This course for caregivers will help you understand how trauma affects behaviors in children and youth, including how “trauma triggers” can increase the risk that a child or youth will run away or go missing.

This training provides information and identifies strategies to prevent or reduce the risk that children and youth in foster care will run away or go missing.

This course also provides the proper steps to follow when a child or youth in DFPS conservatorship runs away or goes missing.

Training objectives:

  1. Identify behaviors that indicate a child or youth is at high risk of running away.
  2. Understand how trauma and trauma triggers can affect a child or youth’s behavior.
  3. Implement measures to help support a child or youth who is at high risk of running away.
  4. Learn the proper steps when a child or youth in DFPS conservatorship goes missing.

Please note this course is a basic introduction to the topics presented. Continuing education is highly encouraged. The following resources are recommended:

  1. Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHA) 101

    https://youtu.be/HRJOwZ50fQQ

    Community mental health services are provided through local mental health authorities (LMHA) and local behavioral health authorities (LBHA), also referred to as community mental health centers. Each LMHA and LBHA provides services to a specific geographic area of the state, called the local service area. To learn more, visit hhs.texas.gov/providers/behavioral-health-services-providers/local-mental-health-authorities.

  2. MentalHealthTX.org

    Find Resources or a Provider | You're Not Alone | Mental Health Texas (mentalhealthtx.org)

    If you follow this pathway on MentalHealthTX.org, you will get to additional resources that should be helpful:

    mentalhealthtx.org > hover over “Coordinating Council” > select “State Agency Information” > select “Texas Department of Family & Protective Services”

To receive credit for this training, you must:

  • Complete the whole training.
  • Score at least a 70% on the test at the end of the training.
  • Print the Certificate of Completion of Runaway Prevention Training after completing the test.
  • Provide a copy of the Certificate of Completion of Runaway Prevention Training to your kinship worker, child’s caseworker, child-placing agency, or residential operation.