National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative

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The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to establish, by awarding one cooperative agreement, a National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative that will build the capacity of child welfare professionals and mental health practitioners that serve youth moving toward permanency through adoption or guardianship as well as youth already moved to permanency in adoptive or guardianship homes. This initiative is intended to improve the well-being outcomes for the children moving to adoption/guardianship as well as providing support and the appropriate therapeutic interventions to assure stable and secure post permanency experiences for these youth. The National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative will build on previous adoption competency models and complement existing initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacity of child welfare staff and mental health practitioners serving the population of the children/youth with goals of adoption/guardianship as well as those already in adoptive/guardianship homes. This funding opportunity provides for a 5 year cooperative agreement that will include the following activities: - Assess existing Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Curricula and identify gaps in critical competencies; - Select, adapt and deliver state of the art curricula in a web-based format for both child welfare staff and curricula for mental health practitioners; - Deliver technical assistance on the web-based training models to all states; - Evaluate delivery, utilization and effectiveness of the 2 web-based models of training; and - Develop a national adoption competency mental health certification process. Outcomes will include: - Creation of state of the art adoption competent mental health web-based curriculum for child welfare staff and mental health practitioners with quality improvement components for use on a national basis; - Enhanced adoption competence infused in practice in the nations’ child welfare systems as demonstrated by improved well-being and increased stabilization in adoptive and guardianship homes; - Web-based trainings that states will utilize and integrate into their own training systems. - A national certification of competence process that can be utilized by all states, tribes, and territories.

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