Training: First and second year
Ongoing training helps caregivers feel confident, supported, and prepared to care for the children and youth in their homes. Whether you’re just getting started or continuing your learning journey, we’re here to make it easier to meet your training requirements.
Below you’ll find training options for both your first year Core Training and second year training requirements. Choose the format that works best for you and let us know if you need support along the way.
Connect with us
Reach out with any questions, we’d love to hear from you! Connect with your regional support specialist today.
First-year training requirements
Complete your first-year foster or adoptive parent training requirements through our Core Training options.
About Core Training: Core Training for Resource Families will help you understand what your role as a resource parent will be and will prepare you to effectively work with a child’s team. It will also help you gain an understanding of the needs of the children and youth, including the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting a young person who has experienced trauma.
Who needs to take Core Training? Anyone interested in foster care or pre-adoptive placement must be licensed by the State of Alaska. As part of the licensing process, all prospective foster and adoptive parents are required to complete Core Training for Resource Families.
What is a resource family?
A resource family is a loving and supportive family—whether related or not—who opens their home to care for children and teens through foster care, adoption, or kinship care.
They’re everyday people making an extraordinary difference by offering stability, safety, and connection when it’s needed most.
Core Training
Complete your training in the way that works best for you. You can join a live session, take a self-paced online course, or use a workbook at your own pace.
Live virtual course series: Join us for a six-session, live, virtual course. Please sign up using our training calendar or reach out to us to find out about upcoming classes.
Find upcoming dates on our training calendar.
Training calendarSelf-paced online: A 10-session web-based class that you can complete on your own time. New classes start at the beginning of each month, and you have up to 10 weeks to complete the course. To engage in this option, you must have an email address and reliable internet service.
Please note: Completing your orientation is highly encouraged before you sign up for the online course option.
Sign up for the web-based Core Training.
Register onlineSelf-paced workbook: We have developed a self-study workbook that covers the basics of Core Training and allows families without access to the virtual or online sessions to complete the initial training requirement.
Are you a relative caregiver? We have a version especially for you. Please specify that you are in need of the relative caregiver version when requesting the workbook.
Contact us to request a Core Training workbook today.
Request the workbookSecond-year training options
Training options
To support your continued growth and meet annual training requirements, we offer two options designed to fit your learning style and schedule: Need help choosing the best option? Reach out, we’re here to support you.
Option 1: Understanding the regulations series
Explore key regulations that guide your role as a foster parent.
Option 2: Second Year Training Cluster
Complete five essential online trainings to fulfill your Individualized Training Plan (ITP) for your second year.
Prefer printed or emailed materials? Use this form to request them by mail or email.
Trainings include:
- Reporting child abuse and neglect: Understand your duties as a mandatory reporter.
- The reasonable and prudent parent standard: Learn when and how you can approve activities.
- The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): Discover how ICWA supports children and families.
- Birth and foster parent partnership: Tips for building respectful relationships with birth parents.
- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD): An introduction to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.
