The Consortium for Child Welfare’s foster parent training provides thirty hours of pre-service training, meeting the foster parent training requirements for persons seeking to become licensed foster parents in the District of Columbia. The training is based on the nationally recognized PRIDE foster parent curriculum.

Class participants should be affilitiated with a Consortium foster parent training agency and have completed their foster parent orientation. A foster parent training course consists of ten, three-hour classes and are offered on a Saturday or Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Saturday trainings have been expanded to provide two classes each session, allowing participants to complete training in five weeks.

Training is offered free of charge. Participants must be pre-registered by their foster parent agency to attend the training. Classes are currently scheduled through the fall of the 2007.

Registered participants will be given the address of the training site in a confirmation letter sent prior to the training. Child care is not provided and participants are asked not to bring children with them to the training. Dinner is provided at the Tuesday/Thursday evening class and lunch is provided at the Saturday class.

Agency foster parent recruiters should register training participants by registering on-line. Registered participants will receive a confirmation letter prior to the beginning of the training course.

For more information on foster parent training, contact Jennifer Lothridge, Foster Parent Training Program Coordinator @ 202.547.1589 (mailbox #4).