Trainer Spotlight: Meet Deraan Washington

Deraan Washington is a Learning Partner on Cornerstones of Care’s Collaborative Learning Team, where she designs and facilitates trauma-informed training for both staff and foster parents. In this role, she focuses on building curriculum that supports caregivers in understanding stress, trauma, and the ways these experiences shape relationships with children. Her work plays an important part in ensuring foster parents feel equipped and confident as they navigate the complexities of caregiving.

Deraan brings more than 12 years of experience as a trainer to Cornerstones of Care. She began her career as a Parent Educator with AmeriCorps in Sacramento, California, working directly with families and caregivers. That early experience helped shape her long-term commitment to education, family support, and community-based work. She officially joined Cornerstones of Care in June 2024 and has since become an integral part of the organization’s training program.

Today, Deraan teaches two courses specifically for foster parents. One is a two-hour Self-Care course, which centers on the importance of caregiver wellbeing and the practical steps foster parents can take to manage stress and prevent burnout. She also teaches the Blocked Care series, an eight-week course that helps foster parents recognize how ongoing stress and unresolved trauma can affect their emotional responses and relationships with the children in their care. Both courses are designed to help caregivers better understand themselves as well as the needs of the youth they support.

Deraan’s approach to training is strongly informed by her academic background. She holds a Bachelor of Science in both Sociology and Psychology, and she continued her studies with a Master of Arts in Sociology. During her graduate work, she developed a deep interest in how cultural norms, long-held beliefs, and personal values influence behavior and interpersonal relationships. This perspective now guides the way she builds curriculum and facilitates conversations with foster parents, emphasizing reflection, awareness, and compassion alongside practical skills.

One of the aspects of her work that Deraan finds most meaningful is witnessing foster parents gain insight into how their own experiences and belief systems shape the way they show up in their families. She values the moments when caregivers begin to recognize patterns in their thinking or behavior and take steps to create stronger, healthier connections with the children in their homes. “The most rewarding part of teaching has been in witnessing foster parents wake up to how their deeply engrained beliefs and values have shaped their lives while making the changes necessary to strengthen their parent-child relationships,” she said. For Deraan, these shifts represent real progress, not just for individual families, but for the broader foster care community.

While she teaches multiple courses, Deraan is especially passionate about our Blocked Care series because of its focus on helping foster parents understand the body’s stress response and the long-term impact of chronic emotional strain. The course is structured to guide participants gradually toward recognizing signs of overload and learning ways to restore balance, connection, and empathy over time. This focus on healing and regulation aligns closely with Deraan’s belief that meaningful change happens through steady, intentional growth rather than quick fixes.

Outside of her professional work, Deraan enjoys reading and spending time in nature. These quiet, restorative activities reflect the same values she brings into her training: the importance of slowing down and paying attention to one’s inner experience.

Cornerstones of Care is grateful for the knowledge, care, and thoughtfulness Deraan brings to her role. Through her training, foster parents gain not only practical tools, but also a deeper understanding of themselves and the children they support. Her work helps strengthen families, build resilience, and create a more informed and compassionate foster care community.