Expedited Adoption MAPP Training - Pros and Cons of Expedited Training

Pros and Cons of Expedited Training

My sincere desire is to provide the highest level of professional services and preparation to the families I work with and the agencies they serve in partnership.
For families who are able I recommend to families that they are best served if they can go through training through their local agency. A large part of the MAPP program is based on the prospective adoptive families and their local agency having an opportunity to learn about each other. However there are strengths to a well provided small group or private adoptions focused MAPP class.
I have written the following to give agencies and prospective adoptive families a better idea of what the training looks like and to address some of the common questions and concerns.

I began providing this service initially for private agencies and families who work in positions such as police, firefighters, nursing, military and other roles who cannot attend a ten week program due to their employment.The purpose of this training is to offer options to agencies and families.
For agencies who may be interested I have written the following to help answer a few of their most likely questions and concerns.

1. The Expedited Adoptions Focused MAPP service was initially for private agencies and families who work in positions such as police, firefighters, nursing, military and other roles who could not attend a ten week program due to their employment or other life restrictions. The purpose of this training is to offer options to agencies and families.
State requirements for private agencies at the time we started these trainings called for prospective adoptive families to have 21 hours of adoptions related training but at the time did not specify how the family obtained the training. The majority of private adoptive families attained their training through a variety of foster/adoptive web sites and assigned readings.
Dr. Ken and Lynn Brown of Hope for Families attended the Adoption Competency Training I was giving through the Sylvia Thomas Center about a year ago. Aware of my experience as a certified NACAC Adoption Competency Instructor, certification as MAPP instructor, Rutgers Adoption Competency instructor, and some 30 + years working child welfare and mental health, we struck a conversation about putting together a training for their adoptive families that exceeded the expectations of any private agency in Florida. And this training does.
2. This training is a combination of the traditional MAPP blended with the NACAC adoption competency material I have been training the last few years. This training has been adjusted with a heavy adoptions focus and I only offer it to families whose sole purpose is to adopt. If a family wants to foster or even foster to adopt, I recommend them to their local CBC.

3. A breakdown of the training.
Hours: By the time they are certified they will have earned at least 25 training hours.
The original Expedited MAPP program was set to run for three eight hour sessions on Saturdays. We have gone away somewhat from that pattern. Class time will run about 12 to 14 hours usually on a Friday/Saturday.When they complete the formal class the family is given their reading and homework assignments. This will easily earn them another 16 to 20 hours.
When this work is completed, the family contacts me to set up either a home visit or a phone conference. We then set time to review the assignments and any questions. Then they receive their certification of completion. Even after completion of the course I offer the family to keep my contact information. If they have any questions that come up later, or if they just want feedback regarding a child, they have permission to contact me at any time.It is a lot of work, but our families get their money’s worth.
The schedule is different for Private training. If you are interested please contact me for details.

4. There are of course some key differences between the traditional ten week program and this expedited program, which I share with families before they take this training. Here are a few of them:
a. The traditional MAPP was not designed to be an all-in-all training. It was designed to be part of an overall mutual selection process. The idea was for families to get a reality check regarding the needs and issues related to caring for wounded children in the system of care while making a careful self-assessment of themselves and their own strengths and needs, while at the same time giving the agency that is training them a chance to determine if they want to work with the family or if there are needs that must addressed.
In this training a family not have the same opportunity for this level of assessment. Yet the fact is, even in the traditional program rarely does the MAPP instructor also complete the homestudy for the families.My experience is that how much the family gets from the training depends in large part on the quality of the instructor. There are a lot of families getting the traditional MAPP and PRIDE training who are not getting very good instruction.
b. Another common concern of agencies: It is just too much material in too short of time. This is a true concern. It truly is a lot of information. That is why there is a lot of reading after the formal face to face instruction. After the reading assignment is completed we again have an individual phone conference to again review the course. But here is another thought: Nationwide, the average length of time from a family completing their home study till they are actually matched with a child is about a year and a half. In most cases that is time without any formal training. Neither form of preparatory training is sufficient for that gap (sometimes you will have just trained them and you will wonder if they honestly heard a word you said). All families would be better served being required to have quarterly training's or even having the yearly requirements of foster families. c. Families lose the value of group cohesion and feedback given in the traditional group setting. Again true. I love the group activities and the insights families gain from one another.
However, here are a few thoughts.
1. Few families actually connect with other families. Most adoptive and foster families never talk to each other again despite the e-mail list they send around every class. Families need to be tied into an existing support groups if you want them to remain connected. No MAPP program will do this for you.
2. When I teach this program, I never teach large groups anyway. At the most I have had six families and often just one. This is a very intimate setting that allows a level of intimacy and freedom to ask questions that I have not found in the group setting. I have become a believer in personal instruction. d. If a family is unwilling to commit to the eight to ten weeks of the traditional MAPP program, can they really be ready for the commitment required of our special children?
Who knows? It may be an issue. Then again it might be a simple matter that in our modern society many families work nights. It is very common for police officers to request the expedited program for this very reason.How many times have we as a system complained that a family is only thinking about the money. Yet if a family is willing to pay for an expedited training we turn around and complain that they are trying to buy their way out of something. For me it shows another level of commitment when families are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

I hope this answers most of your questions and concerns. Again the purpose of an Expedited training program is to offer options to both the Agencies and families.
This is a good training.
For those agencies who are open to having options, I hope you will share this information with them.Kevin