Foster parents teaching foster parents: Communication and conflict resolution skills training

The purpose of the present study was to examine a model of foster parent training in which specific therapeutic parenting skills (communication and conflict resolution) were taught to foster parents by other previously trained foster parents. A comparison was made of how well these skills were learned under this condition as compared to when instructors were mental health professionals. Pre-to posttest measures revealed that foster parents who received training from either the professional or nonprofessional staff showed greater acquisition of these skills than did a comparison group of untrained foster parents, and that trained foster parents and professional staff did not differ substantially in their ability to transmit these skills.