Education Resource Wednesdays - for Caregivers
Dive into education topics with local experts as they provide tools, resources, and support to help foster parents and kinship caregivers guide their youth to academic success.
Education Resource Wednesdays is a free drop-in group that meets on the third Wednesday every other month from 6:30-8:00 pm. There is no need to register, just join us for whatever meeting fits your schedule.
Programs & Resources specifically for Parents
Things to do when you cannot be with your child. Ways to supplement Face-to-Face visits or when those are not possible.
Here is a list of activities that can help you maintain contact with your child. Check with your social worker if there are any restrictions about how you can have contact with your child.
Multicultural Child & Family Hope Center SAFECARE PROGRAM
Safecare is an evidence-based, parent-training curriculum for parents of children ages 0-5 who are at-risk for or have been reported for child neglect or physical abuse. SafeCare providers work with families in their homes to improve parents’ skills in three areas: (1) parent-infant/child interaction skills, (2) health care skills, and (3) home safety. SafeCare is typically conducted in weekly home visits lasting from 60-90 minutes each. The program typically lasts 18-20 weeks for each family.
Positive Parenting Program (Triple P)
Standard Triple P provides parents with broadly focused parenting support and intervention on a one-to-one basis. The program supports parents who have concerns about their child’s behavior or development across various settings 10+ one-on-one sessions, parents identify the causes of child behavior problems and set their own goals for change. They learn a range of parenting strategies to promote and develop positive behavior for their child. The practitioner’s focus is on generalization enhancement strategies to promote parental autonomy throughout the intervention process.
Standard Teen Triple P
A broadly focused parenting support intervention on a one-toone basis for parents of teenagers up to 16 years of age. After thorough family assessment, parents set their own goals, learn ways to encourage positive behavior for teens, and teach their teens new skills such as problem solving, conflict resolution, and self-regulation. 10+ sessions, parents identify the influences on teenagers’ behavior and set their own goals for change. Parents also learn ways to use appropriate consequences for problem behavior.
The Incredible Years Parent and Child Programs
The parent programs focus on strengthening parent-child interactions and attachment, reducing harsh discipline and fostering parents’ ability to promote children’s social, emotional, and language development. The long term goal is ultimately to reduce school drop out, delinquent behaviors, and promote academic success.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a short-term, high quality intervention program with an average of 12 to 14 sessions over three to five months. FFT works primarily with 11- to 18-year-old youth who have been referred for behavioral or emotional problems. FFT, at its core, is a focus on assessment and intervention to address risk and protective factors within and outside of the family that impact the adolescent and his or her adaptive development.
Learning Opportunities for Parents, Foster & Kinship Caregivers
Affirming and Supporting LGBTQ Children and Youth in Child Welfare
This page give you stats on LGBTQ+ stats, helps explain the harmful practices LGBTQ children and youth are subjected to when in the child welfare system, and healthy developmentally therapeutic approaches that should be offered when working with LGBTQ children and youth.
How Can Kinship Care Advance Racial Equity in Child Welfare?
Kin caregivers who are Black and Native American/Alaska Native face additional challenges compared with their White counterparts due to systemic racism, historical trauma, and a complex history of legal and social factors that continue to impact diverse families. It is important to keep kinship care at the forefront of discussions and options and to create support systems to ensure the success of long- and short-term kin caregivers.
It's All Relative: Supporting Kinship Connections
Curious about how other jurisdictions encourage kinship care placements? Interested in sparking dialogue in your agency about improving kinship support? Gather your team to watch the recorded 2018 National Foster Care Month webinar to hear about innovative kinship programs in Ohio and Colorado. The presenters share their challenges, successful solutions, resources, and stories of their journeys to making kinship care a first choice when children are unable to safely remain at home.
Former Foster Alum Shares Advice for Foster Caregivers During Back-to-School Season
It’s exhausting being a teen in foster care. That exhaustion increases during the first few weeks of school. It’s important for foster caregivers to understand this and provide the teens and tweens in their care with plenty of “space and grace” as they navigate all the stresses of back-to-school, according to Korah Loyd, who spent years in foster care herself.
Partnerships to Improve the Quality of Infant/Toddler Care: Child Care and Early Head Start
Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships are a proven strategy to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers and their families. Join this session to hear from program leaders who have implemented this approach with great success. Learn about how partnerships originated; the outcomes sought through these partnerships; how these leaders made them a reality; and lessons learned in the process. Come away with actionable steps to bring this strategy to your community. This session was presented during the BUILD 2021 National Conference.
Supporting Virtual Family Time Visits - An Opportunity for Collaboration and Kindness
Working together to figure out virtual visits is essential to keeping kids connected to their parents. We need to have empathy for everyone in our community, including the parents of the children in foster placements. In this troubling scary time, we can try to provide some type of security to families through virtual/phone contact.
Virtual Visits Recommendations by Age and How to Access Resources
Newborns first recognize their parent by their eyes, voice and smell. Have the caregiver hold the infant and direct the screen so the child can see the parent’s face. While holding the infant in a way that allows him to hear the parent talk or sing. This encourages the infant to remember the parent and will help to maintain or enhance their connection to their parent. Feeding the child during the visit also helps the infant relate nourishment to both the caregiver and the birth parent
Free and Discounted Programs, Items and Activities for Foster Youth and Foster & Kinship Caregivers
Up to 80% Off Braces and All Your Treatments
Smiles Change Lives provides pro bono orthodontics. Braces are available for less than 20% of the cost through Orthodontic Doctors who donate their time. The cost of the service is $650 plus a $30 application fee (a lot lower than the typical $6,000 cost). The fee covers all traditional orthodontic treatments for as long as it takes to correct the teeth.
Discounted Prescription Drugs & Medical Supplies
US Pharmacy Card provides discounts on more than 60,000 brand name prescription drugs, as well as dental, vision and hearing products, lab and imaging services. The overall national discount is over 50% with average savings per prescription of $24. Cardholders receive up to 60% off dental, vision and hearing needs.
Free State Photo ID
iFoster and Project ID Action can help youth age 16+ cover the costs of getting or replacing State Issued Photo ID Cards or Driver's License. Having a State ID is required to: obtain employment, open a bank account, sign up for government benefits like SNAP, HUD housing vouchers, renting an apartment medical treatment, voting, and much more!
Mental health first aid classes available to iFoster members.
iFoster is now able to provide Mental Health First Aid training to community partner organizations and caregivers. Mental Health First Aid for Adults teaches people how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults ages 18+, how to provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care if necessary.
Access to Baby and Child Dentistry
Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) puts young children across Washington state on a lifelong path to good oral health. ABCD connects low-income families with providers who know how to care for young children, focusing on prevention and avoiding tooth decay, as well as educating parents about how to take good care of their children’s teeth.
Foster Home Camping Program
Washington State resident foster parents and registered relative foster caregivers who camp with their foster children are entitled to: Free camping (1 site per night). Free day-use entry in Washington state parks. Participants in the program may camp at first-come, first-served sites or make reservations to camp. Eligible participants making reservations still pay reservation fees.
Royal Family KIDS Camp
Royal Family KIDS Camp fosters resiliency, self-esteem, hope and positive memories. The camp curriculum and activities are woven through the modality of Trust-Based Relational Intervention to ensure our children are experiencing truly life giving activities throughout the 5-day experience.
Camp Ten Trees
Camp Ten Trees was one of the first of its kind in the world and still offers the Pacific Northwest’s only residential summer camp programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies and for children/youth of LGBTQ or non-traditional families.
Together We Rise
Together We Rise works with hundreds of foster agencies, social workers, Advocates, and other partners to bring their programs to foster youth across the nation. Their foundation has allowed them to provide thousands of foster youth across the country with new bicycles, college supplies, and sweet cases so that children do not have to travel from home to home with their belongings in a trash bag.
Ted Brown Music Outreach
Believes music enhances the quality of life by improving learning abilities, relieving stress, and providing a chance to change lives. Their purpose is to support musical activities and programs, including the provision of musical instruments, to enhance the lives of all those in the community.
Seattle Aquarium
Complimentary one-time-use admission tickets and discounted annual memberships are available to qualifying foster and kinship families.
Discounted one-time-use admission tickets and annual memberships are available to qualifying Washington state resident individuals and families who are recipients of EBT/WIC and ProviderOne Services.
Kitsap Foster Care Association (KFCA)
The State of Washington provides for the basic needs of each child in the foster care system. However, there are many additional things that the State does not have the ability to fund. As an association KFCA is committed to meeting additional needs that are essential to the well-being and positive growth of children in care.
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma is proud to support our community by providing free memberships for all foster care families in Pierce County. To sign up a foster family for a free membership visit the Admissions Desk at the Museum and bring your guardianship documentation.
Support Groups for Foster & Kinship Caregivers
Alliance CaRES
While you are doing the important work supporting children and families, Alliance CaRES is here to support YOU. Foster parents and kinship caregivers are often entering children’s lives at one of their most complicated moments. This journey requires endurance, perseverance and courage, but can yield so many rewards.
Alliance CaRES En español
Estamos muy contentos de saber que está considerando sumarse a la comunidad de cuidadores de todo Washington. Los padres de crianza temporal pueden marcar la diferencia en las vidas de los niños y las familias que necesitan apoyo, ya que les brindan crianza temporal o “de momento”. Cada año, alrededor de 5,500 niños ingresan al sistema de cuidado. Las personas como usted son fundamentales para brindar estabilidad y apoyo hasta el momento en que los niños puedan volver a sus hogares de una forma segura.
Alliance Cares Kinship caregiver - Lunch with Luanne
Come have lunch with Luanne (CaRES’ Licensing Coordinator) and get your questions answered around the licensing process, the home inspection, and how to have fun fostering. For prospective foster parents and kinship caregivers.
Drop in sessions will be offered every 4th Tuesday
from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Alliance CaRES Support Groups
Alliance CaRES currently offers three types of support groups for caregivers at varying stages across their journey:
1. Community Groups (Meet with Other Caregivers to discuss challenges, ask questions, and more)
2. Drop-in Discussions (ADHD, Asthma, Nutrition, Fetal Alcohol Disorders, etc.)
3. Supportive Facilitated Discussions (Self Care, LGBTQA+, book clubs, parenting, and While you Wait for your child placements)
Amara’s Kin Connections
Kin Connections works with kinship families who are caring for kids who were placed in their homes by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF)/Child Protective Services (CPS) in King and Pierce counties. This is often referred to as “formal kinship care.” Case workers can refer families by filling out the online form below. Kinship families can sign up by filling out the form as well. There is no cost to families.
BIPOC Foster Families Facebook Group
Amara has recently launched a BIPOC Facebook group! This private Facebook group is for foster parents, kinship caregivers, and those who have adopted/guardianship through foster care who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or Person of Color) to share thoughts and ideas while experiencing foster/kinship care, and to meet other BIPOC foster and kinship parents to share resources and build community. This Group is a safe space for BIPOC foster caregivers to support one another through these unique experiences with the child welfare system.
DCYF Launched Foster Parent Recruitment Facebook Page
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families' (DCYF) Recruitment and Retention Team is stepping into the world of social media! After months of hard work, have announced a DCYF-approved Facebook page for recruiting foster parents across Washington State.