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PRIDE Classes for Foster Parents
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Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education (PRIDE) classes are becoming increasingly required by many states as a method for ensuring consistency in helping foster parents understand state requirements and learn to parent foster children. The classes can run over several weeks or months, although some Colorado counties or foster care agencies provide them as part of a cram-packed three or four day seminar. Typically, however, the classes run for about 8 weeks and average about 3 hours per week.
In Colorado, the general areas of education include:
- Attachment, including attachment disorders and how to recognize them
- Loss, which focuses on the types of losses the child is likely to be experiencing
- Child development, to help foster parents understand how children can be, for example, at one level emotionally, another level physically, and yet another level mentally
- Family relationships, to help foster parents understand the types of environments foster children typically live in. This section includes information about kinship care.
- Adoption issues, which are varied and often more intensive with older children than with younger ones.
- Placement challenges, which can be anything from difficulties in scheduling visits to managing serious behavioral issues
- Discipline, including a lengthy list of the types of discipline not allowed in Colorado
The classes are a good way to get to know some of the caseworkers you'll be working with, plus you'll meet other potential foster parents who can become invaluable resources for you. They aren't difficult classes, and do provide information that even the most experienced parent can use.
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