Helping Children And Families Live Successfully.
Contact a Foster Care Trainer 
Scott Fields
Senior Trainer
731-288-4612
email me or fill out an application to be a foster parent
Orientation: Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 1pm and 5:30pm. See our orientation and training calendar. Call or stop by to see if foster care might be an option for you to give back to your community and the young people who so desperately need a loving, caring adult in their lives.
Training classes: We have started our training class on Monday and Thursday evenings starting at 6:15 PM. They began on September 14, 2009 and will continue through October 26, 2009. If you think you might be interested you can still join this class through September 24, 2009. Give Scott a call if you would like to join in this class. Also, see our orientation and training calendar.
Locations of trainings: Typically orientations and training classes are held in the Youth Villages office in Dyersburg, TN. Call me if you would like to find out how orientation or classes could be offered closer to you.
Contact Scott Fields at (731) 288-4612 or email me for more information.
Current foster parent news:Thank you to all the parents who have already called and set up their trainings for this quarter. If you have not done so, please don't miss out on this opportunity to get some of that re-certification training done. Once we all have done this a time or two, it will be much easier and better for us all. In the meantime, if you have any questions about what classes you need or have problems making out the schedule, just give me a call. -- Thanks! Scott
Meet the Brown family
Eddie and Linda Brown completed their seven weeks of training and were certified as foster parents in February 2009. They recalled seeing the newspaper ad calling for foster parents several times before they finally responded; now they wish they’d done it sooner.
The Browns’ two main motives for wanting to be foster parents were to help children who need a loving, nurturing and caring home and because they were unable to have children of their own. They see fostering as a great way to make a difference in the lives of children. Although the certification process was not the easiest thing she has done. Linda says it was well worth it. The training classes were informative and covered a lot of material the Browns have needed as they foster children.
Things are going well for the Browns as they’ve been helping their first foster child. "Don't be swayed by the extensive history some of these kids have,” they say. “The kids need help. They need you! Don't let someone else stop you from being a foster parent, come to the trainings, take a child or two or three and make the choice for yourself. It may be the most rewarding thing you ever do."
Parents as tender healers
The PATH training classes were developed to help prospective foster parents decide whether providing foster, adoptive or kinship care to children is appropriate for them. PATH is based on the belief that children grow and develop better in families, where they can build lasting relationships. The early trauma experienced by many children in the child welfare system has a lifelong impact on how they feel about themselves, their ability to trust and their willingness to build relationships. Foster families will address issues that are different from those faced by families that are formed by birth. This curriculum addresses these core issues in a way that prepares prospective resource families for their new and complex role. The skills needed to be a successful resource parent differs from those needed to rear children from birth. Everything in this training including the written material, video presentations, in-class assignments, role-plays, class discussions and interactions, as well as the homework, is designed to help resource parents begin to understand the children and develop the skills needed to parent them successfully.
