Adoptive Parent Training 
ECFA's Adoption Program requires a minimum of 10 hours of pre-adoptive training. ECFA offers three distinct training courses for our adoptive parents. All of the classes are offered on a quarterly basis. Please contact us to find out the schedule of classes. Below is a description of each course ECFA offers:
Healthy Infant Training -
Exploring Openness in Adoption
This course is required for all families adopting from the healthy infant domestic program. It is designed to illustrate the benefits of openness in adoption, and the impact that openness has on all members of the adoption triad. It also offers families a variety of examples of what an open adoption may look like. The cost of this training is $50.00 per couple and it is 2 hours long.
International Training - The Impacts of Institutionalized Living
This course is required of all families who are adopting internationally (otherwise known as our agency - assisted program). It is designed to illustrate the life of a child who lives in an orphanage before being adopted. It covers topics such as grief and loss, attachment, tools for families when they return home with their child, as well as answering some medical questions and where families can find assistance in the Chicago-land area. The cost of this training is $50.00 per couple and it is 2 hours long. Families also receive a complimentary book entitled Before You Were Mine-Creating a Lifebook for Your Child.
Attachment Training - The Journey that is Worth While
This course is required of all families who are adopting internationally or from the foster care system (special needs adoption). It is designed to illustrate why attachment is necessary, provide parents with the tools necessary to facilitate attachment, as well as teaching them to recognize signs if attachment may not be occurring between the child and their family. The cost of this training is $75.00 per couple and it is offered over two nights for a total of 4 training hours.
PRIDE Training
This 9 week course is required of all families who are adopting from the Special Needs program. It is designed to illustrate the life of a child in the foster care system before being adopted. It covers topics such as attachment, grief and loss, discipline, and strengthening family relationships.
ECFA encourages families to seek additional training through specific on-line courses. We provide our families with an extensive reading and resource list once you begin your adoption journey. ECFA also has a free lending library of books filled with books for families interested in adoption.
