In this half-day course participants will learn how to create and maintain life-books for children in care, and the role life-books play in maintaining continuity for children, preserving their past and helping them understand their current situation. Participants will practice specific strategies for engaging children in the development of their life-book, and will learn about methods for locating, collecting and maintaining items for inclusion. Throughout this training participants will gain an understanding of how life-books can be used to build and enhance a child’s sense of self-esteem and positive identity.

Foster parents, kinship care providers, adoptive parents, and interested child welfare professionals.

• Know how creating and maintaining life books can help maintain continuity, preserve the past, and help the child or youth understand his or her situation.
• Learn how to locate, collect and maintain records, photos, mementoes, and other relevant items for inclusion in the lifebook.
• Learn strategies to encourage children’s involvement in developing their lifebooks, and learn how this can enhance self-esteem and promote the development of a positive identity.

This training is brought to you in partnership with the Adoption Exchange.