ARC Reflections Training Program

The ARC Reflections training curriculum teaches foster parents and caregivers about helping children in foster care cope with traumatic stress. The training, developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Justice Resource Institute, consists of nine presentations that walk a facilitator — slide by slide — through important topics, such as identifying the different types of trauma, understanding a child’s communication preferences and cultivating a child’s self-regulation skills. View the ARC Reflections training materials.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Orientation and Handouts

The Casey Foundation and the Justice Resource Institute developed ARC Reflections, a training curriculum dedicated to developing foster parents and caregivers’ understanding of traumatic stress. This orientation document gives facilitators tips on implementing ARC Reflections and provides handouts with instructions for training.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session One

Understanding Trauma

The ARC Reflections training curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through a session’s content. Session One focuses on understanding the types of trauma, how some trauma exposures are less obvious than others and how trauma influences the behaviors of kids and teens in foster care.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Two

Behavior Makes Sense

The ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session Two focuses on the three-part sequence for understanding trauma-related behavior: 1) the lens the child or teen is using to understand the world, 2) the need the child or teen is trying to meet with his or her behavior and 3) the child or teen’s ability to recover.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Three

Put on Your Oxygen Mask

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session Three helps facilitators teach participants how to understand their own responses to stress and trauma, identify their strengths and vulnerabilities and identify self-care issues.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Four

Cultivate Connection

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session four helps facilitators explain the range of strategies for building and sustaining relationships with children and teens who have experienced profound harm and loss in previous relationships.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Five

Mirror, Mirror

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session five helps facilitators encourage caregivers to be curious about children and teens’ communications style and learn to respond supportively.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Six

Mirror, Mirror

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session six helps facilitators encourage caregivers to build toolboxes for responding to children and teens in difficult moments and helping them develop their own self-regulation skills.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide to Session Seven

Respond, Don't React

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session seven helps facilitators show caregivers how to find and grow their ability to stay calm in the midst of trying circumstances. Caregivers learn to understand where behaviors come from and engage in strategies that work.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Eight

Who Are You? All About Identity

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session eight helps facilitators show caregivers ways to support positive identity in children and teens in their homes. Caregivers contribute profoundly to this sense of self, even for children and teens in brief placements.

ARC Reflections Facilitator Guide for Session Nine

Endings and Beginnings

This ARC Reflections Training Curriculum walks a facilitator — slide by slide — through each session’s content. Session nine emphasizes that not all endings are the same, transitions can be challenging for children and teens in foster care and foster parents can support a positive transition in a number of ways.

ARC Reflections Training Program

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