Foster Care and Adoption provides a variety of trainings and conferences for licensed Fairfax County foster parents occurring in 2025-2026. Dates are subject to change, so check back often.
Note: Some trainings may require attendance for multiple dates.
Kinship Care Symposium! Promoting Kinship Bonds for Youth: Foster Care & Beyond
Thursday, September 25, 2025
9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Richmond Hwy
Arlington, VA 22202
Continental breakfast provided! Panel moderated by Chauncey Strong, MSW Strong Training & Consulting. The keynote speaker is Terry Harrak, Youth Law Center CLE’s and CEU’s available. Register online.
Mastering VEMAT
Thursday, October 16, 2025
6-7:30 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom
This training will teach resource parents about the Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment Tool (VEMAT), how to navigate a VEMAT, and how the score is used to determine maintenance payments for youth in foster care. The link will be sent to you after registration. Register online by Oct. 10.
Loss and Grief
December 2025 (Date and Time TBD)
Virtual
This overview of the grief and loss process will help resource parents understand its impact and trauma on a child's development, attachment, and sense of security. Participants will explore the types of loss, how children respond to loss, and the potential impact on the family. Participants will also learn how to manage their feelings of grief and loss when a child transitions from their home.
Behavior & Discipline
January 2026 (Date and Time TBD)
Virtual
Resource parents will learn about common behaviors for youth and adolescents in foster care. Develop useful skills and methods to improve communication with children. Explore various ways to approach discipline and how to defuse potentially difficult situations such as tantrums and power struggles. We’ll cover expected behaviors by age and a wide range of ways to solve common challenges.
Foster-to-Adopt
February 2026 (Date and Time TBD)
Virtual (2 sessions)
Foster to Adopt training will help resource parents to identify adoption challenges that may affect your child’s life. We’ll define the unique roles of foster parenting and adoptive parenting. Other topics will include fostering a positive racial identity, the impact of adoption, and levels of openness. There is also a presentation to prepare parents for the financial side of adoption (i.e., adoption subsidy).
Mental Health First Aid
March 2026 (Date and Time TBD)
Resource parents will learn the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of mental health problems in youth and how to effectively help a youth in crisis. The training will focus on:
- Identifying mental health problems.
- The importance of early intervention.
- When, where, and how to get help.
- The types of help shown by research to be effective.
Special Education
April 2026 (Date and Time TBD)
This training will explain the basics of special education rights and responsibilities as well as some very practical strategies for maximizing educational benefits for children in your care. Resource parents will get concrete strategies for improving delivery of their children’s individualized education program.
Foster Parent Appreciation Event/Raising Resilient Children Training
May 2026 (Date and Time TBD)
This is a celebration of our foster parents as well as a training that will provide an overview of biopsychosocial impacts upon children, adolescents, and their families while growing up in a time of societal challenges including the current pandemic and social justice concerns. The presenter will take a developmental approach examining how children and adolescents process information and then help the audience develop skills to help children and adolescents cope and reenter a world that has been unpredictable and scary. It will also facilitate understanding of screening, assessment, and identification methods to assist social workers and their families. There will be a discussion of how trauma may present in children and adolescents.
(return to Foster Care and Adoption)