CORE: Teen
CORE Teen is a curriculum for prospective and current parents who are or will be raising older children from foster care who have moderate to severe emotional and behavioral challenges. Spaulding for Children—in partnership with the Child Trauma Academy; the Center for Adoption Support and Education; the North American Council on Adoptable Children; and the University of Washington wrote the material. Research has consistently shown the benefits of placing children and youth in families. Behaviors resulting from moderate to serious emotional health challenges and past trauma make it more likely teens will be placed in restrictive settings and age out of the child welfare system without achieving permanency.
Click the session titles below to register for upcoming trainings.
| Session | Date |
|---|---|
| Introduction and Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Youth in Foster Care | February 2024 |
| Parenting Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma | April 2024 |
| Developing and Sustaining Healthy and Supportive Relationships with Youth | June 2024 |
| Nurturing Youth's Culture | August 2024 |
| Understanding and Managing Youth's Challenging Behaviors Part 1 | October 2024 |
| Understanding and Managing Youth's Challenging Behaviors Part 2 | December 2024 |
This session will define what trauma means in the context of its impact on youth in the foster care system. This class will describe ways that traumatic stress and adversity impact a youth’s development as well as describe the importance of responding to the underlying cause of a youth’s behaviors. The core competency of this class is that parents will nurture and promote the well-being of their youth through trauma informed parenting.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Parental Adaptation; Understanding and Recognizing the Effects of Trauma
This session will discuss two major adaptive responses youth in foster care may have towards threats. This class will describe how fear can change the way youth feel, think and act as well as trauma-informed techniques to effectively parent youth based on their emotional age and developmental state. This class will also discuss the important elements in creating a self-care plan. The core competency of this class is that parents will nurture and promote the well-being of their youth through trauma informed parenting.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Building Child Resilience; Understanding Behavior
This session will discuss the impact of loss and grief on teens. This class will discuss actions parents can take to enhance attachment and strengthen their relationship with their youth as well as ways that parents can deepen attunement with the youth they are or might parent. The core competency of this class is that parents can develop and sustain a healthy and supportive relationship with their youth.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Family Dynamics; Building Parental Resilience; Parental Regulation; Relationship Development
This session seeks to identify ways to incorporate the youth’s race, culture and ethnicity into family life as well as teach skills in communicating acceptance. This class will also discuss the importance of supporting youth’s connections and their sense of connectedness. The core competency of this class is that parents will honor their child’s cultural, racial, and ethnic needs with acceptance, nurturing and support.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Continued Connections; Life Story: Birth and Adoption Story; SOGIE
This session will teach skills parents can use in coping and managing their own emotions in the face of their youth’s challenging behaviors. This class will discuss ways that parents can effectively respond to their youth’s rejecting, testing and maladaptive behaviors as well as describe signs that their relationship with the youth is under stress. This class will also discuss the effects of secondary trauma on parenting. The core competency of this class is parents will understand their youth’s challenging behaviors and are able to manage them safely and effectively.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Managing Placement Transitions; Preparing for and Managing Visitation; Transitions
This session will teach skills in addressing crisis or severe behavior challenges. This class will teach skills in teaching your youth how to remain safe, recognize vulnerabilities of youth with challenging behaviors who have experienced trauma, and describe how to access and be actively involved in professional supports that your youth may need to access. The core competency of this class is that parents will understand their youth’s challenging behaviors and are able to manage them safely and effectively.
Recommended Right Time Videos: Accessing Services and Supports; Preparing for Adulthood; Responding to Children in Crisis; Sensory Integration; Sexual Trauma
Right Time Videos Recommended by Each CORE: Teen Session
All videos are available at the Right Time Videos link above. Select the title from the dropdown menu provided, watch the video, and complete and submit the form to receive credit for each video.
These videos may be watched at any time and in any order. Attendance of a CORE: Teen training session is not necessary to undestand the content in these videos and not required to receive training credit. These videos supplement the CORE: Teen training. Foster parents can earn one hour of training credit for each Right Time video completed. Each video counts toward both therapeutic and trauma training credit.
| Session 1 – Introduction and Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Youth in the Foster Care System Parental Adaptation Understanding and Recognizing the Effects of Trauma |
| Session 2 – Parenting Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma Building Child Resilience Understanding Behavior |
| Session 3 – Developing & Sustaining Healthy and Supportive Relationships with Your Youth Family Dynamics Building Parental Resilience Parental Regulation Relationship Development |
| Session 4 - Nurturing Youth’s Culture Continued Connections Life Story: Birth and Adoption Story SOGIE |
| Session 5 - Understanding and Managing Youth’s Challenging Behaviors – Part 1 Managing Placement Transitions Preparing for and Managing Visitation Transitions |
| Session 6 - Understanding and Managing Youth’s Challenging Behaviors – Part 2 Accessing Services and Supports Preparing for Adulthood Responding to Children in Crisis Sensory Integration Sexual Trauma |