TIES Pre-Placement Education and Preparation

TIES Pre-Placement Education and Preparation

In addition to the standard education already provided by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), resource families voluntarily attend nine hours of additional training, called TIES PREP, specifically geared to the challenges and rewards of parenting and providing permanency to children with traumatic histories and risk factors such as prenatal substance exposure and other biological vulnerabilities, multiple placements, and abuse and neglect.

Some of the topics covered are building empathy for substance abusing biological parents; learning what is known and not known about the impact of prenatal substance exposure and coming to terms with the uncertainties; learning strategies to identify and build upon a child’s strengths, focusing on culturally-responsive, trauma and resiliency informed approaches to support children with challenging behaviors; reflecting on the pros and cons of resource parents disclosing the child’s history; learning to build in family substance abuse prevention strategies; and evaluating factors related to maintaining contact with the child’s birth family when there is a history of substance abuse.

These sessions are guided by the principles, confirmed consistently by research, that thorough education helps resource  parents make informed decisions, and that the better the preparation, the more satisfied parents are with the caregiving process. Resource parents going through the foster/adopt process with DCFS can sign up for TIES PREP after they have completed their RFA training.

  • TIES PREP is held on 3 consecutive Mondays or Thursdays from 6:00 PM to 9:00PM at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC). Parking is available and pizza and water are provided. During COVID-19, sessions are being offered via Zoom.
  • Please note, if both parents in a couple are attending TIES PREP together, at least one parent must attend all 3 sessions to be counted as having completed the TIES PREP curriculum.
  • To sign up for TIES Preparation (TIES PREP) Sessions, please contact our DCFS Liaison, Kimmey Howard, at (323) 942-1679 or TIES directly at (310) 825-6110.
  • After completing the TIES Preparation Sessions, a referral for TIES services can be made by contacting TIES directly at 310-825-6110.

If you or the CSW have any questions, please contact:

  • Kimmey Howard, TIES DCFS Liaison (323) 942-1679
  • TIES Program Coordinator (310) 825-6110