Caregiver Core Training (CCT) is the mandatory training for Washington State’s caregivers to become licensed. Caregiver Core Training is taken Online.

To use self-paced, online eLearning, please consider the general guidelines for Online trainings listed below, and then scroll down to Registration Instructions and click the link to start the Online course.

Each participant must register separately: if a couple plans to complete the training together, each member must still register and go through the online course individually.

CCT Online Version

The 24-hour Caregiver Core Training is made up of eight sessions (each about three hours long) and a mandatory coaching session after the Online portion is completed.

Session 1: Introduction to the Child Welfare System

Session 2: Working as a Member of a Team

Session 3: Working with Birth Families

Session 4: Cultural Connections and Advocacy

Session 5: Growing Up with Trauma, Grief, and Loss

Session 6: Understanding and Managing Behavior

Session 7: Communication and Crisis Management

Session 8: Getting Ready and the Effects on the Caregiving Family

The sessions are designed to help you understand how the system works, what your role is as a member of the team, how to effectively work with birth families in order to best support the child, how caregiving may impact your own family, child development and the impact of trauma, all about attachment, how to incorporate and honor a child's culture into your own family, and more.  The sessions include the voices of former foster youth, current caregivers and birth parents who have been involved with the system.

Each session includes resources and additional information. Here are the handouts that will also be provided in each session.

You have one year to complete the course including the online training and coaching call. We will let the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Licensing Division and the foster care Recruitment and Retention Contractors in your area know about your progress through the course so they can offer you additional support if needed. We don’t track or share any information about how you responded to activities or quiz questions within the online training. We simply want to make sure you have the support you need to complete the training.

CCT online general guidelines

The online version works best for people who:

• Have regular access to a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer
• Are comfortable with technology
• Don’t mind reading on a screen
• Have high-speed internet access that allows them to participate in the online course and play videos