Foster/Adopt ??? Answered

If you are thinking of becoming a Foster Parent or a Foster?Adopt Parent contact your local Division of Family Services. First, you have to attend Foster Parenting classes. If you are married, your spouse has to take classes with you. They are usually held in the evenings or on Saturdays. If I remember right they were around 20 hours total. You have to continue taking various child related coures as long as you continue with your license. You are required to have 30 hours of training on the books every 2 years. Most trainings are interesting and relate to the types of children you will care for. In my county they accept CPR and other health related training that you may have already had through your employment. There is also an adoption training that is around 15 hours if you are interested in adoption. We took it after being foster parents for 4 years. If you want foster/adopt placements only then you have to take this class before receiving any placements. You are required to have a fire extinguisher and working smoke detectors. Your are required to have a bed and a space for their clothing for each child. Boys and girls in separate rooms. You don't have to own your own home or be wealthy but you do have to be able to care for this child until your check arrives. If you receive a child during a month, you will receive your check for that child around the 15th of the following month. On that check you will only be paid for the days that you had that child during the first month. DFS will give you a clothing voucher for each child to be used at a specific store. They can only be used for clothing and shoes. The vouchers are usually around 200.00 depending on the age of the child. It will not cover the expense of what they need. That's where garage sales, other foster parents, and hand me downs come in handy. It would be nice if you could buy all new stuff each time but, you will soon go broke if you try to. In class they will tell you that they will come with a small bag of clothing. I have been doing this for 7 years and I haven't seen a bag yet. I have even received children without shoes. At first I used to spend so much money on each child that I went into a hole that I am still trying to climb out of. I guess my heart is bigger than my pocketbook. When the children leave, you send all their stuff that you have purchased with them. I have known some foster parents that didn't do this and it just adds to the hurt that these children have already went through. You have to have a home study that is provided by the state. They will visit your house and ask you alot of different questions about different situations pertaing to children. They will ask info on your own family background. You have to have a fingerprint background check to check for crimes against children. They will want to talk to your children. I think I also had to give references. You have to tell them what age, sex, and race that you think will fit best in your family. Even though you do this, when they need a placement that doesn't fit into that range, they will still call you. It is ok to say no, you should only take children that you really want to work with. I know all different types of homes, babies only, 0-5 years, teenagers only, etc...There are even foster homes that are emergency only. You don't have to be a stay at home parent to be a foster parent. DFS is responsible for daycare for these children if it is needed. By responsible I mean, you find a licensed child care provider that will accept DFS payments and DFS is supposed to pay them. I have had a few problems in this area and it pays to ask other active foster parents in your area who they use. You might want to start looking to see what is available before you start receiving placements. Medicaid is provided by the state for each child in foster care. There shouldn't ever be a co-pay on their doctor visits or their medication. When DFS has to remove children they will call you if you have space available for that age child. It might be 2:00a.m., it really just depends on when they have to be removed. There isn't any notice on placements unless they are coming from another foster home or from a residential home. I would recommend a bath and a lice check first thing unless the child is too traumatized at the time. These children don't want to be removed from their parents no matter how bad the situation is. Please reassure them that they are safe at your house. They love their parents and it really hurts them to hear negative talk about them. If you have lots of patience and a big heart this might be the job for you. If you are a foster parent and the child you have becomes available for adoption, you will more than likely be a good adoption placement if you are interested. If you only want to foster, the child will be placed in an adoptive home asap. When children return home, sometimes things work out and sometimes they return back into care. We can only do what we can while we have them. Each child has a caseworker, if you have more than one child from separate families, you will more than likely have more than one caseworker to deal with. Some are very helpful and some are not. You will learn quickly which is which. When you have questions about a child, this is the person you need to ask. This is the way things are done in the county I reside in, things could be different in yours so be sure to ask first. This is only to be used to answer a few questions to determine if this is something you would want to do. Wow, I could go on and on. If you have any other questions, just reply to this post and I will check back. P.S. I started a photo book when we received our first placement. On each page there is a picture of the child, dates when they came and left, and info about the child and their situation.