Sexting – the sending the explicit texts, pictures, and videos – is a serious problem.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) News Magazine has published several open letters from parents to their teen and pre-teen children about the issue here.
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News and other information of interest to foster parents.
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“All A Child Needs”
“All a child needs is one person to love them forever. Forever!” Rosie O’Donnell, from an “omg! Insider” interview, 10/25/1013.
Sexting. If you’re not familiar with the word and what it is, you should be!
Wikepedia defines Sexting as the act of sending sexually explicit messages and/or photographs, primarily between mobile phones.
And while most of us are aware of the problem of “Cyber” or online bullying via Facebook and other social media sites, a new form of child abuse is beginning to arise:
Cyber-Blackmail
This form of child abuse is just beginning to come to light in both the USA and in the United Kingdom.
Check out this article from the BBC by clicking on the article title:
Cyber-blackmailers ‘abusing hundreds of UK children’
FosterParentTraining.com is in the process of preparing a new Training Topic dealing with the growing problem of Sexting & Cyber Bullying.
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Foster parent members can now take the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) training online and receive 10 Hours Training Credit.
Your 10-Hr FosterParentTraining.com Training Certificate is conditional upon completing the FEMA Final Exam.
To take this training, select FEMA: Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness from the Training Download Topic list.
FosterParentTraining.com Membership Required!
New Training Topic!
Clean – A critical look at the nation’s approach to drug treatment [ .75 Hr ]
A Father Tells The Story Of His Son’s Struggle To Stay ‘Clean’.
Natonal Public Radio’s Terry Gross interviews author David Sheff.
“The view that drug use is a moral choice is pervasive, pernicious and wrong,” writes David Sheff in Clean, a critical look at the nation’s approach to drug treatment. Sheff argues that we should not wait for “rock bottom” — that addiction should be treated promptly, just like any other disease.
The interview is online and lasts 34 mins. Members receive three-quaters of an hour training credit.
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New Training Topic!
Back to School: Teaching “non-cognitive skills” = 1 Hr Training Credit
This informative one-hour training is an audio broadcast from This American Life and focuses on the emerging importance of “non-cognitive skills” in public education. Qualities like tenacity, resilience, impulse control.
This training is listed in the list of topics available when you click on TRAINING LOGIN in the Menu at the top of the page.
Every foster child has a caseworker. Your relationship with caseworkers is vital to your success as a foster parent.
Qualified foster care agencies in the United States can offer Half-Off FosterParentTraining.com memberships.
Click Here to see if your agency has signed on to our Half-Off Membership program.
Beginning today, FosterParentTraining.com will have a frequent (sometimes daily) blog called “Topic:”.
Today’s topic: Youth Parole Placements – Better than regular foster care?
For those who are unfamiliar with Youth Parole, most states have a system for youth offenders who turn 18 so they don’t automatically go into the adult criminal system. Instead, they remain under the youth offenders services, often until they turn 21.
In some states, Youth Parole is a part of youth & family services. In other states, it is a separate entity unto itself.
As part of Youth Parole’s reason for being, they provide youthful offenders the opportunity to transition from being locked up into adulthood via independent living skills homes. These homes offer job placement assistance, budgeting skills training, and help in finding affordable places to live once the young offender is ready to live on their own.
Because the placements in these homes are between the ages of 18 and 21, the homes are not licensed as foster homes. (Licensing & staffing qualifications may vary from state to state.) The homes still need to meet basic fire & safety code requirements, as well as any specific placement regulations Youth Parole may require.
Having been a foster parent for a number of year, with all ages, the main differences once notices immediately working with Youth Parole is that the “case workers” are called “PO’s” or Parole Officers and they carry handcuffs instead of a clip board. PO’s also have the power to arrest their clients.
I’d welcome comments, questions, and input from any FosterParentTraining.com member or non-member regarding Youth Parole. I’d specifically like to hear from other Youth Parole homes as to your experience especially if you were a former foster parent.