will learn to recognize the unique aspects of fostering teen parents; evaluate their own personal feelings toward teen parents; learn about medical compliance and policies surrounding pregnant and parenting foster youth; recognize how adolescent development creates challenges for these teens; and explore methods for discovering the resources that are available to teen parents from the foster care system.

Kinship to Traditional Foster Care - 3 hr
This course is required for all kinship parents transitioning to traditional foster parenting who completed the Condensed Kinship PATH curriculum. The purpose of this training is to assist in the transition from kinship caregiver to foster parent which could present unexpected challenges along the way. While kinship families typically have an established relationship with their kinship child, parenting a child from a traditional foster care setting can pose issues around trust, security, attachment, and discipline. This course will help you understand the child welfare system and the children that come from that system.

Parenting the Justice Involved Youth - 3 hr
This course is required for all foster parents fostering delinquent youth. This class allows foster parents to explore the benefits of fostering a delinquent youth. Participants will gain knowledge helpful in assisting a delinquent youth in addressing challenging behaviors, delinquent behaviors, adolescent development, and transitioning to home or independent living placement.

Trauma Informed Parenting Strategies - 6 hr
This course focuses on parenting teens through a trauma informed lens and includes a justice involved module for parents that will be caring for this population. Topics include an overview of trauma informed parenting, adolescent development, teen issues, trauma informed discipline, and working with justice involved youth.

Working with Children Who Have Diabetes - 1 hr
Diabetes is a serious medical condition in which the body does not properly process food for use as energy. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Appropriate health care for children and youth in DCS custody who have diabetes is critical. In this training you will learn about the different types of diabetes and your role in ensuring the proper management of the disease. This training is appropriate for foster parents and staff who work with children and youth who have diabetes.

Recommended during the first 90 days after approval

Approved, Now What? - 2 hr
This training seeks to help answer questions that newly approved foster parents might have about their role, training requirements, confidentiality and logistics of what “day one” might look like with a foster child. This training also seeks to be a source of encouragement and empowerment considering all of the, overwhelming, information they are receiving as they begin their new journey as foster parents.

Connecting the Dots: What Every Foster Parent Should Know about CANS - 3 hr
The Child and Adolescents Strengths and Needs Assessment (CANS) is used by DCS to communicate needs and strengths of youth and their families. In addition to the importance of the child/youth’s voice and the family’s voice for the CANS, the foster parent’s voice is also one of the most critical and vital elements to ensure positive outcomes for that child/youth. This course will share information about the what/why/how of CANS, what can be learned about traumatic experiences and reactions a youth may have, and ways that teams can help youth to “build their bounce."

The Legal Anatomy of a DCS Case - 1.5 hr
This training is designed to discuss various aspects of the legal system and address how foster parents can work effectively within the court system. This course will address the roles of children’s advocates and court representatives. Participants will also learn how everyone involved can work towards a partnering relationship.

Parent Partnerships: Mentoring Birth Parents - 1 hr
This course aims to educate foster parents on the importance of establishing partnerships with birth parents and how to enhance their skills in mentoring and engaging birth parents. This training will provide information on the impact of family disruptions, examine the dynamics of relationships between birth and foster parents, and identify practices to maintain and strengthen partnerships with birth parents.

TFACTS: Financial Enhancement - Foster Parent Portal Verification - 2 hr
This enhancement will provide a way for foster parents to log into TFACTS to view their placements and verify the dates for board payment. This training will demonstrate the new functionality that will be found in TFACTS.

TFACTS Foster Parent Portal and Questionnaire Training - 1hr
In this training, foster parents will learn how to navigate and use the Tennessee Family and Children Tracking System (TFACTS).

Working with Birth Parents and Visitation - 3 hr
This course helps everyone involved in foster care gain an appreciation for the critical role of birth parents in the lives of children in care and a better understanding of the federal and state mandates on child and family visitation; the importance of the child and family visitation and why supporting this contact is important to a child’s developmental and mental well-being; how to identify the reasons for a child’s behavior before during and after visitations; and how to strategically minimize these behaviors.

Working with the Education System - 2 hr
This training will help foster parents to develop positive relationships with local school systems. Topics include obtaining and sharing the Education Passport (school records), navigating the special education process, consulting your Education Specialist, understanding DCS education policies, and collecting information for use in Child and Family Team Meetings.

Trauma-informed training

All Tennessee foster parents must complete one trauma-informed training annually. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing any of the courses below or by attending other trainings approved by the Office of Training and Professional Development.

Adoption and Guardianship Preparation - 8 hr
AGP pre-adoption services are required for all DCS foster families serving a DCS custodial child placed in their home for the purpose of adoption. As part of ASAP services, parents will complete Adoption Prep Training. The training and services are offered by Harmony Family Center. Parents needing to participate in these services will be referred by the region at the appropriate time.

Autism Awareness in Child Welfare - 1.5 hr)
Dr. Laura Corona of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder (TRIAD) provides an overview about autism.

Be the One Suicide Prevention - 2 hr
This is a course designed to teach employees to recognize when someone they know may be thinking about suicide. It teaches how to ask the question directly and offers tips on how to develop good listening skills, a key component of suicide prevention.

Building Strong Brains - 1 to 3 hr
Chronic childhood trauma, or what experts call adverse childhood experiences (ACES), can disrupt a child’s brain-building processes. Like building a house in a storm or with below grade materials and tools, ACES are toxic to brain development and can compromise the brain’s structural integrity. Left unaddressed, ACES and their effects make it more difficult for a child to succeed in school, live a healthy life and contribute to the state’s future prosperity—our communities, our workforce, and our civic life. This course may be tailored by the facilitator to include part or all of the curriculum content. Therefore, the available course credit will vary. This course is offered as a live webinar or in a classroom setting.

Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma - 16 hr
Often referred to as the Resource Parent Curriculum, or RPC, this training was developed by over 30 experts at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and is uniquely designed to help therapeutic, foster, adoptive, and kinship parents (referred to as resource parents) improve their parenting skills. RPC does this by using skilled facilitators who share trauma knowledge and experience and provide parents with practical trauma-informed strategies they can immediately use with children in their home.

Caring for the Child with Sexual Trauma - 3 hr
This course explores the many facets of child sexual abuse in depth with information pertaining to facts and myths of child sex abuse, the grooming process, child disclosures, working with the Special Investigative Unit (SIU), and addressing high risk sexual behaviors in children. The class is designed to educate parents and assist the foster, kinship, and adoptive parent that cares for the child with sexual trauma.

De-escalation Techniques - 3 hr
De-escalation Techniques training provides foster parents with the tools to not only de-escalate disruptive behavior, but skills to help prevent disruptive behaviors. This course looks at the important task of working with the youth following an incident, to teach coping skills and techniques that will allow them to regulate their own behaviors in the future. It is difficult to support children who have experienced trauma, but impossible to do if the caregiver is not well themselves. Because children can often trigger emotions in foster parents that make it difficult to parent calmly, this course covers self-care techniques to use before a youth is even placed in the home.

CORE: Teen - 14 hr
CORE: Teen is a culturally and trauma-informed, state of the art course that prepares foster parents to successfully work with older youth struggling with moderate to serious behavioral challenges. This curriculum will better prepare parents to conduct self-assessments to determine their ability to parent these youth and will increase parents' knowledge and ability to meet youths' unique needs. CORE: Teen seeks to provide increased stability and permanency, while also promoting social and emotional well-being for older youth who exhibit trauma-related behavioral challenges.

NAMI Basics - up to15 hr
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Basics class is for any parent or caregiver of a child or adolescent with a mental health condition. Foster parents completing these classes will receive up to 15 hours of training credit.

Positive Parenting - 3 hr
This course centers on building connections and relationships with children who have experienced trauma. Positive Parenting will help parents become more mindful in their interactions with children as well as learning to see behaviors through a trauma lens. Several typical trauma behaviors will be addressed and hands on strategies to address big emotions will be provided. A focus on observation of behavior as well as nutrition and wellbeing will be discussed. This course is designed to help parents with daily interactions to build connections and strengthen resilience in children.

TBRI Podcast Series - 1 hr per episode
The TBRI® Podcast is produced by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development and features conversations about Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children.
The series explores the elements of trauma-informed care and chats with experts in the field about implementing TBRI® across different communities of care and practice.
The TBRI® Podcast is currently available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Anchor, and Pocket Casts.

Youth Mental Health First Aid - 8 hr
Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach adults assisting young people the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges common among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders, and substance abuse disorder. Participants do not learn to diagnose nor how to provide any therapy or counseling. Rather, participants learn to support a youth developing signs andsymptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis by applying a core five step action plan.

Right Time Video: Accessing Services and Supports - 1 hr
This theme will describe how to become an advocate for children in your home to ensure they receive the services and supports that they need. Emphasis will be placed on being a life-long learner, recognizing the importance of developing a support network (school, community supports, friends, medical), and learning about the types of services and supports that the child and/or the family that is fostering or adopting might find beneficial.

Right Time Video: Building Child Resilieince - 1 hr
Resilience can be defined as “the ability to achieve positive outcomes-mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually- despite adversity” (Kain & Terrell, 2018). The purpose of this module is to help foster and adoptive parents understand concepts and definitions related to enhancing resiliency in children who have experienced loss, separation, or other traumatic experiences; understand the protective factors; how to build upon protective factors; become aware of strategies that support children and develop their identity, self-esteem, and skills towards self-advocacy.

Right Time VIdeo: Building Parental Resilience - 1 hr
Parental resilience is critical when caring for a child who has experienced trauma, separation, and loss or grief. These children come to the table with greater than average needs that will require additional support, guidance, patience, understanding, and flexibility. Foster and adoptive parents who come to the table with a high level of parental resilience will have a greater ability to cope with trying situations and will be better able to effectively handle the child’s behaviors that can be challenging. This theme will discuss the importance of self-care for parents who are fostering or adopting as well as practical ideas on how to incorporate it into their daily routines. Parents will learn why maintaining their own mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being is so important when caring for children who have experienced trauma, separation or loss.

Right Time Video: Continued Connections - 1 hr
Continued Connections targets the honoring of the teens’ former attachments, acknowledges that teens are part of other families and have other relationships, and recognizes that the loyalty and connection to those relationships may be significant. Continued Connections also explores the importance of your relationship with the youth’s birth family and other people who are important to the youth. This theme captures the concept that resource parents may need to move beyond their own discomfort toward prior relationships in order to help the youth grieve losses, maintain connections, confirm their identity, and form healthy attachments with others.

Right Time Video: Family Dynamics - 1 hr
This theme will provide an overview of the impact fostering or adopting can have on family dynamics including the impact on marital relationships, biological children, foster or adoptive children already living in the home and extended family members. Parents who are fostering or adopting will gain insight and increased understanding of how their family may need to adjust, as well as strategies that they can use to support healthy family dynamics.

Right Time Video: Life Story: Birth and Adoption Story - 1 hr
This theme will help adoptive parents understand the importance of having ongoing conversations with their children about their birth and adoption story. The theme will discuss how empowering children with the missing pieces of their story can help them build trust in family relationships, help with healthy identity formation, and can lead to stronger connections with birth family members. Adoptive parents will learn how to have on-going conversation with their children about their life story that is done in an inclusive, open fashion.

Right Time Video: Managing Placement Transitions - 1 hr
This theme will provide an overview of the impact transitions, both planned and unplanned, has on children who have experienced trauma, loss or separation. The theme will discuss strategies parents can use to make these transitions less traumatic and disruptive. Parents will also learn strategies for making children feel welcomed and connected before, during, and after transitions occur.

Right Time Video: Parental Adaptation - 1 hr
Parental Adaptation is based on the idea that youth cannot be parented in the same manner as “traditional” parenting. It targets the thinking and skills parents will need to adjust to assure that their parenting responses successfully respond to the needs of the youth. The learning objectives are to (1) Understand why parenting responses need to be adjusted based on the youth’s skills, emotion development and needs, (2) Increase awareness of how a youth’s prior experiences have shaped their sense of identity, values and/or behavior, and how the lack of alignment between their values and yours can create discomfort for you, and (3) Identify new support and intervention strategies.

Right Time Video: Parental Regulation - 1 hr
The purpose of this learning opportunity is to enhance your understanding of parental regulation. Parental Regulation is the set of skills and abilities that help us manage our feelings and behaviors so that we can then use the right skills, interventions and supports at the right time. The learning objectives are to understand how to regulate yourself through a variety of techniques and understand the importance of self-regulation and modeling those behaviors for the youth. Every parent will experience times when they feel a sense of frustration, anger, hurt, and sadness. The challenges and stresses that parents face every day.

Right Time Video: Preparing for Adulthood - 1 hr
This theme will provide an overview of the common skills that youth will need to effectively navigate as an adult and provide strategies on how families who are fostering or adopting can prepare youth to successfully transition into adulthood. The theme will highlight the variance that can exist between chronological and developmental age for children who have experienced trauma, separation and loss and how this can impact the transition to adulthood. Some of the challenges that youth may face during this transition will be highlighted.

Right Time Video: Preparing for and Managing Visitation - 1 hr
This theme will provide an overview the importance of children maintaining visits with their family and how to check in and address concerns, questions and emotions children may encounter before and after the visits. The theme will provide strategies on how to help children name and validate the range of feelings they may experience before, during and after a visit and understand the role that parents who are fostering or adopting play in these visits.

Right Time Video: Relationship Development - 1 hr
The purpose of this portion of the training is to enhance your learning around relationship development. In this program, relationship development is defined as the critical tasks and skills required to engage, increase commitment and positive connection, and develop a supportive healing relationship between foster caregivers and the youth in their homes. As a result, participants will (1) Understand how trust and safety are critical to relationship development, (2) Understand how parenting characteristics are related to relationship development, and (3) Identify parenting strategies that support relationship development.

Right Time Video: Responding to Children in Crisis - 1 hr
This theme will highlight some of the difficulties children who have experienced trauma, separation or loss can have in regulating themselves. The theme will review the different phases of crisis and provide parents who are fostering or adopting with strategies to proactively prevent a crisis from occurring. This theme will also review ways to keep the children safe when they are having a crisis and strategies that can help to de-escalate the situation.

Right Time Video: Sensory Integration - 1 hr
This theme will briefly explore how early childhood trauma and neglect may impact a child’s ability to interact successfully with their outside world – sensory integration. This theme will provide parents who are fostering or adopting with the ability to identify behaviors related to sensory integration difficulties and strategies to aid a child with sensory integration challenges in the home, school, and community.

RIght Time Video: Sexual Trauma - 1 hr
This theme will provide an overview of some of the emotional needs of children who have been sexually abused. The theme will highlight some of the unique challenges in parenting children who have experienced this type of abuse. The theme will highlight safety measures to put in place to ensure all children in the home are safe. It will also provide information on seeking effective therapy for children who have been sexually abused to minimize risk of re-victimization, minimize risk of children re-enacting abuse on other children and maximize healthy sexual development.

Right Time Video: SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression) - 1 hr
The purpose of this learning opportunity is to enhance your learning around sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). SOGIE is a term that includes all types of sexual orientation and gender identities and expressions. In this program, the term diverse SOGIE is used to describe youth who are expressing a nontraditional sexual orientation or gender identity, and who need to be supported through their sexual orientation or gender identity exploration with understanding and acceptance. The learning objectives are to (1) Increase awareness of the complexities of youth who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2S), (2) Strengthen understanding of behaviors that demonstrate acceptance and support of LGBTQ2S youth, (3) Enhance awareness of the critical role that family support plays in determining long term well-being, (4) Learn strategies to help reconcile your value system with the support needs of your youth, (5) Enhance awareness of the needs for advocacy for LGBTQ2S youth, and (6) Youth who identify themselves as LGBTQ2S are disproportionately represented in the foster care system.

Right Time Video: Transitions - 1 hr
A critical element of creating a safe, predictable environment is to ensure smooth transitions for youth. Transitions include moves such as being placed from the birth home into a foster home, moves from one foster home to another, being placed into a group home or treatment setting, moving into an adoptive home or returning to the birth home from foster care. The purpose of this portion of the training is to enhance your learning around transitions. This session focuses on how change impacts the youth, you, and your family. Strategies are introduced to help you prepare for and manage the emotional impact (stress, fear, uncertainty, pain, loneliness, anxiety and hopelessness) that are often a part of the transition process. The learning objectives are to learn how to prepare for periods of transition, learn how transitions impact youth, identify ways to respond to youth through transitions, recognize how youth are coping with the transition, and increase awareness about the impact of transitions on you and your family.

Right Time Video: Understanding and Recognizing the Effects of Trauma - 1 hr
The purpose of this learning opportunity is to continue to enhance your understanding and recognition of the effects of trauma and trauma-informed parenting. This session explores how trauma affects the youth’s physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing and introduces the critical framework of "Regulate, Relate, Reason” which will help you remember how to best respond to youth who have been affected by all types of trauma. Trauma informed resource parenting is defined as the framework that includes understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma on children and youth in care. The learning objectives are to understand the basics of brain development, understand what traumatic events are and how they affect youth physically, emotionally and psychologically, and increase your understanding of the "Regulate, Relate, Reason” framework.

Right Time Video: Understanding Behavior - 1 hr
The purpose of this learning opportunity is to further explore how trauma effects youth’s behaviors. The experience of trauma often produces behaviors that will seem out of context and usually includes anger, mistrust or defiance. The experience of trauma can also impact school performance and relationships and can result in delays in and social skills and development. You will explore how the interactions and interventions used with youth who have experienced trauma are different than those used with youth who have not experienced trauma. The learning objectives are to (1) Understand what traumatic events are and how they affect youth physically, emotionally and psychologically, (2) Recognize emotions and behaviors in your child that are associated to a traumatic event, (3) Learn how triggers work and how to respond effectively to a traumatic response, and (4) Gain usable knowledge on how to parent traumatized youth and promote successful behaviors.

Therapeutic training

Each therapeutic foster parent must complete an additional 9 hours of therepeutic training during their first year of fostering, for a total of 24 training hours.
Each therapeutic foster family must complete an additional 9 hours of therapeutic training during the second year following approval and every year thereafter, for a total of 24 training hours annually.

The trainings listed below fulfill therapeutic training requirements.

Autism Awareness in Child Welfare - 1.5 hr
Dr. Laura Corona of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder (TRIAD) provides an overview about autism.

NAMI Basics - up to 15 hr
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Basics class is for any parent or caregiver of a child or adolescent with a mental health condition. Foster parents completing these classes will receive up to 15 hours of training credit.

Elective training (classroom or virtual classroom delivery)

Building Strong Brains - 1-3 hr
Chronic childhood trauma, or what experts call adverse childhood experiences (ACES), can disrupt a child’s brain-building processes. Like building a house in a storm or with below grade materials and tools, ACES are toxic to brain development and can compromise the brain’s structural integrity. Left unaddressed, ACES and their effects make it more difficult for a child to succeed in school, live a healthy life and contribute to the state’s future prosperity—our communities, our workforce, and our civic life. This course may be tailored by the facilitator to include part or all of the curriculum content. Therefore, the available course credit will vary. This course is offered as a live webinar or in a classroom setting.

Loving and Letting Go - 3 hr
This training will help foster parents address the grief and loss they experience when children in their homes return to their birth parents or other permanent placements. Techniques will also be provided on how to manage the stress that accompanies grief during the transition period of a foster child leaving the home.

Parenting LGBTQ Youth - 6 hr
This curriculum aims to enhance parenting strategies for LGBTQ+ youth. The training will provide information on the scope of LGBTQ+ youth in the child welfare system; the challenges to safety, permanence and well-being for LGBTQ+ youth; understanding DCS policy related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression; using accurate and culturally appropriate terminology; and increasing their own competency in parenting LGBTQ+ youth.

Post Approval Panel - 2 hr
This panel is designed to include experts in subject matter areas to support the ongoing learning of newly approved foster parents. The panel will include members who are experienced in many facets of the child welfare system.

Stewards of Children - 2 hr
One out of ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This means that in a school classroom of 20 children there are two children who are bearing the burden of child sexual abuse alone and need our help. For abused children, their classroom teacher may be the only safe adult in their lives. That is why it is critical for us to work together to train teachers, school personnel, professionals, and all members of our community how to recognize the abused children who are in their classrooms and report the abuse. The Darkness to Light curriculum is DHS approved for child care licensing requirements and DCS approved for foster parent training.

Your Money, Your Goals - 3 hr
This course is for foster parents and other professionals working with youth in foster care. You will receive an interactive toolkit you can use to empower young people to understand their relationship with money and how to make it work for them to help them achieve their goals. Topics include starting the money conversation; emotions, values, and culture behind money choices; paying bills and other expenses; managing cash flow; setting goals; protecting your money.

Computer-based trainings

10 Ways to Discipline Your Children - 0.5 hr
Dr. Christian Conte presents 10 steps to improve parents' effectiveness in disciplining children.

Autism Awareness in Child Welfare - 1.5 hr
Dr. Laura Corona of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder (TRIAD) provides an overview about autism.

Behavior Management Ages 11-18 - 2.5 hr
This three-part video series deals with behaviors of children experiencing emotional distress.

Behavioral Challenges in Foster Care - 1 hr
Participants will learn techniques to work with the behaviors of children who have had many of their needs challenged.

Child Development - 1 hr
This online course enables participants to have a better understanding of age-appropriate behaviors for the children they are parenting, as well as helps them identify behaviors that might indicate a problem. Participants also learn the stages of child and adolescent development. Finally, parents are able to explore how some forms of maltreatment affect a child's development.

Child Passenger Safety - 3 hr
Car seats and boosters provide protection for infants and children in a crash, yet car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13. That's why it's so important to choose and use the right car seat correctly every time your child is in the car. This computer based training will demonstrate the important steps necessary to choose the right seat, install it correctly, and keep your child safe. There are videos demonstrating proper installation as well as a quiz to ensure understanding of the life-saving concepts of child passenger safety

Couples Who Foster - 2 hr
This curriculum focuses on strengthening relationship and family dynamics. The training will provide information on the importance of positive parenting; associations between components of the family context and emotion regulation; stress and stressors felt by each spouse; effects of fostering on the family; creating and maintaining a healthy relationship; ways and to incorporate self -care as a family dynamic, and recognizing the importance of Positive Parenting.

Creating Teachable Moments - 3 hr
This course was created to address the skills that youth need in order to navigate life in the direction of success. The tools youth need are easily obtained with the help of a significant personal connection who takes an interest in teaching them. This course will discuss the ways we work with our youth, which falls into two categories: teaching tangible skills such as problem solving, planning, decision-making, time management, communication, and interpersonal relations; and teaching intangible skills like cooking, budgeting, or how to get a summer job. Caregivers can provide these skills by creating teachable moments with youth. This material will help foster parents have a better understanding of the lasting impact they can have on a youth’s future.

Cultural Awareness - 2 hr
This course allows foster parents to examine their own cultural backgrounds & beliefs about different cultures through self assessment. The role that culture plays in a person's development & sense of identify will also be explored.

DCS Talks Podcast Series - 0.5 hr
Tennessee foster parents and DCS staff can receive training credit for listening to episodes of the DCS Talks podcast series. Each episode is worth one half-hour of training credit.

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and Our Foster Youth - 1 hr
Participants will learn the definition of traffiking per the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act; learn the methods used to control victims of trafficking; understand the vulnerability of children to domestic minor sex trafficking; learn pimp recruitment tactics; discuss the reasons why victims don't self-report; and become aware of red flags that indicate a child or youth may be involved in trafficking.

Engaging and Parenting Teens 2.0 - 2 hr
This course will showcase the benefits of being a foster parent for teens and discuss adolescent development in relation to behaviors, identity, peers, and family and the relationship between interdependence and positive youth development.

Foster Parent Bill of Rights - 1 hr
This training covers the 25 tenets and subsequent amendments that govern the way foster parents are viewed and treated as part of the professional team that serves children in the child welfare system of Tennessee. The Foster Parent Bill of Rights outlines the department’s commitment to providing foster parents with the support, training and resources they need to provide for Tennessee’s foster children.

Fostering from the Single Parent Perspective - 1 hr
This training focuses on the challenges and rewards that many single parents experience while parenting children in the foster care system. Tips, tools, and resources will be provided to help single parents navigate their daily lives.

Fostering Pregnant or Parenting Youth - 1 hr
In this training, foster parents will learn to recognize the unique aspects of fostering teen parents; evaluate their own personal feelings toward teen parents; learn about medical compliance and policies surrounding pregnant and parenting foster youth; recognize how adolescent development creates challenges for these teens; and explore methods for discovering the resources that are available to teen parents from the foster care system.

Hair Care for Black and Multicutural Children - 1 hr
Participants will learn how to care for different hair types of children to keep hair and skin healthy.

Helping Children Make Transitions - 3 hr
This course provides participants with information that will help them to work with children who are in transition. Understanding the issues faced by these children and their families as they move from one setting to another is the focus of this course. Techniques to help children through this time of trauma, with emphasis on maintaining significant relationships, are discussed.

Human Trafficking Awareness - 0.5 hr
This video series is offered by the Department of Homeland Security and is designed to spread awareness of the signs and indicators of human trafficking. Please note that this training does NOT meet the federal requirement of the course What to Know about Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking.

Impact of Fostering on Birth Children - 3 hr
This course explores what birth children may feel through all phases of the fostering process and offers tips for helping them cope.

The Legal Anatomy of a DCS Case - 1.5 hr
This training is designed to discuss various aspects of the legal system and address how foster parents can work effectively within the court system. This course will address the roles of children’s advocates and court representatives. Participants will also learn how everyone involved can work towards a partnering relationship.

NAS/Safe Sleep - 3 hr
This course provides foster parents with information about NAS. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is a condition in which a baby has withdrawal symptoms after being exposed to certain substances. The kinds of medications that may cause withdrawal and how to parent babies with NAS will also be discussed. In addition, techniques on how to reduce your baby’s risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death will be reviewed.

Parenting Sibling Groups - 1 hr
This curriculum aims to educate foster parents on the dynamics of sibling groups and enhance their skills in managing a sibling group in their home. This training will provide information on the following:
- Different dynamics of sibling groups entering foster care
- The importance of the sibling relationship
- Opportunities and challenges of fostering sibling groups
- Sibling youth’s perspective
- Tips on managing a sibling group in your home
- DCS policy on multiple children in the home
- Preparing your family and your home to receive a sibling group.

Preventing Teen Runaways and Truancy - 1 hr
Foster parents will be able to identify common reasons why teens run away, signs that may indicate a teen is thinking about running away, and tools to help prevent running away. Truancy and prevention will also be discussed, as well as ways to develop lasting relationships with teens.

Professionalsim and Ethics - 2 hr
The training will allow participants to define professionalism and identify qualities expected of professionals. Participants will be able to recognize how foster parents are professional members of the team and become familiar with the Code of Ethics for Foster Parents.

ReMoved - 1 hr
These two short films follow the emotional story through the eyes of a young girl taken from her home and placed into foster care.

Respite Care: Short-term Planned Care of a Child while in DCS Custody - 1 hr
The purpose of this course is to define respite care and outline the expectations and guidelines for making respite care arrangements, notifications to staff, and ensuring respite care is appropriate for the child(ren) needing care. The training will also address expectations and notifications regarding outings, overnight stays, and out-of-state/out-of-country authorizations. Topics of discussion include the purpose of respite, types of respite, who may provide respite, notification/reporting/timeframes of respite, authorizations, payment, and documentation.

Safety Planning for High Risk Behaviors for Children in State Custody - 1 hr
This training is designed to educate participants on DCS Policy 31.18, which provides guidance on developing safety plans for children or youth whose behavior presents a risk to themselves or others, or significantly impairs daily funictioning to ensure the child/youth and caregivers have the supports needed to prevent disruption of placement and promote a safe and therapeutic environment.

Self-Care for Foster Parents - 1 hr
This course focuses on key concepts of caring for children from the child welfare system and ways caregivers can support their own self-care. Participants will learn risks and symptoms of helping others who experience trauma and the impact of Secondary Traumatic Stress. Strategies for combatting burnout through caregiver self-care will be learned and practiced. Additionally, caregivers will be able to assess their strengths and needs and create plans for quality self-care through small and large group discussions.

Signs and Symptoms of Teen Drug and Alcohol Usage - 1 hr
The videos in this training provide parents with signs that children may be using drugs or alcohol, as well as resources and supports to help teens avoid using drugs.

Social Media and Cyber Safety - 2 hr
Cyberbullying happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and reaches kids even when they are alone. This training will explore ways that parents can help prevent cyberbullying and how to respond if you find out your child has become a victim of cyberbullying. Participants will also learn about the dangers and legal ramifications of sexting. In this training, participants will also gain a greater understanding of social media dangers that affect foster children and learn the basics of Internet Safety. Texting abbreviations and the language of social media will be covered. Foster parents will learn ways to help children avoid internet “danger zones” as well as implement parental controls on computers sand mobile devices.

The State of Tennessee Safe Baby Courts - 2 hr
Safe Baby Court is a specialized court program that was established for infants and toddlers (birth through 3 years of age). The program strives to find new ways for families to connect with community service providers and provide a strong foundation for infant mental health. The goal is to reduce maltreatment and traumatic experience during significant brain development of infants and toddlers; while increasing family accountability in conjunction with community program interaction to achieve permanency.
Children served are either at risk of entering foster care or currently in care. Participants will learn about the Safe Baby Court program in Tennessee and learn the role foster parents play in Safe Baby Court and how they can support the children and families involved.

TFACTS: Financial Enhancement - Foster Parent Portal Verification - 2 hr
This enhancement will provide a way for foster parents to log into TFACTS to view their placements and verify the dates for board payment. This training will demonstrate the new functionality that will be found in TFACTS.

TN KEY Overview - 3 hr
The TN KEY (Knowledge Empowers You) training curriculum was developed for the purpose of providing prospective foster parents with the most trauma-informed information to help assist in navigating their journey through foster care. This workshop will allow participants an opportunity to review the Permanency Plan development process while learning the function of a Child and Family Team meeting. Additionally, participants will explore the science behind toxic stress and trauma especially on brain development, behavior and overall health. After defining trauma, national experts discuss the ACEs study, along with how chemicals released during stressful events create a fight, flight, flee, or freeze response that helps us to survive real and perceived threats. Next, participants acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to build resilience in foster children by understanding how attachment occurs when the Circle of Security model is successfully implemented, while utilizing the “Regulate, Relate, and Reason” techniques created by Dr. Bruce Perry. Participants will also learn rerouting techniques to address trauma behaviors.

Trauma Talk: When Children Talk about Their Traumatic Experiences - 1.5 hr
In this training, foster parenst will learn general guidelines for communicating with children, the definition of trauma and the impact of trauma on behaviors, characteristics of each developmental stage, helpful responses to behaviors, and the impact on caregivers.

Vanderbilt Center of Excellence Lunch and Learn Series - 1 hr
The Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody hosts a monthly lunch and learn series, covering a variety of topics relevant to children in care. Foster parents can receive 1 hour of training credit for each session completed.

Working with the Education System - 2 hr
This training will help foster parents to develop positive relationships with local school systems. Topics include obtaining and sharing the Education Passport (school records), navigating the special education process, consulting your Education Specialist, understanding DCS education policies, and collecting information for use in Child and Family Team Meetings.

Additional training options

Foster Parent Support Program
The Office of Training & Professional Development is excited to announce a new Support Program designed specifically for foster, kinship, and adoptive families. Foster, kinship, and adoptive families are invited to attend any of the ten (10) sessions offered but are not required to attend all sessions. Utilizing curricula from Creating A Family, the Support Group will focus on a different topic each session.
Each session will engage families through short guided lessons, open discussion, and resources to help support foster, kinship, and adoptive families. Families in any year of fostering are invited and encouraged to attend these sessions.

Foster Parent Conference
The Office of Training and Professional Development holds an annual foster parent conference each fall, as well as a mini conference in the spring. Foster parents, staff, and community providers are able to attend required trainings as well as a variety of trainings offered by external partners to fulfill annual training requirements.

DCS Talks Podcast Series
DCS Talks is a podcast production of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The intention of DCS Talks is to promote dialogue among child welfare professionals, foster parents and the entire community about ways to prevent child abuse and neglect. Each month, DCS talks will provide podcasts about topics pertinent to people who are interested in learning about issues in child welfare such as trauma informed practice, legal issues, juvenile justice therapeutic interventions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, best prevention practices, community involvement and much more.

TBRI Podcast Series
The TBRI® Podcast is produced by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development and features conversations about Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children.
The series explores the elements of trauma-informed care and chats with experts in the field about implementing TBRI® across different communities of care and practice.
The TBRI® Podcast is currently available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Anchor, and Pocket Casts.
All foster parents will be eligible to receive one hour of training credit for each episode; these episodes also fulfill trauma-informed and therapeutic training credit requirements. Parents must complete the elective training form (CS-1000) to receive credit. To view the list of TBRI® episodes, visit the Online Foster Parent Training page and click on the tab labeled TBRI Podcast Series.

AdoptUSKids Podcast Series
Foster parents can receive training credit by listening to select episodes from the Navigating Adoption podcast from AdoptUsKids. These episodes are linked on the tab labeled "Other Podcast Series for Foster Parents" on the DCS Talks webpage.

Hope for the Journey Conference
The Hope for the Journey Conference, presented by Show Hope, offers TBRI® training, which has been approved to fulfill both trauma and therapeutic training requirements. Foster parents attending select workshops at this conference can receive up to 6 training hours.

Approved Books and Videos
Starting in the third year of approval, parents have the opportunity to complete elective training hours through approved training media by reading books or watching movies.
Parents can receive 2 credit hours for each approved book they read and 1 credit hour for watching each approved movie (no more than one credit hour per year will be awarded for approved videos). A maximum of 3 credit hours per year can be obtained by completing approved media. Complete information for foster parent training requirements can be found here.
Click here to receive credit for completing approved media training.

External Training
Credit for external trainings is subject to the approval of the Office of Training and Professional Development. Parents and their workers are encouraged to submit approval requests prior to training completion to ensure that credit can be awarded. Parents who complete relevant training for their work or education may submit completion certificates for review.