Working with Children in Foster Care

Children in foster care are dealing with dramatic changes, grief, and trauma. In this panel discussion facilitated by Dr. Carla Smith, PhD LCSW LMFT — Dr. Stephen Ford, PhD, LPCC-S and Noelle James LICSW talk about the unique mental health needs of both children and caregivers in the foster care system — including how trauma, attachment issues, and other emotional and behavioral challenges impact their situations.

This panel discussion provides an important conversation about evidence-based interventions and treatment approaches that support the mental health of the children, adolescents, and their caregivers.

You will learn to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the foster care experience for both the children and their caregivers so you can provide support and help them navigate the challenges associated with this period and beyond.

• Understand how children in the foster care system are impacted by traumatic experiences, attachment issues, and emotional and mental health issues.

• Apply effective interventions and treatment approaches that support the mental health of children and their caregivers in the foster care setting and improve their well-being.

Imagine being pulled away from everything and everyone you knew and placed in a new situation, with new caregivers, new rules, a new school, and different other children in the home. And at any time, that situation could change again.

Your developmental stage, your life experiences, and your support system will equip you for how you handle this new situation and how you express grief and the other emotions that are undoubtedly part of that experience.

Our panelists will walk us through these experiences as well as strategies and interventions that can help these children and their caregivers so they can improve their outcomes.