Course Structure
This 8-week course is offered in a hybrid format. Participants will complete weekly online content followed by a weekly live discussion via Zoom, where they will discuss what they learned and learn from each other.
Online Course content opens on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
*Participants will have approximately 2 hours of online coursework to complete each week.
Weekly Live Discussion Dates:
*All Live Discussions are from 9-11am Eastern Time / 8-10 am Central Time
Oct 16, 2025
Oct 23, 2025
Oct 30, 2025
Nov 6, 2025
Nov 13, 2025
Nov 20, 2025
Dec 4, 2025
Dec 11, 2025
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
Interaction & Discussions
With a cohort of fellow students
Teaching
From leaders in the field
A Safe Place
To discuss the complexity of what a transition to family care might look like
Practical Tools
To help you decide whether now is the right time for you to make a transition to family care
A Personal Action Plan
Of how to get started on transitioning to family care
Both Scripture and social science affirm that the ideal environment for a child is a loving family. There are certainly situations in which this is not possible, but our priority – both for any program we lead and each child we serve – should always be towards care that is as close as possible to the ideal of healthy, permanent family. Guided by this conviction, many organizations serving orphans and vulnerable children today desire to shift from institution-centered care toward care centered in families.
COURSE CURRICULUM PREVIEW
Lesson 1: Orientation
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Welcome to this Course! (1:26)
- Introductions
- About this Course
- Pre-Test
- Course Foundational Truth #1: Children Need Families
- Course Foundational Truth #2: When We Know Better, We Do Better
- Course Foundational Truth #3: Transition is Possible
- Course Final Project: Transition Plan
- First Step in our Transition Plan - Learning Where We Are
- Processing with Others
- Key Terms
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Orientation) and WhatsApp Group
Week 2: Stakeholder Engagement
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Introduction
- Reflection
- What [Not] To Do
- Case Study
- The Process of Raising Awareness
- Develop a Transition Council
- Educate Key Stakeholders
- Evidence on Transition
- Processing with Others
- Making a Plan
- Processing with Others (again)
- Learning from the Field (26:06)
- Next Steps
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Stakeholder Engagement)
Week 3: Foundations
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
Week 4: Community Mapping and Partnership
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
Week 5: Case Management
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Introduction
- Reflection
- Case Management Helps Us Care for Children
- Child Placement Requires Professional Staff
- The Process of Case Management
- A Primer on Child Placement
- Keeping Children Safe
- Case Study
- Making a Plan
- Processing with Others
- Learning from the Field (11:53)
- Next Steps
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Case Management)
Week 6: Family Assessment and Support
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Introduction
- Reflection
- Children Need Families
- Finding Families
- Building Trust
- Family Assessment
- Family Participation and Case Planning
- Family Options Review
- Case Study
- Making a Plan
- Processing with Others
- Learning from the Field (14:45)
- Next Steps
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Family Assessment and Support)
Week 7: Asset Transition
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Introduction
- Reflection
- Staff Teams Make Care for Children Possible
- Developing Vision
- Staff Retraining
- What If Staff Disagree?
- Transitioning Physical Assets
- Case Study
- Making a Plan
- Processing with Others
- Learning from the Field (9:18)
- Next Steps
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Asset Transition)
Week 8: Monitoring and Evaluation
Available in
days
days
after you enroll
- Introduction
- Reflection
- Success Will Not Happen By Accident
- Tools for Monitoring and Evaluation
- Monitoring and Evaluation Basics
- Case Study
- Coordination, Communication, and Review
- Making a Plan
- Processing with Others
- Learning from the Field (12:22)
- Next Steps
- Comprehension Check
- Live Discussion (Monitoring and Evaluation)
Conclusion
Available in
days
days
after you enroll