Orientation & MAPP Training

In your pursuit to become a licensed foster family or to adopt children out of foster care, you will need to successfully complete a 30 hour training curriculum, the Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP). MAPP is a selection tool for the mutual use of your family and the Safe Children Coalition to determine if fostering and adoption are right for your family.

• Each class is led by a trained social worker who is accompanied by a licensed foster parent. Some topics you will cover in class:
• Recognizing and working with the loss and grief children experience when they are removed from their parents, regardless of the abuse or neglect they experienced at home.
• Identifying your family's strengths and skills to determine the appropriate matches for your home.
• Parenting techniques to support the special needs of children in foster care.
• For foster families, supporting the biological parents' attempts to reunify with their child(ren).
• For adoptive families, recognizing that birth-family connections are an integral part of a foster child's development.