Critical Ongoing Resource Family Education (CORE) Teen Curriculum

When children and youth are not able to safely return to the care of their family, it is imperative that professionals tirelessly pursue permanency through adoption or guardianship. According to AFCARS, of the 125,000 children and youth waiting to be adopted, 13,846 (11 percent) are between the ages of 15 and 17 years old. Currently, we know that older youth wait longer to be adopted than younger children, which likely can be attributed to the lack of foster/adoptive homes available for teens. In order to achieve permanency for each of these teens, we need more families with the skills and competencies to understand and respond to youth needs.

This is where the CORE Teen curriculum comes in. Spaulding for Children—in partnership with the ChildTrauma Academy, the Center for Adoption Support and Education, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, and the University of Washington—have concluded the 3-year piloting of the curriculum designed for both prospective and current families who support older youth from the child welfare system who have moderate to severe emotional and behavioral challenges.

CORE Teen has shown statistically significant growth in knowledge for those families that participated in the pilot, which included three components:

• A research-supported self-assessment survey to help parents determine their strengths and areas for growth designed to be taken before and after the trainin
• A 14-hour classroom curriculum consisting of seven intermediate to advanced sessions with interactive and engaging content that includes lecture, videos, activities, and discuss
• Right time training, which consists of individual, on-demand modules that covers eight themes and includes a 20- to 25-minute video reflecting stories from youth, resource families and content experts, and an accompanying discussion guide

The following resources provide information about the CORE Teen curriculum and parenting older youth from foster care.

3 Resources on CORE Teen Curriculum and Parenting Older Youth From Foster Care

For more information, visit at https://www.childwelfare.gov.
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