The National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) is a curriculum based on research and input from experts, families who have experience with fostering or adopting children, and former foster and adoptive youth. It provides potential foster or adoptive parents with the information and tools needed to parent a child who has experienced trauma, separation, and loss. To ensure the curriculum is culturally relevant to American Indian Alaska Native Tribal Nations, consultants from tribal communities advised and assisted in developing the curriculum. It is a state-of-the-art classroom and online program that helps to prepare prospective foster and adoptive parents to be successful parents. In addition, the NTDC gives parents access to information and resources needed to continue building skills once they have a child in their home.
This curriculum and the accompanying resources are FREE for all tribal child welfare agencies.
A content committee comprised of American Indian Alaska Native representatives was developed to focus exclusively on the curriculum through the lens of American Indian Alaska Native parents who are fostering or adopting. The members on this committee have diverse tribal backgrounds that span different geographic regions. Several members have professional state and tribal child welfare experience in the areas of case management, clinical consultation, program administration, training, education, and academic research. The committee is also represented by parents who are fostering, tribal elders, and professionals with lived experience in the child welfare system.
Content committee members have served the NTDC in variety of ways including:
In addition, the curriculum can accommodate specific tribal culture and customs.
The curriculum is comprised of three components: Self-Assessment, Classroom-based Training, and Right-Time Training. Self-Assessment and Right-Time Training materials are relevant for all target populations using the NTDC. Classroom-based Training materials have been adapted for American Indian Alaska Native populations.
All curriculum components are available for download at no cost from the links below.
An Implementation Manual is also available to support professionals implementing the NTDC.
NTDC was funded by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under grant #90CO1134. The contents of this document are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau.