The Lifelong Families Training Curriculum

Summary

This Casey training program began when the prevailing child welfare model shifted from long-term foster care to a signature permanency program. Lifelong Families, created by our now defunct child welfare agency, promotes permanence through a practice called teaming. The goal of this curriculum is to train social workers in the implementation of the Lifelong Families permanency approach so kids in high-needs treatment foster care can find permanent families and improved well-being. The manual presents a comprehensive 2-day curriculum including agenda, assignments, presentations, handouts, daily modules with timetable and more.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Agenda
• Reading Assignments
• Definitions of Permanance
• Permanency Teaming
• Safety Parameters
• Meetings with Youth
• Meetings with Adults
• Large Team Meeting
• Permanency-Focused Team Management
• Handouts

Key Takeaway

The collaborative strategy deemed Teaming is key to the success of the Lifelong Families permanence approach.

Facilitated by the child’s social worker, Permanency Teaming uses a blend of meetings to address safety, well-being and permanence. As a collaborative approach to planning for kids either in foster care or at risk of entering foster care, Permanency Teaming identifies a legal parent for each youth. The team is then engaged in a process aimed at exiting the youth from foster care by identifying, developing and sustaining legal family relationships.