In-service Training

Skill-Building with People You Know!

Peer support groups(Clusters) host small-group training on a regular basis. A calendar of upcoming training events hosted by Utah Foster Care support groups is available in each Foster Roster (our bi-monthly magazine for foster/adoptive parents). Issues of the Foster Roster are mailed every other month to currently licensed foster parents and are also available for download.

Attending local support group gatherings on a regular basis is not only a great way to get the emotional and logistical support you need to succeed, it’s a great way to stay on top of the training you need to renew your license.

• Cache Valley – Facilitated by Jessie in Logan
• Box Elder – Facilitated by Ashley in Brigham City
• Ogden – Facilitated by Millie in Ogden
• Weber West – Facilitated by Heather in Clearfield
• North Davis Co – Facilitated by Jenn in Clearfield
• South/Central Davis Co – Facilitated by Meggin Browning in Bountiful
• Spanish-speaking North – Facilitated by Gaby in Ogden

Maegen Bernardo – (385) 333-7187 – manages the groups for this part of the state.

• Salt Lake Metro – Facilitated by Rachel H in Salt Lake City
• Kearns/Magna/WVC – Facilitated by Kylie in Kearns, Magna & WVC
• Sandy/Draper – Facilitated by Janet in Sandy & Draper
• Southwest Valley – Facilitated by Heather in South Jordan, Riverton, & Herriman
• West Jordan – Facilitated by Ruthann in West Jordan
• Murray/Midvale/East Salt Lake – Facilitated by Nan & Marcos in Murray
• Tooele – Facilitated by Stephanie & Blair in Tooele
• Spanish-speaking Salt Lake – Facilitated by Ruth in Murray

Tina Porter –(801) 783-4655 – manages the groups for this part of the state.

• North Utah Co – Facilitated by Britta in American Fork & Eagle Mountain
• Central Utah Co – Facilitated by Beth in Orem & Provo
• South Utah Co – Facilitated by Teresa in Spanish Fork & Payson
• Wasatch & Summit – Facilitated by Heidi in Park City & Heber City
• Post-adoption – Facilitated by Ronnett in Orem
• Level 3 – Facilitated by Staci in Orem

Heidi Naylor – (801) 462-0747 – manages the groups for this part of the state.

• Uintah Basin – Facilitated by Shanna & Teresa in Vernal & Roosevelt
• Carbon & Emery – Facilitated by Karen & Janarie in Price & Orangeville
• Grand & San Juan – Facilitated by Jackie & Kaycee in Moab & Blanding

Kobi Prettyman – (435) 636-0210 – manages the groups for this part of the state.

• St George – Facilitated by KC in St George
• Cedar City – Facilitated by Vicki in Cedar City
• Richfield – Facilitated by Holly in Richfield
• Manti – Facilitated by Connie in Manti

Diane Callister – (435) 216-3297 – moderates the group for Washington, Iron, Kane, Garfield, and Beaver counties. Marissa Douglas – (435) 979-2233 – moderates the group for Sevier, Sanpete, Wayne, and Piute counties.

Regional Online Support

Our Facebook groups bring all the state-licensed foster parents within a single region into one place for support, encouragement, and friendly banter.

For privacy and security reasons, these groups are by invitation only. Please contact the staff moderator for your region to be invited to the group for your area:

Northern Region — Serving Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich, & Weber Counties.

Maegen Bernardo — (385) 333-7187 — moderates the group for this part of the state.

Salt Lake Region — Serving Salt Lake & Tooele Counties.

Tina Porter — (801) 783-4655 — moderates the group for this part of the state.

Western Region — Serving Juab, Millard, Summit, Utah, & Wasatch Counties.

Heidi Naylor — (801) 462-0747 — moderates the group for this part of the state.

Eastern Region — Serving Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, Uintah & San Juan Counties.

Kobi Prettyman — (435) 636-0210 — moderates the group for this part of the state.

Southwest Region — Serving Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Washington, & Wayne Counties.

Diane Callister — (435) 216-3297 — moderates the group for Washington, Iron, Kane, Garfield, and Beaver counties.

Marissa Douglas — (435) 979-2233 — moderates the group for Sevier, Sanpete, Wayne, and Piute counties.

Specific Community Clusters

We also have a few Facebook groups that serve specific communities. If you’re a member of one of the communities listed below, please contact the staff moderator to be invited…

• Post-adoption — Darcey Hirst (801) 783-4654
• LGBTQ — Adrienne Shearer (801) 722-8195
• Native Families — Stephanie Benally (801) 783-4430
• Familias Hispañas/Latinas — Esmeralda Malili (801) 783-4343
• Single Parent — Shannon Wu (650) 804-4321 & Kirsten Wilcox (801) 243-9253

It Takes a Village!

The list below includes community organizations and seminars that offer classes that may be applied toward your in-service training requirement. While all of these organizations have approved training, not all of their courses are necessarily approved.

Please contact your Resource Family Consultant (RFC) for more information. RFCs are employees of the Utah Division of Child & Family Services (DCFS). Information on how to contact state employees is available in the Our Partners area of our Contact Us page.

Organizations

• Allies with Families
• The Utah Pride Center
• Grandfamilies

Seminars

• Utah Adoption Council Annual Conference
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah
• Critical Issues Conference
• Drug-endangered Children Conference

Of course, our own Annual Symposium-which addresses childhood trauma and attachment-counts towards required training hours.

Have a topic that you’d like covered by your region trainer for in-service training hours? Let us know below!

Utah Foster Care guides real and raw conversations about parenting for bio, foster, adoptive or blended families to increase understanding of issues we all experience as families.