PS-MAPP
Permanence and Safety-Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting
The Community College Foundation's Permanence and Safety-Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (PS-MAPP) workshops support achieving permanent and safe homes for children in foster care by providing a process to help educate and support committed potential resource (foster/adoptive) families from the childrens' communities.
PARTNERING FOR PERMANENCE AND SAFETY-MODEL APPROACH TO PARTNERSHIPS IN PARENTING (PS-MAPP)
With 10% of the nation's children in foster care in Los Angeles County, it is important that committed, well-trained resource (foster and adoptive) families be recruited and supported in the communities from which children are coming into placement to ensure the overall well-being of the child. The Community College Foundation has provided pre-service training to over 11,000 potential resource parents since 1989. TCCF is currently using the nationally recognized PS-MAPP curriculum (revised in 2006) to meet the needs of Los Angeles County. The PS-MAPP workshops support achieving permanency for children by providing a process to help screen, target and support committed potential resource families 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.
BENEFITS OF PS-MAPP
Productive relationships, community involvement, and cultural sensitivity
essential for the child's well-being!
The PS-MAPP program supports maintaining the family and community connections essential
for the positive well-being of the child. The benefits of the PS-MAPP program include:
- Helping resource parents build positive relationships with birth parents.
- Supporting resource families' understanding of the commitment necessary to ensure the well-being of children placed in their care.
- Providing resource families with a network of essential services, support and nurturing for children placed in their care.
- Emphasizing the importance of maintaining close connections between children and their birth families.
- Underscoring the benefits of foster care from within the child's own community.
- Providing understanding of behavioral problems the child may experience.
- Helping resource families understand the dynamics of the foster care system.
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE AND TOPICS:
PS-MAPP is a 33-hour, interactive group format led by a team of three facilitators. The team includes an experienced resource parent, a trainer from the community and a children's social worker from the Department of Children and Family Services. Workshops are available at various community colleges and community based agencies in cities throughout Los Angeles County in English and Spanish.
The PS-MAPP workshop is completed in 3-hour intervals. Each meeting is geared towards a specific topic which educates participants in order to ensure successful placements for children. These topics include the following:
- Welcome to the Group Preparation and Selection Program
- Where the MAPP Leads: A Foster Care and Adoption Experience
- Losses and Gains: The Need To Be A Loss Expert
- Helping Children With Attachments
- Helping Children Learn to Manage Their Behaviors
- Helping Children with Identity, Culture and Connections.
- Birth Family Connections and Understanding the Impact of Fostering & Adopting
- Gains and Losses: Helping Children Leave Foster Care
- Understanding the Impact of Fostering and Adopting
- Perspectives in Fostering and Adopting-Teamwork and Partnership
- Endings and Beginnings
SPONSORING COLLEGES
NORTH REGIONCERRITOS COLLEGE - SPA 1LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE - SPA 2 |
SOUTH REGIONEAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE - SPA 7CERRITOS COLLEGE - SPA 7 LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE- SPA 8 LOS ANGELES HARBOR COLLEGE - SPA 8 EL CAMINO COLLEGE - SPA 8 |
EAST REGIONPASADENA CITY COLLEGE- SPA 3CITRUS COLLEGE- SPA 3 LOS ANGELES TRADE-TECH - SPA 4 |
WEST REGIONWEST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE - SPA 5LOS ANGELES SOUTHWEST COLLEGE - SPA 6 EL CAMINO COLLEGE - COMPTON CENTER - SPA 6 |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Q: Do I have to complete PS-MAPP regardless of whether I want to adopt or foster?
- A: Yes! It is a requirement of Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
- Q: What are the requirements to enroll in a workshop?
- A: The only requirement is that at least one person from the same household
attended orientation. To enroll in an orientation, the person needs to call
1-888-811-1121. The orientation is approximately three hours long and held
at various locations in Los Angeles County. DCFS and Community Care
Licensing (CCL) requirements for having children placed in the home are
discussed during the orientation.
Where are the workshops held? The workshops are sponsored by 12 community colleges throughout Los Angeles County. Some are on campus and others are community based locations. - Q: When are the workshops offered?
- A: The workshops are offered at various times and days. Depending on the College, the workshop is typically offered either twice during the week in the evening for three hours each class, or six-hour classes on Saturdays.
- Q: Do I have to attend for the entire 33 hours?
- A: Yes! Participants can not miss any portion of the workshop otherwise he/she will have to repeat the entire 33 hours.
- Q: Who (in the household) has to attend PS-MAPP classes?
- A: Any primary caretaker and their significant other whether through marriage, domestic partnership, etc. need to attend the class. Should you have any questions regarding this issue, you should contact DCFS at 1-888-811-1121.
- Q: Can one person of a parenting couple (Ex. - wife/live-in girlfriend) enroll in class if the other person (Ex. - husband/live-in boyfriend) did not attend orientation?
- A: The other person does not have to attend the orientation if he/she will not be on the license. If he/she will be on the license and did not attend the orientation, he/she can enroll in the workshop with his/her partner, but must attend an orientation before the 33 hour workshop is completed.
- Q: If a participant's certificate has already expired, do they have to retake orientation?
- A: The expiration date is for Community Care Licensing (CCL). If a participant has attended an orientation and the certificate has expired, he/she will need to attend another orientation if the application has not already been submitted to CCL. However, if the participant has an expired certificate and has not submitted an application to CCL, he/she must attend another orientation before the end of the PS-MAPP series and submit an application to CCL. To register to attend a CCL orientation, participants should contact the DCFS recruitment hotline at 1-888-811-1121.
- Q: If a participant has a temporary certificate from a previous MAPP class, can they make up classes with PS-MAPP?
- A: No! The participant would need to take the whole workshop. There are no makeup classes.
- Q: What if my partner or I have a criminal record?
- A: Should you have any questions regarding this issue, you should contact DCFS at 1-888-811-1121.
- Q: If a participant has a daycare business in his/her house, can he/she still be a foster and/or adoptive parent?
- A: Yes! However, it is important to consider that a home will only be licensed for up to six children. These children include biological children, relatives, children in daycare, and children who are being fostered or adopted. Should you have any questions regarding this issue, you should contact DCFS at 1-888-811-1121.
TESTIMONIALS
“PS-MAPP has been a rewarding job and I am pleased to work in the capacity as a
College Trainer to prepare potential Foster/Adoptive parents to provide a permanent home for
children who definitely deserve to have one.”
Kishaa-Amin Smith - College Trainer
“I personally choose to train because I want to impart what I myself have learned
and am learning going through the Fost/Adopt process. This is a difficult process emotionally,
so prospective parents need all the support they can get to make it through and to support a
healthier child. PS-MAPP gives us reasons to consider the child's perspective as we make
decisions with building our families.”
Kathleen Boss - Resource Parent Trainer
“The trainers were welcoming and answered questions freely. They provided solutions
to the questions as well as allowed class members to share their knowledge equally. They combined
humor with learning therefore making it an interesting and comfortable environment to be in.”
Anonymous Participant
“(It was) very friendly, reassuring and non-threatening. I really felt like they wanted
to help us become good adoption parents.”
Anonymous Participant
“I am very passionate about teaching MAPP to prospective foster and adoptive parents. It is an honor
to help these families develop the skill they require to meet the needs of our children in foster care.”
Anonymous DCFS Social Worker
