Course Breakdown

The workshops offered through Cerritos College help to enhance and develop parenting skills related to caring for both foster children and children in a relatives care. As a licensed foster parent, you are required to obtain continuing education hours every year, and the classes we offer at Cerritos College through the FKCE program fill these requirements. To know which classes we offer, look at the Courses section. Please know that you are invited to attend any/all classes that are of interest to you; while you need to do a certain number of classes per year if you are a foster parent, you are more than welcome to attend any other classes for your personal enrichment. Additionally, if you are a relative care provider, you are also welcome to attend the classes as often as you would like. All of the classes we teach deal with different topic areas involved in raising the children in your care.

PS-MODEL APPROACH TO PARTNERSHIP IN PARENTING

PS-MAPP is a 33 hour class that is taken by those who are working toward becoming a foster parent through the county of Los Angeles.  The PS-MAPP workshops support achieving permanency for children by providing a screening process to help screen, target and support only the most committed potential resource families from communities the children belong to, to provide nurturing alternate homes for children.

  The PS MAPP program emphasizes teamwork between resource families, birth families, and other stakeholders to create a solution that takes into consideration the unique needs of each child.  The class series is taught in an interactive group format, and is led by a team of three facilitators, including an experienced foster parent, a trainer from the local community college and the childs social worker.

  This class only needs to be taken once.  An orientation by the county is required prior to taking the PS-MAPP class.  Class size is limited to 25, so please call to pre-register. 

D-RATE TRAINING FOR CERTIFICATION

If you are a foster parent and either have a child in your care currently, or are wanting to take a child who has been diagnosed as having emotional difficulties (classified as a D-rate child by DCFS), then you will need to take this 16-hour training. Successful completion of this 16-hour training is part of the D-Rate licensing requirements. If you are a foster parent that's completed a D-rate series of classes and is already D-rate certified, you are required to attend basic rate (W-Rate) FKCE classes to meet a total of 18 hours of completion in order to renewel your certifcation. Please note, our Whole Foster Family Home (SB500) classes are not hours that our participants can use toward their renewel hours, theses series of classes are for a specifc topic in foster care. Additionally, if you are a relative caregiver and have a child with emotional difficulties, you may also want to attend this series of classes so that you are better equipped to help the child (or children) in your care. This series of instruction helps you provide a safe, nurturing home for children who present severe and persistent emotional and behavioral challenges. You'll learn various aspects to foster children and discover their positive strengths.

You need this series of classes only once. Class size is limited to 30. Please call to pre-register and confirm your place in class.

F-RATE TRAINING FOR CERTIFICATION

If you are a foster parent and either have a child in your care currently or are wanting to take a child who has been diagnosed as being medically fragile (classified as a F-rate child by DCFS), then you will need to take this 16 hour training. Successful completion of this 16-hour training is part of the F-Rate licensing requirements. If you are F-rate certified and have completed a series of F-rate classses you are required to complete a total of 12 hours of FKCE basic rate classes in order to renewl your F-rate certification. If you are both, D and F-rate certified you are responsible to complete a total of 30 hours in order to complete both of certifications. Please note, our Whole Foster Family Home (SB500) classes are not hours that our participants can use toward their renewel hours, theses series of classes are for a specifc topic in foster care.

Additionally, if you are a relative caregiver and have a child with emotional difficulties, you may also want to attend this series of classes so that you are better equipped to deal with the medical issues of the child (or children) in your care. You'll need a lot of extra know-how and skill to care for a child with special medical needs such as diabetes, alcohol or drug addiction. In F-Rate, you'll gain knowledge and confidence as you learn more about your childs specific needs.

You need this series of classes only once. Class size is limited to 30. Please call to pre-register and confirm your place in class.

RELATIVE CAREGIVER PROGRAM
(Also known as Kinship Caregivers)

What is Kinship Care? Who is considered a Kinship Care Provider?
A Kinship Care Provider can be anyone who is either related by blood or has a relationship with a child who needs to be cared for. Kinship or relative care occurs when an individual provides care for a child who is a family relative or has a relationship with that child. Examples of who is a kinship care provider would be: grandmothers, sisters, aunts, first cousins, neighbors, etc. In a general sense, a Kinship Care Provider can be anyone who is either related by blood or has a relationship with a child who needs to be cared for.

The Kinship Orientation and KEPS training is required by DCFS. In order to be in compliance, Kinship Care Providers need to complete both an enhanced Kinship Orientation (a 4-hour class) as well as the KEPS training (a 36 hour training).

KINSHIP ENHANCED ORIENTATION

Are you a grandparent, uncle, aunt, or other extended family member caring part-time or full-time for a relatives child? If you answered yes, then Kinship Orientation is for you. You'll need to attend a Kinship Care Orientation to get the answers to many critical concerns. Often, unforeseen issues involving care for your relatives child, such as what will happen during the court process, getting needed financial assistance, and helping your family presents new and difficult worries.

KEPS TRAINING

KEPS (Kinship Education, Preparation and Support) is a mandated 36-hour training specifically designed for relative care providers who are in the system; that is, who are involved with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). However, these classes are a great way for relative caregivers, both in the system, as well as those who are not, to gain invaluable information and support for issues specifically related to being a caretaker of a relatives child. Our goal is to provide information that will assist you in caring for and providing service to children. All relative caregivers are welcome.

ILP

Do you have a teen preparing to emancipate? Independent Living Skills Program (ILP) is a life-skills based instruction provided to foster teens. The ILP component consists of thirty (30) hours of class work provided on the college campus. Recruitment to ILP is conducted by DCFS and Community College Foundation Outreach Advisors. This program is a great source for community contacts and helpful for teens preparing for emancipation into adult life.

Cerritos College hosts three (3) ILP sessions per year. The classes are on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm and transportation is provided. A hot meal is also provided to teens participating in each of the ten (10) required class meetings. If you have teen 16-19 years of age who has not participated in an ILP program, contact Cerritos College and we will direct you to representatives to schedule your teen in upcoming ILP classes.