Session 14/15

Teenagers and Leaving Foster Care

Competences to be exercised:

• Understanding the common challenges of puberty for the young person and the foster family.
• Preparing the child for puberty through dialogues.
• Managing foster parent control versus independence: contracting instead of controlling.
• The importance of the peer group.
• Aftercare planning
• The leaving-home-party

Theme of the session:
In this training session you are going to work with supporting the transition phase where the foster child becomes a teenager and starts creating his or her own identity. You will also work with supporting the young person when he/she is going to leave the foster family.

Aims of the session:
The goal of the session is for you to understand and manage the changes in the foster family life when the foster child becomes a teenager and also how you can support the transition from living in foster care to living as an adult in society.