Toxic Trio Training

Foster Care Training

The term ‘Toxic Trio’ describes common safeguarding features within the childcare field of Domestic Violence, Drugs and Alcohol abuse and Mental health issues that are found in many abusive family situations. In fact, in his paper “The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report” (2009), Lord Laming highlighted “The issues of alcohol, domestic abuse, drugs and mental health come up again and again in serious case reviews”. Therefore, having knowledge of such issues is a crucial part of foster care training.

This course provides a holistic understanding of the various elements of the ‘toxic trio.’ This equips foster carers with the knowledge required to deal with the resultant effects on the children. During the training, participants learn about how the toxic trio can impact children. This will effect their development and well-being in various ways. This knowledge enables foster carers to learn how to support their looked-after child through any issues arising from their previous experiences.

The increased likelihood that children in care has experienced at least one of the safeguarding issues within their life underscores the importance of this training for foster carers. Foster carers will undoubtedly face the effects of the toxic trio. Therefore, they need to prepare themsleves with the skills and knowledge to deal with them. Foster carers also need to understand how to support themselves through these situations. Finally, the course will cover the assessment processes linked to the ‘toxic trio’ and how to evaluate and understand what is happening.

An experienced professional teaches the session using a mix of case studies and group discussions to guide participants through the course. This 1-day course meets the requirements of the Foster Care Training, Support and Development Standards:
• Standard 2: 2.2(a, b), 2.6(a, c)
• Standard 3: 3.1b, 3.2a
• Standard 4: 4.5b
• Standard 6: 6.1(a, b), 6.2(b, c, d)