Colorado Coalition for Adoptive Families (COCAF)

The Adoption Exchange - The Adoption Exchange provides the connection between families who adopt and children who wait. They are based in the Rocky Mountain region and have offices in Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, and Denver. The Exchange is not an adoption agency. It is, rather, a place for the exchange of resources on behalf of dozens of adoption agencies. When an agency is unable to locate a family for a waiting child, the agency uses The Exchange services to find a family.
The Adoption Exchange provides trainings for both families and professionals. For information on upcoming trainings, please call them at 303.755.4756 or 1.800.451.5246.

The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) - CDHS offers ongoing classes for foster and adoptive parents, and professionals. The courses, and information on how to register, dates and times etc., can be found on the new CDHS training web site. The web site allows you to register for classes online (you must create an account prior to registering for your first class, but creating an account is free and easy instructions are provided). You can identify classes in one of four ways, by:

Date;
Topic;
Location; or
Provider.

Foster and adoption trainings are listed under ‘Topic’. This site contains a listing of the child welfare courses taught by The Adoption Exchange, Institute for Families at the University of Denver, Kempe Children’s Center, and Nicholson, Spencer and Associates.

Foster Parent College - FPC
--Online Training for Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Families, & Professionals--

By entering the FPC web site by clicking on the title above or using the link provided below,
FPC will donate $1 to COCAF for each course you select!

FPC currently offers the following online trainings:

Anger Outbursts
Fire Setting
Eating Disorders
Sexualized Behavior
Lying
Sleep Problems
Wetting & Soiling
Stealing
Running Away
Self-Harm

More courses in the 20-part series will be available soon, with topics covering other emotional and behavior problems, medical challenges, kinship, school communication, and more. The site includes free previews of each of the courses.

Highlights

The courses are developed and taught by nationally-recognized experts, such as Dr. Rick Delaney;
Each course is just $8, is worth two hours of certified training, and can be accessed for 30 days;
Registrants can participate in online discussion boards;
Individual and group accounts are available.

Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver - The Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver (IFDU), is an arm of the Denver University Graduate School of Social Work. The Institute provides over 250 days of training each year to professionals and families, including foster and adoptive families, in the area of child welfare.

Kempe Children’s Center - The Kempe Children’s Center, a program of the Department of Pediatrics and School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC), is widely recognized for its multidisciplinary work with abused and neglected children and their families. The Center provides critically needed services to abused and neglected children through its established child protection team, therapeutic preschool, and perpetration prevention programs. In addition, the Center provides clinical treatment, training, research, education, and program development to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect.

Nicholson and Associates - Nicholson, Spencer & Associates (NS&A) provides a wide array of services and training to child welfare professionals and families.

Page Last Updated: April 18, 2008