Foster Care Training Needed to Adopt a Child in Virginia

40 Hours of Foster and Adoptive Parent Training 

What to Expect from Required Parent Training in Virginia

Families who want to adopt a child from foster care may wonder about the foster parent training needed. The Commonwealth of Virginia requires foster and foster-to-adopt parents to complete at least 40 hours of training. The good news is that Virginia offers clear and supportive training sequences to prepare you for this important role.

State statutes ensure that every treatment foster care agency includes specific training elements. The training agencies create a schedule for people who want to be foster or adoptive parents. The training and approval process is the same for all adults who want to care for a child in foster care. This includes those who aim to adopt a child.

Training helps you, the adoptive parent, gain the knowledge and resources needed to care for your child. This will help you become a loving and successful forever family. Agencies design program sessions to be approachable and flexible for busy lifestyles.

Here's an overview of what you'll learn during your foster parent training on your way to adopting a child.

What Does Foster Parent Training Include?

State laws and standards from the Department of Social Services (DSS) guide Virginia’s foster parent training. All foster parents complete this training, and parents planning to adopt from foster care must also complete it. Instructors typically hold the classes in a group format. This gives you and other aspiring parents a chance to meet and connect with other caring adults who share similar goals.

You'll learn alongside people like you who have generous hearts and want to give a stable, loving home to children in need. Before adopting from foster care, families must foster their child for six months. So, this training will prepare you to succeed as both a foster and an adoptive parent.

You may hear parent training referred to as "pre-service training." This training is standard for many types of home care providers, including resource, foster, treatment foster, and adoptive families. For details, you can refer to Virginia's program statement 22VAC40-131-170 A.

Foster Parent Training Overview

Here is a session-by-session overview of what you and other prospective foster parents will learn. Virginia's foster and adoptive parent training includes five sessions:

Session 1 - Orientation to Foster Care and Adoption

Your first session will orient you to your partnering licensed child-placing agency (LCPA). Foster and adoption advocates will introduce you to your foster-to-adopt agency, and you'll learn:

• Introduction to the United States child welfare systems, including Virginia's foster care system. Examples include how local social services and other departments carry out child welfare laws and mandates.
• What to expect from DSS social workers and your strength-based, trauma-informed agency partner. Responsive partners provide step-by-step guidance through licensing and parental phases. They educate, provide access to resources, and often adoptive and foster parent support groups.
• How foster care works and why children and youth come into foster care.
• Common types of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) and neglect, and how these experiences affect children.
• The idea of "permanence" means finding a lifelong, stable home for a child.
• Long-term outcomes of aging out of foster care at 18 years, sometimes before they complete high school. Specifics include optional programs for teens who do not have an adoptive family or other family support.
• How the DSS determines case goals and service planning for foster youth. You will learn about "reunification" and how this primary goal plays out with birth parents and siblings.
• The importance of birth family connections and visitation.
• Ways foster parents and agencies help older children prepare for adulthood.
• Understanding the impact of trauma and multiple moves on foster children. Examples include stories and experiences that may delay normal childhood development and impact a child's natural caregiver attachment.
• Legal processes and social considerations surrounding foster-to-adoption.
• Your role as part of the professional care team working in your children's best interests, including biological and foster.

Session 2: Helping Kids Through Grief and Loss

Whether a child enters foster family home care or a group home, moving into foster care involves loss for each young person. Even when there is no trauma or signs of PTSD in the home, family separation can still be scary for kids.

In this session, you'll learn:

• How children experience grief and loss when separated from their family.
• How feelings of grief, loss, and loss of control may influence child behaviors.
• Practical tools to help kids handle their emotions and behavior.
• How to support children before, during, and after family visits and contact with birth families.
• The importance of respecting a child's culture, identity, experience, and personal values. Examples include respecting your child's ties to past foster families, caregivers, close friends, siblings, and any birth family members.
• The roles, rights, and responsibilities of foster or adoptive parents in Virginia. 

Session 3: Youth Development and Managing Behaviors

Large numbers of children in foster care may have behaviors resulting from trauma or instability. This session teaches:

• The normal stages of child development from infants to adolescents.
• How to build positive and nurturing relationships with your foster child.
• Meeting your child where they are and helping develop essential life skills.
• Practical, non-physical behavior management strategies and behavior interventions for difficult behaviors. Examples include crisis management techniques and disciplines that avoid corporal punishment. Because many kids in foster care have experienced abuse and trauma, experts do not allow physical punishment.
• Ways to encourage resilience and positive self-esteem in foster youth. Examples include engagement in social and service activities or other experiences where kids can safely develop caring personal relationships.
• Effective parenting skills and a structured, intentional approach to parenting children who've experienced trauma.
• Approaches to successfully blending your family's biological and adopted children.

Session 4: Understand Foster Care Rules & Regulations

Here you'll learn about the practical side of being a foster parent, including:

• Virginia’s licensing standards, rules, and regulations for foster parents. Training focuses on the knowledge foster and adoptive parents must have to comply with federal and state standards.
• The Commonwealth's regulations of treatment foster care agencies like Extra Special Parents (ESP).
• Keeping your home environment safe and comfortable for foster children.
• Maintaining your child's well-being and safety in both home and community engagements.
• The requirement to complete ongoing training as part of your foster license. Ongoing training will meet the specific needs of your child and family. It may change based on your adoption goal and status.
• Documenting provider training in Extended Reach, an electronic health record.
• Important confidentiality rules—how to respect the privacy of foster children and their families, including guidelines about social media.

Session 5: Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Kids

Many children in foster care have experienced trauma, which affects their behavior and feelings. This session covers:

• Recognizing and responding to signs of abuse or neglect, including supporting your child and reporting abuse to authorities.
• How trauma changes the way a child sees and interacts with the world.
• Practical ways to build an environment of trust and connection with children who've experienced trauma. Specifically, the worldview children may hold after experiencing family crises and how it affects the development of personal values.
• How to provide trauma-informed parenting for your child through skills such as active listening. Helping your child and your whole family self-regulate emotions and reactions through persistent and consistent patience and parenting.
• The basics of attachment theory—understanding how children bond with caregivers. Specifically, training will cover the difference between healthy and problematic attachment cycles and familiarize parents with inhibited and disinhibited attachment styles.
• Information about common mental health issues and diagnoses, as well as available services and resources.
• Respite foster care and the importance of self-care as a foster and adoptive parent.
• First Aid and CPR training, so you’re prepared for emergencies.
• Medication Administration Management Records (MARs) for medically fragile children or kids who need care under doctor's orders. Examples include antibiotics and topical creams, as well as other more intensive care resources.

What's Next for Foster-to-Adopt Parents After Training?

After finishing your 40 hours of training, you’ll start the Home Study process. This involves:

• A home visit and interviews to ensure your home is safe and suitable.
• A background check from the Virginia Department of Social Services.
• A fingerprint check conducted through the Virginia State Police and FBI.

Once these steps are complete, you'll officially become a licensed foster-to-adopt parent! You'll be ready to welcome youth in foster care into your home and your heart.

Follow your dreams to adopt a virginia child

Completing foster care training gives you the tools and support you'll need to become a foster parent and adopt your child. If you feel ready to start your journey as a foster-to-adopt parent in Virginia, reach out to us today. We’re here to guide you every step of the way on this rewarding journey to your forever family. Together, we can change the lives of children in foster care in Virginia!