Support Group Toolkit
Working draft page
Peer-to-peer support is one of the most effective strategies for supporting foster, adoptive, or grandparent-led families, but support groups are hard to maintain! The most effective support groups provide a balance of discussion, general venting, and education, but this takes time and the last thing most facilitators have is time. Our Support Group Toolkits are a turnkey solution that is trauma-informed and expert-based covering topics directly relevant to foster, kinship, and adoptive families. We provide everything you need to run an engaging and relevant meeting. Each toolkit comes with a video, facilitators guide, handouts, and list of additional resources.
Handling Sensory Issues
We all process sensory input differently, but some people are especially sensitive. What might be a minor annoyance for you can be overwhelming and disruptive to someone who struggles with sensory processing issues. In this toolkit, we explore sensory processing issues and how they affect children. We take a look at some common behaviors of kids with sensory processing issues, and a take a non-diagnostic quiz to determine if your child needs further evaluation. Finally, we provide tried and true techniques to help a child struggling with sensory processing issues.
Helping Children Heal from Trauma and Loss
Trauma is a hot topic in foster care and adoption, and for good reason. The vast majority of kids who were adopted at an older age or who have spent time in the foster care system have experienced some kind of trauma. However, trauma, and its impacts on children, isn’t always well understood by parents. In this toolkit, we look at what neglect is, how it can impact children and how parents can determine if a behavior is based in trauma. Most importantly, we look at ways parents can help their children start healing from that early trauma.
The Joys and Challenges of Kinship Care
Millions of grandparents are raising their grandchildren. Approximately 30-35% of children in foster care are living with extended family, and 1 in every 11 children in the US will spend some time in kinship care. While it shares many issues and joys with traditional adoption and foster care, kinship care is its own beast, and thus has its own challenges and rewards. This course looks at the unique benefits and challenges of kinship care. We also provide a list of tips to help parents raise children in kinship care.
