Part 1: Building Safety and Connection in Foster and Adoptive Families

Webinar: Building Safety and Connection in Foster and Adoptive Families

Session 1 – Responding to the Unique Needs of Your Child

All children who enter foster care do so with some degree of trauma. Children who experience trauma inevitably find it difficult to feel safety and connection. For foster parents, it’s crucial to take a trauma-informed approach to caring for and responding to foster children.

For foster parents, it’s crucial to take a trauma-informed approach to caring for and responding to foster children.

In Session 1, Amy Speidel discusses the link between foster care and trauma. She also shares what to expect when a foster child first arrives in your home and how you can begin building safety and connection from the start. Amy wraps up the session by providing a basic understanding of the Brain State Model, which helps you recognize and respond to a child’s needs.

Up next: Watch Session 2 and Session 3 of the 3-part webinar series Building Safety and Connection in Foster and Adoptive Families.

Webinar Outline

• 00:09 Introduction to supporting children in foster care
• 01:35 Amy’s story of deciding to become a foster parent
• 02:50 Finding the right advice and support
• 03:50 Foster care and trauma
• 04:45 Amy’s background with foster care and adoption
• 08:25 Embracing and learning from mistakes
• 11:01 Sample of Understanding Trauma with Dr. Becky Bailey Webinar
• 15:36 Arrival of the child- what to expect
• 18:43 How to build safety from the start
• 21:15 How and when to establish rules and expectations
• 24:38 How to build connection in a way that feels safe for the child
• 27:11 Avoiding assumptions and teaching new skills
• 31:16 Accepting what is
• 32:03 Introduction of Conscious Discipline Brain State Model
• 32:41 Survival state
• 34:36 Emotional state
• 37:23 Executive state
• 40:29 How to apply the Brain State Model in responses to children
• 43:17 What do you say to each state?

Resource Mentions

• Webinar: Understanding Trauma with Dr. Becky Bailey
• I Love You Rituals
• Songs for I Love You Rituals Vol. 1
• Songs for I Love You Rituals Vol. 2
• Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline

Helpful Next Steps

• Session 2: Helping Your Child Adjust to a New Environment
• Session 3: Learning How to Deal with Difficult Behavior with Success
• Articles
• Video Gallery
• Free Resources
• Online Course with Dr. Becky Bailey – Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Schools and Homes