Our trainings are aimed at educating and equipping faith communities, families and individuals to care for foster or adoptive children. We provide leaders course materials, event supplies, and guides. Sign up and read more about our trainings below.

Trauma-aware and Informed Training

It is important for all who spend time with children, including future and current foster care and adoptive parents, relatives, teachers, childcare workers, clergy, and children’s program volunteers to be aware of the impact of a person’s history. This is even more important for people who spend time with children.

There are many resources for becoming trauma competent, from awareness, gaining knowledge and skills, and implementing practices, to fully integrating practices and principles into your family or organization. The courses we recommend are Empowered to Connect (ETC.) We have two trained ETC facilitators and our goal is to offer various levels of ETC courses and workshops throughout the year.

Cultivate Connection Course

Nine 2-hour Sessions. This course introduces practices and strategies for parents, grandparents, teachers, and all who care for children of all ages. The information covered is rooted in research on brain-based caregiving, attachment, trauma, and more. Participants will have space to breathe, find hope, and feel more empowered to meet daily challenges. Click below to find out more or register for our Fall 2024 Connection Course beginning October 6.

Cost – Participant Guide (required) - $50 for digital download only; $70 for a spiral bound guide and digital download.

Understanding Stress and Trauma Workshop

This 1.5-hour workshop is designed as an overview of stress and trauma and its impact on your mental health. Participants can expect to learn to recognize types of stress and trauma, and how it impacts our physical, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing. Participants will also learn ways to build resilience with curiosity, co-regulation, and collaboration.

No Cost

Supportive Care Group Guide – New and Improved Downloadable Guide!

Both foster care and adoption can be an isolating experience – our Supportive Care Group Guide makes it simple for your congregation, whether staff or volunteers, to host a monthly meeting for foster parents, adoptive parents, and relatives that take in a loved one’s child. The format provides a sense of belonging to all parties involved.

Regardless of how the foster/adoptive family dynamic came to be, there are unique rewards and challenges that only foster, adoptive, and kinship parents face. The potential for emotional, intellectual, and physical stress can become very high and every bit of research shows that support systems (both formal and informal) can have a beneficial influence on the entire family.

Access the Course & Guide

Adoption and Foster Care Decisions Course

Seeing children lose hope in finding a family who truly loves them as they are is heartbreaking. Without a mother to wipe their tears after a fall, or a father to confide in on the drive to school - these children feel lonely. They become numb to their desire for familial love.

You want to show these children love, but taking care of them can be a challenge you’re not sure you’re prepared for. It is hard to know all the logistics of bringing a child into your home and how to best handle their unique situations.

Our Decisions Course will help you have a realistic expectation and understanding of what will be required of you if you are considering adopting or fostering a child. This course covers all forms of adoption and will help you decide if fostering or adopting is right for you. The course not only prepares you to welcome a child into your home, it also helps you understand other opportunities to help these children if you decide not to adopt a child or bring a child in foster care into your home.

We are currently revising our Adoption & Foster Care Decisions Course due to significant transition of our state’s child welfare system.

The transition is good news! Planning for the changes has taken years, and other regions of Texas have made the transition. The exact date has yet to be determined, but our area is set to transition soon. During much of 2024, most child-placing agencies and other foster care organizations increased their focus on preparations for the changes. Cultivating Families cut back on some of our programming to allow agencies and others the space and time to prepare for the changes.

Please check back for more information about our Adoption and Foster Care Decisions Course.

Group Presentations

Please contact us for information about scheduling a presentation or workshop on the importance of connection and belonging for families and children impacted by foster care and adoption. Your small or large group will learn:

Why faith community involvement is necessary

How welcoming families and children into the life of your congregation strengthens the ministry you already do. It is not a whole new program or ministry!

Ways to prepare your hearts and minds for welcoming families and children impacted by trauma

Ways to strengthen your congregation’s staff and volunteer connection and care skills.