Credit hours:
2.00

Course Summary

This course is designed to help foster parents and caregivers understand and support permanency for foster youth. In this course you will learn that permanency comes in many different shapes and sizes, and that different people can provide different types of permanency for foster youth. FosterClub believes permanence is vital to a youth in and from care's success in life, and that foster parents can play a vital role in this helping youth establish this.

In this course, you can expect to learn:

  • The federal definition of permanency

  • Statistics for permanency outcomes

  • Your role in helping children and youth establish permanence

  • Youth perspective about permanence

  • Build skills to speak to children and youth about permanence

Step 1

Read this FosterClub Real Story written by Aaron Weaver explaining how achieving permanency can make a significant contribution to a young person’s time spent in care.

Step 2

Read "Permanency: More Than Just Homes." The article was written for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteers, and contains relevant and valuable information for foster parents and caregivers

Step 3

Read pages 1-5 of "Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children" from the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Step 4

Review the National Foster Youth Advisory Council's (NFYAC), a group of young leaders who have experienced foster care, top ten recommendations for Ensuring Permanency for Youth in the Foster Care.

Step 5

Young people have a need for permanence even after they leave foster care. Read the blog "You Don't Age Out of Family" written by Julia Charles, a FosterClub Lived Experience Leader.

Step 6

Read this FosterClub Real Story by Aleks Talsky about the importance of educating young people on their permanency options and allowing them agency to determine their own permanency plan.

Step 7

Join the discussion in the comments below to answer the following question:

What actions will you take to ensure children and youth in your care have an active role in their own permanency plans?

Step 8

Finished the module? If you are logged in as a subscribed user, take the quiz to earn your Continuing Education Credit hours and certificate!

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Course Discussion

ashleyfarris2's picture
4 years 5 months ago

ashleyfarris2 said:

Foster parents should pay more attention to the youths' definition of permanency because they are the ones who are truly experiencing the situation. They are the ones who need and long for permanency.
tlgutel's picture
4 years 7 months ago

tlgutel said:

Yes but we must also remember that permanency will be different for each child and specific to their needs
PHoward706's picture
4 years 7 months ago

PHoward706 said:

I agree that the Federal definition and the Youths definition is equally important. We need to pay attention to the federal definition but the youth should also have some input.
jklickner's picture
4 years 7 months ago

jklickner said:

Why can't the federal definition take into account what the youth's definition is? A foster youth knows what permanency means to them!! But since that is a dream world I would say both have to be account for. Both are important, in different ways.
lclw8686's picture
4 years 8 months ago

lclw8686 said:

I think we need to pay attention to both federal and the foster child definition of permanency. Federal guideline are they to protect child and the foster parent. The child because he/she knows what they would like to be. So both should be pay attention to.
dmkiser75's picture
4 years 9 months ago

dmkiser75 said:

I think both the federal definition and the youth's definition of permanency are equally important however, emphasis should be placed on what the child's definition is.
deleon521979's picture
4 years 9 months ago

deleon521979 said:

I feel its important to pay more attention to the child's definition although, the federal definition IS there for a reason.
mrsafety's picture
4 years 11 months ago

mrsafety said:

As the "Ensuring Permanency for Young People in the Foster Care System" article concludes, one size does not fit all when it comes to permanency. It is unique to every person. So, while adhering to the federal definition, the most attention should be paid to the youth's definition.
kew5264's picture
5 years 4 days ago

kew5264 said:

I feel that although it's important to pay attention to the federal definition of permanency since there are laws in place concerning that, it's as or more important to pay attention to the youths' definition since it is their lives we're planning for. The youth involved should be heard and feel like they have a voice.
jill_griffith2561394's picture
5 years 1 month ago

jill_griffith2561394 said:

The federal role in permanency is important because it allows the child to move toward a stable situation that is more long term than foster care to support them throughout their lives. However, I side more with the youth definition and view of permanency because it addresses the needs of the child as a whole and is more centered on the connections of the child to reliable adults and accessing resources that can support them long after their time as a foster child is over.