North Dakota Foster Care Training Requirements: PRIDE, CFSTC, and What to Expect from 27 Hours

When people find out that becoming a foster parent in North Dakota requires 27 hours of pre-service training, the immediate question is: what are you doing for 27 hours, and is it worth it? The answer to the second question is yes — not because the training is perfect, but because it covers things that no amount of well-intentioned preparation replaces. Here is a plain-language breakdown of how North Dakota's training system works, who delivers it, and what you actually need to complete before you can be licensed.

PRIDE: The National Model North Dakota Uses

North Dakota uses the PRIDE curriculum — Parents Resource for Information Development and Education — a nationally recognized, competency-based training model for prospective foster and adoptive parents. PRIDE was developed collaboratively by the Child Welfare League of America and adapted for state use. It is not a North Dakota invention, but the state has customized some components to address ND-specific realities.

The core premise of PRIDE is that fostering is a skill set, not just a disposition. Good intentions matter, but they do not prepare you for a 14-year-old who has never had a stable home, or for the complexity of supporting a child's visitation with a biological family you may have complicated feelings about. PRIDE tries to address the gap between wanting to help and being able to.

The 27-Hour Structure: Nine Sessions

PRIDE is delivered in nine three-hour sessions, totaling 27 hours. Sessions are typically scheduled weekly or in condensed formats. The nine competency areas covered are:

1. Protecting and Nurturing Children — what the foster parent's role is in the child welfare system and how child safety is assessed
2. Meeting Developmental Needs — child development fundamentals with a trauma-informed lens
3. Addressing Developmental Needs — how to respond when children's development has been disrupted by abuse, neglect, or instability
4. Supporting Family Relationships — the central importance of birth family connections and why North Dakota policy prioritizes visitation
5. Connecting Children to Lifetime Relationships — permanency planning, what it means, and why your role in a child's permanent network matters beyond the placement
6. Working as a Team Member — the professional relationships with caseworkers, courts, therapists, and schools
7. Loss and Grief — helping children process the profound losses that brought them into foster care
8. Cultural and Individual Identity — supporting a child's racial, cultural, and personal identity (this is where ICWA and tribal heritage are addressed)
9. Discipline and Behavior Management — North Dakota-specific rules on prohibited discipline, plus practical approaches to behavioral challenges

Many participants find sessions 7 and 8 the most emotionally demanding. Session 7, in particular, asks you to examine your own relationship with loss — something that many North Dakotans, especially men from rural or agricultural backgrounds, find unexpectedly challenging.

Who Delivers Training: The UND CFSTC

All PRIDE training in North Dakota is coordinated by the UND Children and Family Services Training Center (CFSTC), based at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. The CFSTC is the state's official training hub for child welfare professionals and foster families alike.

The CFSTC offers training through regional cohorts across the state — sessions in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot, as well as virtual options. Since the state explicitly accommodates rural families, virtual and hybrid PRIDE cohorts are available and are the standard offering for families in western North Dakota, including the Bakken oil region.

Training through the CFSTC is free — there is no fee for PRIDE. The state covers the cost as part of the licensing process.

To register, visit und.edu/cfstc or check the training calendar linked from hhs.nd.gov/foster-care-training. Do not attend PRIDE before completing the mandatory orientation panel — the state requires orientation to occur first.

Virtual Training: What It Looks Like

North Dakota has moved to a primarily virtual PRIDE delivery model, particularly since 2022. Virtual sessions are held via video conference and are structured the same as in-person sessions — facilitator-led, with group discussion components built in. The research on virtual PRIDE indicates that the completion rate and competency outcomes are comparable to in-person delivery.

For rural western ND families who previously faced a 2–3 hour drive to attend in-person sessions in Minot or Bismarck, virtual training eliminates a significant logistical barrier. The tradeoff is that virtual sessions require more self-discipline to stay engaged over three hours on a screen.

If you work 14-day rotation shifts (common in the Bakken oil region), confirm with the CFSTC whether a makeup option exists for sessions you might miss during an active rotation. Missing a session typically means waiting for that module in the next cohort cycle.

Abbreviated PRIDE for Relative Caregivers

Kinship and relative caregivers — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others with a preexisting relationship to the child — are not required to complete the full 27-hour PRIDE in all circumstances. North Dakota offers an Abbreviated PRIDE option, approximately 3 hours, specifically for identified relative placements in urgent situations.

The abbreviated version covers the most critical safety and role-clarity topics but does not replace the full curriculum for families seeking a standard foster care license. If you later want to open your home to unrelated children, you will need to complete the remaining PRIDE modules.

Continuing Education Requirements After Licensing

Getting licensed is not the end of training. North Dakota requires 16 hours of continuing education per 2-year license cycle for fully licensed foster parents (8 hours for certified or relative providers). Two specific topics must be covered in every renewal cycle:

• At least 1 hour of fire safety training — the CFSTC provides a North Dakota-specific module online
• At least 2 hours of cultural competency and diversity (DEI) training — covering topics like ICWA, racial and cultural identity, and trauma-informed approaches to cultural difference

The CFS Licensing Unit tracks your training record and will request documentation at renewal. Keep your training transcripts from the CFSTC and any other approved providers in a dedicated file.

The North Dakota Foster Care Licensing Guide includes a complete guide to navigating the PRIDE training schedule, what to do if you miss a session, how to prepare for the emotionally demanding modules, and what continuing education looks like in practice year over year.

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