July 2025 Issue 88

Teen Dating Violence

Teen dating violence is a serious issue that affects many teenagers, including those in foster care. Children in care are at a higher risk of experiencing dating violence due to the trauma and instability they have already faced in their lives.

Dating violence among teenagers can take many forms, including physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse. It can also include controlling and manipulative behavior, such as monitoring a partner's social media activity or preventing them from seeing friends and family.

Children in foster care may be particularly vulnerable to dating violence due to their history of abuse and neglect, as well as their lack of stable family relationships. They may also struggle with trust issues and have difficulty setting boundaries.

It is important for caregivers to be aware of the signs of dating violence and to provide support and resources to help children who may be experiencing it. This can include counseling and therapy, as well as education and resources on healthy relationships.

Additionally, caregivers should work to ensure that children in care have access to safe and stable relationships, including positive role models and healthy dating relationships. It's also important to educate foster children on how to recognize and safely exit an unhealthy relationship.

Here are 4 ways to teach children in your care about healthy relationships:

• Be respectful. If you demonstrate respectful behavior with family, friends, and acquaintances, your child will be more likely to identify disrespectful behaviors and will know that it is not acceptable.
• Lead by example. Allow your child to see what positive communication, healthy conflict, and affection look like. If you are in an unhealthy relationship, consider seeking help. This will show your child that change is possible.
• Talk about consent. Teens often feel pressured into doing things they don't want to do for the sake of their relationship. Make sure that they know that they always have the right to say NO. They should also know that consent means looking for the presence of a “yes” rather than the absence of a “no.” Consent can be expressed verbally or through nonverbal cues, such as positive body language like smiling, maintaining eye contact, and nodding.
• Use the media. There are examples of healthy and unhealthy relationships everywhere you look. Start a conversation with your child about whether a demonstrated relationship/action is healthy or unhealthy.

There are several resources to assist with these conversations:

The Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth brings together youth in foster care and the agencies that serve them to promote systems that normalize, support, and promote the bodily autonomy and healthy sexual development of youth in foster care. RHEP works to change this by uplifting youth voices, supporting policy change, creating connections between systems, and piloting innovative programs designed in collaboration with stakeholders and youth to better meet their needs–because health development is on all of us!

Alaska Center for Resource Families has links to several pre-recorded webinars with topics such as: Supporting Positive Relationship Development and Healthy Sexuality for Youth in Care, Role and Responsibilities of Foster Parents in Supporting Healthy Relationships, and Tips, Strategies, and Resources for Talking with Youth.

DCS Program Policy - Chapter 3: Section 7.7 - Sexual Development Education and Family Planning Services

Fostering Teens

Often, the thought of fostering children older than elementary age can be scary. Typical teen hormones plus trauma is daunting. But even with the extra care that these kiddos need, teens are the best age range to foster! Why?

1. You can provide family dinners for a teen who has never had them.
2. Teens sleep through the night. And sometimes half the morning.
3. You can provide a home to come back to, after teens go to college.
4. Teens will let you know when your old clothes are back in style.
5. You get to make a difference and see the impact you’ve made as your teen grows and matures.
6. Less time on the phone with tech support; your teens can help with your I.T. issues.
7. Great reason to go to all the high school football and basketball games again.
8. You won’t have to read teens the same book fifteen times every night.
9. You can practice your patience, kindness, and empathy.
10. You’re younger now than you would be when a baby becomes a teenager, so you get to enjoy fun teen activities before your body hurts all the time.
11. You won’t have to guess what they need, because they can tell you themselves.
12. No diapers.
13. Everyone deserves to be special to someone.

Currently, there are approximately 7,561 youth in DCS care, with 1,422 (19%) of those children in group homes. More than 31% of those 7,561 youth are over the age of 12 years old, with more than half being placed in group homes. However, only 812 (52%) of our 1,554 licensed foster families are open to caring for children over the age of 12. One of DCS's major goals is to decrease the number of youth in congregate care to no more than 10% (756 youth). The quickest, easiest, and most successful way to do this is for our current licensed foster families to open up their age range to include older youth. There are absolutely going to be challenges with teenagers (puberty, hormones, etc.) that will come sooner rather than later, but there are resources available to educate and support families through the adjustment.

There are infinite approaches to parenting teens, and what works for one child may not work for another, particularly when it comes to youth in care. Listed below are some training options to help build your skills. Some are free, and some have fees; some are in person, and others are virtual. None are reviewed, required, or recommended by DCS; the information is simply being made available to families. Check with your agency to see if any of these would count toward your recertification hours. And if you're interested in fostering teens, reach out to your licensing agency to get started on a license amendment!

Child Crisis Arizona offers both in-person and virtual trainings including: A Guide to Healthy Teen Dating, Anger Management for Children, Drug Trends, Healing Trauma, and so much more. There are also courses on-demand, so they can be completed on your schedule!

Empowering Breakthrough offers Trauma Informed Approach Workshops, the objective of which is for each participant to understand and recognize the basics of trauma, how it can affect themselves & others, learn tools to help gain cooperation & prevent escalation, along with resilience & self-care techniques to promote the student’s positive mental health while dealing with traumatic events and those affected by them.

ParentArizona offers Love and Logic training, which is a very popular parenting style based on the books Parenting with Love and Logic and Parenting Teens with Love and Logic. They also offer a class for parenting children with ADHD, Autism, and other developmental delays.

Leadership Society of Arizona offers a parenting course based on the book No-Influence Mentoring: Understanding Teenagers and Encouraging Their Success. The virtual course teaches parents how to help teens with stress management, goal-setting, and personal discovery. The organization also offers leadership camps and online leadership programs for teens, which may be covered by AFFCF!

Arizona Youth Partnership offers a variety of programs, including the Stronger Families Project, which builds a positive relationship between parents and their youth; Youth Mental Health First Aid, a program designed to teach caregivers how to help an adolescent who is experiencing a mental health challenge or is in crisis; Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience, which supports the healing process in young people who have experienced trauma; and 360 Substance Misuse Training, a research-based curriculum to raise awareness of the prescription problem, the risks of misuse, resistance strategies, and methods for proper storage and disposal.

Parent Encouragement Program has classes for all age groups at all price points. Their teen classes include: Defusing Sibling Rivalry, Creating Healthy Sleep Habits with Tweens & Teens, Exploring Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity, Breaking Masculinity Stereotypes to Raise Emotionally Resilient Boys, and so much more.

Priceless Parenting has created an 11-lesson, self-paced course targeted to parents of children ages 13 to 18. The course will show parents how to guide teens rather than trying to control them, know how to calmly respond rather than emotionally react, and set healthy limits that keep kids safe without over-restricting them.

Creating A Family offers virtual, on-demand courses with topics such as Trauma-Informed Parenting: Practical Applications of TBRI, Impact of Loss on Foster Kids and Foster Parents, How to Raise an Anti-Racist Child, and several others.

Foster-Training offers an annual subscription for unlimited training, which includes courses such as Helping your Teen Cope with Traumatic Stress and Substance Abuse, Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents, How Birth and Foster Parent Partnerships Can Help Families Reunify, and several trainings focused on various mental health and developmental disorders, including Autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, RAD, eating disorders, and others.

FosterClub offers courses including Supporting Higher Education Success, Health Care for Transition-Age Foster Youth, Fostering Young People of a Different Race, Helping Youth Prepare for the Transition to Adulthood, and more.

Foster Parent College has 76 online courses available to expand your skill set. Topics include Preparing Teens for Postsecondary Education, Reducing Family Stress, and trainings about specific behaviors and issues.

Special Allowances

Therapeutic Foster Care

There is always a need for more licensed caregivers. Currently, the need for specialized caregivers is at an all-time high. Therapeutic Foster Homes are caregiver homes that are licensed with a maximum capacity of three foster children, and each caregiver has received specialized training to provide care and services within a support system of clinical and consultative services to children with special behavioral health needs, as identified by the Department.

In addition to meeting the requirements for a regular license, the caregiver for a Therapeutic Foster Home shall:

• Be at least 21 years of age
• Have at least one of the following minimum experience or education: one year’s experience as a licensed foster caregiver; three months "successful experience in child welfare, foster care, behavioral health, education, or a related profession" as approved by OLR (DCS's Office of Licensing and Regulation); a bachelor's or graduate degree in health care, social work, psychology, or a related behavioral health field
• Not have employment or commitments that interfere with the caregiver's ability to meet the child's special behavioral health needs
• Provide the child with opportunities to participate in developmentally appropriate community-based activities on a regular basis
• Develop and follow an alternate supervision plan, approved by the Child Placing Agency and the licensing agency, if the caregiver is not available to provide primary care and supervision for a child with treatment needs
• Complete training to care for the special needs of a child, as indicated in the placement agreement
• In addition to the training specified under R21-6-303, complete a minimum of 24 hours of training prior to license renewal. The Department shall approve the training curriculum and coordinate the training curriculum through a licensing agency. The training shall include: positive behavior development and de-escalation techniques, the purpose and safe use of medications, and overview of medication interactions and potential medication reactions.

The agencies that provide Therapeutic Foster Care licensing are listed below. As with regular licensing, do your research and choose an agency that is the best fit for your family.

• A New Leaf
• Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK)
• Arizona Faith and Families
• Arizona’s Children Association
• Brighter Heights
• Catholic Charities Community Services
• Catholic Community Services of Southern AZ
• Christian Family Care
• Clarvida
• Devereux
• Human Services Consultants
• Intermountain Centers
• La Paloma
• Rise
• Stepstone

OLR Reminders

Any medications, toxins, and hazards that are locked up per R21-8-105 and R21-8-108 must be locked in an area that does not serve a dual purpose. It must lock from the outside with only household adults having access. For instance, if a closet is being used to store these items, it cannot also be used to store anything that the children may need access to, such as toys, backpacks, craft items, etc. Utilizing a laundry room that locks is not sufficient, as that room serves a purpose other than storing these items. Utilizing a clothing closet in a locked bedroom is not sufficient, as that room and area serve a purpose other than storing these items.

Please remember that items that are highly toxic and refer to “contact poison control” or “can cause serious bodily harm or death” must be in locked storage (i.e. gasoline, lighter fluid, pesticides, drain cleaner, bleach, ammonia, spray paint, etc.). Household cleaning supplies such as spray cleaners, laundry detergent, furniture polish, dishwasher detergent, and anything that states it is not intended for ingestion but generally will not cause serious bodily harm or death (i.e. “keep out of reach of children”) must be safeguarded, such as storing on a high shelf not accessible to children. Emergency medications (EpiPens, asthma inhalers, and Narcan) should NOT be locked up or out of reach.

Even though summer officially began just a couple of weeks ago, we are deep into the summer season in Arizona. While your children are having fun at home, please remember to maintain the safety guidelines in R21-8-104. All areas of the foster home and premises must be in good repair and may not constitute a hazard (such as broken glass, rusted surfaces, sharp or jagged edges (such as a protruding nail), holes in walls/ceilings/floors/doors, broken furniture or fixtures or equipment). Play areas (such as a trampoline) must be stable, in good repair, and shall not constitute a hazard (i.e., a safety padding must be in good repair covering the springs to avoid injury). Water in a pool is not stagnant and is clear enough to see through to the bottom surface of the pool. A pool less than 18” in depth (such as a temporary and moveable blow up or plastic pool) must be emptied at the end of every day and when not in use.

Title 21, Chapters 6 and 8 govern the foster home license of the foster home. Therefore, foster parents are expected to follow all rules, regulations, guidelines, and policies, regardless of the physical and/or legal custodian of the children residing in the foster home, at all times, for the entire duration of the foster home license term. In other words, the same rules, regulations, guidelines, and policies apply whether there are tribal wards, DCS wards, community placements, and/or other children residing in the foster home.

Post-Permanency Supports Orientation

Trauma-Informed Care Training

High-Five

FAMILY: “(Sandra with DCS) You have been amazing supporting the needs of the C family. You are communicative and honest. You make the family feel supported. Thank you for all you do!”

ADVOCACY: “The H family have been strong advocates for their foster child, V, since she was initially placed with them. V was born with significant medical issues requiring extensive care and training. They have advocated fiercely for V to receive the medical support and care she needs to be the thriving at almost 2 years old. Recently, the family has welcomed V's older brother, J, and their bio mom into the home as well. The H family's fierce advocacy has poured over to them as well. They have advocated for Mom to have normalcy as a teen by supporting her with identifying her long term goals. They are a source of knowledge for Mom as she learns how to balance being a teen parent for J. They have also started advocating for J to receive the services and supports he needs as well to thrive. This has been a long journey for the H family as a whole, but there has been consistent advocacy for these children throughout.”

If you want to recognize a foster family, a licensing worker or agency, DCS Specialist/Supervisor or other employee, community partner, attorney, CASA, judge, mentor, or other fostering community member, please fill out the High-Five Nomination Form linked below.

Prescott-Area Foster Families: FREE Monthly Events

Sponsored by The League of Extraordinary Grandparents, volunteer grandparents will guide children in making crafts, painting, storytelling, games and more!

• WHO CAN ATTEND: Children in foster care, ages 4 – 10. Bio siblings may also attend, as long as they are between ages 4 – 10. All children must be registered in advance.
• WHEN: Every 3rd Saturday of the month in 2025 – July 19, August 16, September 20, October 18, November 15, December 20.
• LOCATION: Prescott Valley (details will be provided upon registration)
• TIME: 9 AM – 12 PM
• SNACKS: Snacks and drinks are provided.

ASA Now

ASA Now is a non-profit organization that ADVOCATES for, SUPPORTS, and ASSISTS children and families impacted by foster care. We are passionate about providing support to families and professionals by restoring hope and empowering them to better serve these children in need.

Warmline Supports Kinship and Foster Families

The Foster Parent Warmline is available for kinship families and licensed foster parents. While not an emergency number, Warmline staff can assist with information, timely communication, and support. It is not intended to discourage or replace direct and regular communication between the DCS Specialist and the out-of-home caregiver. You can reach the Warmline by calling 1-877-KIDSNEEDU (1-877-543-7633). Please be prepared with your name, the child's name, DOB, and dates of placement/departure, as well as an explanation of the issue. The Warmline is manned by staff Monday-Friday 8am-5pm (AZ time), excluding state holidays. You may also send an email to Warmline@azdcs.gov and include the above information.

Children's Heart Gallery

More than 70 percent of the children in need of forever families are adopted by their relatives or foster parents. For the remainder, special recruitment efforts like the Heart Gallery are used to connect them with a forever family.

The children featured in the Heart Gallery represent all ethnic groups and range in age from toddlers to teenagers. Some have special behavioral or medical needs, some are without siblings, and others are in groups of siblings.

Jay