Community Education, Prevention and Family Support | Behavioral Health Care in Placerville, California

QPR Suicide Prevention Training

FosteringConnections provides Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training. QPR is an evidence-based gatekeeper training program designed to help participants recognize potential warning signs of suicide, begin a supportive conversation, and connect a person at risk with appropriate professional or emergency assistance.

Similar to CPR, QPR prepares community members to recognize a potential crisis and take practical steps that may help save a life. The training emphasizes three core actions:

Question a person about possible thoughts of suicide
Persuade the person to accept help and remain connected to support
Refer the person to appropriate professional, crisis, or emergency resources

Training may also include:

Recognition of suicide warning signs and risk factors
Understanding common myths and facts about suicide
Identification of protective factors and prevention strategies
Guidance for beginning a direct and compassionate conversation
Development of practical referral and response skills
Identification of crisis services and community resources
Education about when immediate emergency assistance is necessary

QPR is supported by research demonstrating improvements in participants’ suicide-prevention knowledge, confidence, self-efficacy, and gatekeeper skills. Training is provided in accordance with QPR Institute requirements by an appropriately trained or certified instructor.

QPR provides suicide-prevention education and does not replace emergency intervention, suicide-risk assessment, or behavioral health treatment. If someone is experiencing an immediate emergency or may be at risk of suicide, call 911 or contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Mental Health First Aid

FosteringConnections offers Mental Health First Aid training to help participants recognize and respond to signs of mental health and substance-use challenges. Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based public-education program that teaches practical skills for offering initial support and connecting someone with appropriate professional, peer, community, or crisis resources.

Training may include:

Recognition of signs and symptoms associated with mental health challenges
Understanding signs of substance-use concerns
Identification of risk factors and warning signs
Supportive, respectful, and nonjudgmental communication
Practical strategies for approaching and assisting someone in distress
Guidance for responding to worsening symptoms or a potential crisis
Information about professional, peer, and community resources
Reduction of stigma surrounding mental health and substance-use needs
Support for encouraging appropriate self-help and professional care

Research on Mental Health First Aid has found improvements in mental health literacy, confidence, empathy, willingness to help, and recognition of mental health and substance-use concerns. Courses are delivered by appropriately certified instructors and in accordance with Mental Health First Aid program standards.

Mental Health First Aid provides education and early-response skills. It does not qualify participants to diagnose or treat behavioral health conditions and does not replace professional or emergency services.

Substance-Use and Impaired-Driving Awareness

Substance-use and impaired-driving awareness classes provide interactive, prevention-focused education about how alcohol, drugs, fatigue, and distraction can affect perception, coordination, reaction time, judgment, and decision-making.

In-person training may incorporate Fatal Vision® simulation tools developed by Innocorp. These experiential activities help participants explore certain functional challenges associated with alcohol or drug impairment, including visual distortion, reduced coordination, delayed responses, divided attention, and difficulty completing routine tasks safely.

Training may include:

Education about alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and other substances
Discussion of how impairment can affect the brain, body, behavior, and decision-making
Interactive Fatal Vision® impairment-simulation activities
Demonstrations involving coordination, balance, perception, reaction time, and divided attention
Education about the combined risks of alcohol and cannabis use
Awareness of drowsy and distracted-driving risks
Discussion of impaired judgment and its potential consequences
Exploration of peer pressure, social influences, and other contributing factors
Prevention-focused strategies for making safer and healthier choices
Identification of protective factors and community-safety resources
Activities customized for youth, adults, schools, agencies, workplaces, and community organizations

Fatal Vision® tools may include simulations related to alcohol, THC, opioids, combined alcohol and THC use, drowsiness, or distracted driving, depending on the purpose of the training and the equipment available.

These tools support experiential learning and prevention education. They do not reproduce every physical, psychological, or behavioral effect of substance use, establish an individual’s blood alcohol concentration, or provide a clinical or legal assessment of impairment. Participation in a simulation does not replicate the full risks or consequences of consuming alcohol or other drugs.

Learn more about the simulation tools through the official Fatal Vision® website.

Parent Project Senior, Loving Solutions Parenting Classes and Preparing Our Kids for Success

FosteringConnections provides structured parenting education using Parent Project Senior and Loving Solutions curricula. These established, curriculum-based programs use practical behavioral principles, guided group learning, skill development, and home-practice activities to help parents and caregivers respond more effectively to behavioral and family challenges.

Research involving Parent Project participants has reported positive changes in parenting practices, family involvement, communication, and child-management skills. Parent Project’s official research materials indicate that the program is still pursuing formal recognition as an Evidence-Based or Best Practice Model. Therefore, Parent Project Senior and Loving Solutions are described as structured, research-supported parenting programs.

Parent Project Senior

Parent Project Senior, also known as Changing Destructive Adolescent Behavior, is designed for parents and caregivers raising strong-willed or challenging adolescents. The program provides practical tools for addressing serious or recurring behavioral concerns while improving communication, consistency, supervision, and family relationships.

Topics may include:

Understanding and responding to challenging adolescent behavior
Improving parent-adolescent communication
Establishing clear rules, boundaries, and expectations
Using consistent and constructive discipline
Strengthening parental supervision and family structure
Addressing truancy, substance use, running away, violence, gang involvement, and other high-risk behaviors
Reducing arguments and strengthening cooperation
Supporting safer and more responsible decision-making
Building stronger family relationships and protective factors
Completing structured home-practice activities to reinforce new skills

Loving Solutions

Loving Solutions, also known as Parent Project Junior, is designed for parents and caregivers of strong-willed or challenging children, generally ages 5–10. The curriculum uses a behavioral model and cooperative learning activities to help caregivers encourage constructive behavior and respond consistently to unwanted behavior.

Topics may include:

Understanding the behavioral and developmental needs of younger children
Strengthening positive parent-child communication
Establishing age-appropriate rules, routines, and expectations
Using appropriate, brief, and consistent parenting responses
Encouraging cooperation and constructive behavior
Responding to unwanted behavior in a calm and structured manner
Supporting children with attention or behavioral concerns
Practicing skills through Steps of Success home assignments
Strengthening connection, consistency, and stability within the family

Parenting classes may be offered individually or in groups and can be adapted for parents, caregivers, courts, probation departments, CPS, schools, and community agencies.

Preparing Our Kids for Success

Preparing Our Kids for Success is a structured, 2.5-hour, trauma-informed parent education class designed to support School Attendance Review Board (SARB) and local truancy-prevention and intervention efforts. The program brings parents, caregivers, and educators together to strengthen school attendance, academic participation, family engagement, and communication between home and school.

Using a behavioral model, cooperative-learning principles, and activity-based instruction, the class provides parents and caregivers with practical strategies they can apply at home and in collaboration with their child’s school.

Topics may include:

Reconnecting parents and caregivers with their hopes and goals for their children
Understanding trauma and recognizing potential signs of trauma
Creating healthy structure, routines, and expectations at home
Identifying practical strategies for improving school attendance
Strengthening communication between families and schools
Supporting academic engagement and improved school performance
Developing consistent approaches to homework completion
Using homework-assignment sheets or online school-information systems
Increasing collaboration among parents, caregivers, educators, and support professionals
Strengthening protective factors that support educational success

The class may be appropriate for parents and caregivers participating in SARB proceedings, truancy-prevention programs, court or probation services, school-based interventions, or other educational support efforts. It gives families practical tools to address attendance concerns, improve home-school collaboration, and support their children’s educational progress.

Classes for Organizations and Community Partners

Training and educational programs may be customized for:

Schools and educational programs
Parents, caregivers, and families
Behavioral health and social service agencies
Courts, probation, parole, and correctional agencies
Child Protective Services and child welfare programs
Employers and workplace teams
Healthcare and helping professionals
Youth-serving organizations
Community groups and nonprofit organizations

Course topics, length, format, and educational activities may be adjusted according to the selected curriculum, audience, organizational goals, instructor authorization, and available setting.

Learn More About Classes and Training

Contact us to discuss available classes, scheduling, group size, language needs, or customized training options. Educational services are available throughout California in English and Spanish, with in-person and virtual formats offered based on the curriculum, audience, and training requirements.

We are committed to strengthening our communities by expanding access to practical education, prevention resources, early-intervention skills, and family support.