All foster parents in Texas must go through a course designed (or approved) for them by the State of Texas. This can be one of the most confusing parts of starting out your journey. Here are a couple tools and tips you can use to navigate these courses and find the right one for you.
According to the DFPS (Texas Department of Family and Protective Services)
“Training of foster parents is required by the Minimum Standards for Child-Placing promulgated by the Child Care Licensing division of Texas Health & Human Services. These standards require that all foster parents receive an orientation and pre-service training.”
So what is my pre-service training?
Your pre-service training is going to take some time. There’s really no way around it. The DFPS requires that you take the PRIDE (Parent Resource for Information, Development, Education) pre-service training program. We promise they won’t waste your time though. The course covers important topics such as child attachment issues, loss and grief, discipline, behavior intervention, the effects of abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, working with the child welfare system, and effects of fostering and adopting on the family.
These are definitely important things for you and your family to be aware of.
According to the DFPS: Foster homes caring for children receiving only child-care services must complete 20 hours of annual training per home. Foster homes caring for children receiving treatment services are required to complete the following annual training hours:
- 50 hours for homes with two foster parents; and
- 30 hours for homes with one foster parent.
Ready to learn more? Click the link below!
https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/Get_Started/default.asp
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