| Instructions | ||
Lesson #1: |
Working with Birth Parents | |
Lesson #2: |
Keeping Children Connected To Their Birth Families | |
Lesson #3: |
Visitations | |
| Conclusion: | Check Your Understanding Questionnaire |
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COURSE OBJECTIVES:1. To clarify the roles and responsibilities of OCS and resource parents when working with birth parents 2. To explore how resource parents and birth parents can work together better 3. To explore ways to help children stay connected to their birth families 4. To help make visits go more smoothly |
INTRODUCTION TO THIS COURSE:
Alaska is moving towards a “family to family” model of out-of-home care for children in the custody of the State of Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services. You will hear foster and foster-adoptive families now called “resource families.” A resource family is any foster, foster-adoptive, tribal or kinship care family that is caring for a child in the custody of the Office of Children’s Services, also known as OCS.
Birth families remain important to children, even when the plan is not reunification. The role of the resource families may range from answering questions about the birth family to helping with visits to mentoring and providing support for birth families who are getting their kids back. This self-study will look at why resource families are being asked to do more with birth families, look at strategies to keep children connected to their families, and discuss ways to make visitation go more smoothly.