The Foster Family Survival: Defensive Parenting

Workbook & Trainer's Guide

Jacob R. Sprouse, Jr.

Designed for a six to nine hour in-service training program, Defensive Parenting may be integrated into any current educational program or offered independently as either a group training opportunity or individual foster family self-study.

Accepting the perspective that the potential of allegations of abuse" comes with the territory" of fostering, we must, as foster families, develop strategies that (1) reduce the potential that allegations will be made, and (2) once allegations have been made, reduce the damage to the foster parents and their family. The five modules of Foster Family Survival: Defensive Parenting present the opportunity for foster families to "fine-tune" their "family business" to both continue quality foster care services to children in care and to reduce both the potential for and impact of allegations of abuse.

I. Redefining the Role of Foster Parent: Case Advocacy - The Politics of Effective Foster Parenting: To some degree, the role of the foster parent and the family has evolved and changed to meet the demands of both the kinds of children coming into care and the kinds of needs and demands these children make on the child care system.

The ability of the traditional "mom and pop" foster family to both accommodate these changes and meet the demands suggests that traditional foster care needs a boost. The Politics of Effective Foster Parenting offers strategies to empower the traditional fostering model with a para-professional role for the foster parents and an effective team production of child welfare services.

II. Back to the Basics: Understanding Agency Policies and Procedures: A major component of a successful fostering experience is understanding the policies and procedures of your placing agency: what is child abuse, acceptable and unacceptable discipline; codes of personal conduct; reporting requirements, legal liabilities, insurance coverage, rights and responsibilities, and both the decision-making process and appeal procedures. Back to the Basics presents guidelines for documenting the basics of agency policy and procedure.

III. Knowledge is Power: Information Gathering-Record Keeping: The more you know, the better you serve: information gathering and information keeping are integral parts of successful fostering. Personal, social, medical, educational and legal information about each child in your care is crucial to your role as foster parent - as it impacts your child welfare service and as it indicates potential pitfalls and liabilities to you personally. Knowledge is Power offers a format for both gathering and keeping responsible data.

IV. Developing Family Policy: Good Rules Make Good Sense: As part of the foster care system, your family serves as a "unit" - you are all in it together; how your family lives, goes about its public and private business, has major implications for the potential of allegations of abuse. Good Rules offers a formula for developing a family policy manual that opens doors of understanding regarding: privacy, dress codes, affection, physical contact, secrecy, "other" people substituting for the foster parents.

V. Keeping It Together: Knowing When to Say No and When to Say Enough: Last, but not least, the collection of data and establishment of "family policy" meet at the "decision-point" - "do we take this placement?" - "do we continue this placement?" - "do we continue to foster?". Keeping It Together provides a common sense framework for common sense decision making.

#2065 Foster Family Survival: Defensive Parenting: THE WORKBOOK

#2065: $7.50 Ea. ; 10+ Copies - $6.60 Ea. 

#2060: Foster Family Survival: Defensive Parenting: Trainer's Guide

The package contains:

  • Loose-leaf curriculum and three-ring notebook,
  • one (1) set of thirteen (13) visual vignette transparency masters,
  • twenty-four (24) text transparency masters, and,
  • one (1) copy of THE WORKBOOK.

#2060 $60.00 Ea.

Two additional resources support the recordkeeping component of Defensive Parenting:

#201 Kids Stuff: An Information System For Family Foster Care

A folder pre-printed for documenting medical, financial and social data for the period the child is in your care, plus a quick-reference chart for basic day-to-day information, phone numbers and biographical data. The folder provides space for maintaining other information - school reports, correspondence and appointments for each child. Used at the time of placement, the system insures complete information on each child; forwarded with the child, the file systems insures complete information for the birth family, or other custodians, on the child while in your care.

#201 Kids Stuff; Single Copy $1.00; 5 pack $4.50; 10 pack $8.50; 25 Pack $20.00; 50 Pack $37.50; 100 Case $60.00.

#0169 Recordkeeping Made Easier - A Guide for Foster Families

Recordkeeping Made Easier explores the motivations for recordkeeping by foster families and provides a framework for effective recordkeeping within the day-to-day "busy" of foster family life. In addition to enhancing the foster family's effectiveness as parents and their success as advocates, recordkeeping is the single most effective defensive parenting technique. Recordkeeping Made Easier supports a foster family recordkeeping system by providing seven (7) form masters suitable for developing a "fill-in-the-blank" system for the busy foster family care provider.

#0169 $6.50 Ea., 10 Copies - $5.90 Ea.