OKDHS provides training for our Bridge Resource Parents at no expense to the families. Training opportunities are offered throughout the year. Training enrollment is coordinated and arranged with your assigned OKDHS Resource Specialist.
OKDHS has created several web-delivered courses to help Bridge Resource Families access the information that they need. These courses were built with you in mind and cover some important topics for foster and adoptive families. These courses can be accessed on the web at any time and generally take about 1 hour to complete. But if you don’t have time to finish a course you have the ability to come back and start where you left off.
Courses that are currently available:
- Becoming A Bridge Resource Parent: Orientation
- Post-Adoptive Tool Box
- Psychotropic Medications
- Visits: A Guide for Bridge Resource Parents
- Trauma-Informed Care: An Introduction for Bridge Resource Parents
- Legal Processes for Bridge Resource Parents
- A Resource Parents’ Guide to Their Contract and Handbook
OKDHS Child Welfare has made a series of 19 Videos available to Foster Parents. These videos provide specialized training in topics relevant to many Resource Families. Foster Parents can earn 1 hour of training credit (for a maximum of 9 hours a year) with Child Welfare by viewing the video and passing a 15 question quiz concerning the information covered in the video.
There are several training opportunities available to you at the website of the National Resource Center for Youth Services, including Foster Parent College. When resource parents register for online training at this website, their selected courses are pre-paid.
Completion of the Guiding Principles for Oklahoma Bridge Resource Families, the 9 session 27 hour pre-service curriculum, is mandatory training to become an OKDHS Bridge resource family.
Attendance is required for each day. Each class builds on information from previous classes. Due to space and the nature of the material, class size is limited. If you are interested in this training please contact your resource specialist and they can assist you with enrollment and additional information on location and start time.
The training will cover the following:
- Protecting and nurturing the children who have been abused, emotionally maltreated, or neglected.
- Learning what resource parents can do to promote healthy development.
- Understanding the importance of promoting safety for children who have experienced trauma.
- Supporting relationships between children and their parents, siblings, and kin, as specified by OKDHS
- Connecting children to safe, nurturing relationships and collaborating with OKDHS as a team member
Bridge In-service Training
Becoming a Bridge Resource Family utilizes a 3-hour curriculum to introduce the concepts and expectations of the Bridge approach to a child welfare practice to current resource parents. This training is mandatory for all resource parents who received pre-service training prior to July 2007.
Annual In-Service Training
All Bridge Resource parents are to complete 12 hours of continuing in-service training per calendar year on subjects that promote their skills and interests as providers. The training is provided in the following formats:
- OKDHS offices provide free in-service training options to Bridge Resource families, including conferences, video and taped instruction, and literature.
- Internet instruction through recognized state and private foster care agencies is accepted as meeting in-service training requirements. The Bridge Resource family provides to the resource specialist the certificate of training, if available, from the training source, listing the completed approved hours.
- Bridge Resource families have options in selecting classes, conferences, reading materials, or other learning opportunities that enhance their skills as providers and meet the in-service training requirement. Prior approval from the resource specialist is secured to ensure a common understanding of credit for each event.
- Bridge Resource families can also attend Adoptive Parent Training days which are offered twice per year for training credit
The Oklahoma Autism Network 2011 Training Schedule is now available and can be viewed on-line at their website. The schedule provides a brief description of each training being offered, the date and city of the trainings, and a Registration form. If you would like to attend any of the trainings, fill out the Registration form and fax, email or mail the form at least 7 days prior to the training. There is no charge for the training.