Equipping resource parents with the knowledge and attitudes to effectively parent teens: Results from the CORE Teen training program.

• This paper analyzes effectiveness of the CORE Teen training program, which seeks to improve resource parents' competencies and characteristics related to parenting teenagers. • Results indicate that participants demonstrated significant improvements in numerous competencies and characteristics related to parenting teenagers. • We demonstrate how a targeted resource parent training can lead to increases in knowledge and attitudes relevant to addressing the unique needs particular age group (teens). Given the high rates of placement disruptions for teenagers, a need exists for resource parents (the collective term for foster, adoptive, kinship, and guardian caregivers) who are both willing and able to care for teenagers. In response to this need, we created Critical On-going Resource Family Education (CORE) Teen, a comprehensive foster parent training program designed to provide resource parents with the knowledge and skills to support teens in their care. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA compared the results from participants at the pretest (N = 188), posttest (N = 130), and follow up taken 90 days after training completion (N = 118). The results from trainings conducted across four states and one tribal nation indicate that participants demonstrated significant improvements in training competencies and characteristics in a number of factors related to parenting teenagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]