What in the world is the holdup?

Welcome to the Florida Foster Care System. There will be MANY things that will make you shake your head in complete wonder and disbelief, but hang in there, the need for people like you is great and if not you (and me), then who will stand up for these children? You are doing a wonderful thing. Remember that when it gets tough. It's all about the kids. Bless you!

I was just wondering if you ever received the kids?

You are definitely not alone. I completed MAPP last year, and my experience with Heartland, and pretty much all of the Florida agencies so far, has been pretty ridiculous as well as fruitless, thus far. I haven't adopted, I'm feeling totally alone, and they do nothing to alleviate that feeling. A caseworker for a little girl I met earlier this week, [adorable, but the foster parents are thinking of adopting her, so I probably won't be matched with her either - story of my life] pointed out that my homestudy expired at the beginning of the month [after a year], and not only had no one at Heartland pointed that out [and I thought it was the date on the letter I got with it, not one of the several dates within the document itself:confused:], I've been calling for several days to find out what I need to do to get it updated, and I got transferred from one person to a vm to another, to another vm, etc, etc, etc. :grr: Why do they make it so difficult? They don't tell you anything, and I'm getting really sick and tired of learning every living thing the hard way. September of last year, I was given a copy of my homestudy, and told I get to look for kids - they "don't 'facilitate' any longer". :eek: My contact there presented a couple of children for me to consider, but none of them were 'the' ones - and that's it! She'll talk to people or send things if an agency wants an 'official' contact, but that's all. When I asked what I should do to find them, she said the internet was the best resource. Anyone who has used the Florida state adoption site knows it is so woefully pathetic - the kid's pictures are usually outdated, the 'facts' provided are sporatic, inconsistent and usually really not sufficient, and site is not kept anything near to updated. I was told all the children are supposed to be 'up' within a month, and that is just a laugh and a half. Several of the children I've been 'presented' with have not -and still aren't- on the website, and I personally know of one child that was adopted, but her picture was still there! How any children actually get adopted in this state is beyond me, truly. Someone here had suggested I send out 'flyers' about myself to all the different agencies, and I think that's a great idea, but aside from the fact that there's no listing for these agencies [which is something that should be provided, IMHO, to make searching and communicating a little easier], I really get the feeling these people are way overworked, and would probably just toss it. I'm so depressed and upset, I can't think of anything to do. So frustrating, and the Sunshine State really doesn't seem to care, they just provide lip service and caseworker-'speak'. :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: Sorry to be negative and irritable, but I sometimes feel like I'm never going to be a mother, and it's really getting me upset.

I am so sorry to hear how frustrated you are at what is definetly a broken system. I did finally get my fkids on 7/26 after what felt like a lifetime of waiting. Now that the kids are here I am having to deal w/ a whole different set of problems, beginning with the inability of the CW and such to just be honest with us about anything. I am interested in hearing from other people about their experience w/ the foster care system here in FL...What has worked for you and what hasn't? Do you have any pointers on how to navigate the system to the children's advantage?

We've had them since 7/26 :D and have just recently began to come out of 'babysitter' mode.

The entire Florida State/DCF/UFF thing has boggled my mind. We (as Foster Parents) thought DCF could be improved upon but since they've privatized it is really, really pathetic. All that has happened is ANOTHER layer of red tape and salaries between the children and thier new parents (both adoptive and foster). EVERYTHING

The entire Florida State/DCF/UFF thing has boggled my mind. We (as Foster Parents) thought DCF could be improved upon but since they've privatized it is really, really pathetic. We finished our home study and MAPP classed in February and were finally licensed in June. We now have to submit for renewal months in advance or our license may expire and the kids may be moved. Bad part is - we can't get all the "trainings" we need in just a few months. At 2 hrs per month - it takes 5 months. Then figure the Dec training out because it's the christmas party. We only have 6 trainings available in the 8 months between licenseing and renewals each year. Why they need 3 -4 months to do a renewal is beyond me. No wonder they are having to spend so much on recruiting. Many of the cm's will be fresh out of college. Most are single parents or have no children yet. They are shoved into a system that is bogged down and difficult. They have no one to go to for answers. They have HUGE case loads. They are over thier heads before they can get thier feet wet. I had one cm that was the senior cm in her dept. She'd been there 6 months. And since the privatising and hurricanes - the turnover is even more so. It's a bad system, sometimes I think they would rather just run orphanages (shelters) and do away with the FP's that just take 4 - 6 at a time. It's annoying and stressful - but when you see the shining on a child's face - OH so worth it!!

The entire Florida State/DCF/UFF thing has boggled my mind. We (as Foster Parents) thought DCF could be improved upon but since they've privatized it is really, really pathetic. All that has happened is ANOTHER layer of red tape and salaries between the children and thier new parents (both adoptive and foster). EVERYTHING that UFF does has to be approved by DCF - so it becomes a submit: hope it isn't lost: wait: hope someone found it: wait: hope someone realizes that the item needs an answer: wait: someone might research the item: wait: UFF gets an answer from DCF: hope the answer doesn't get lost: wait for someone to realize they have an answer: relay the answer to us. By this time - the item has been "overcome by events" and is no longer relavent. Case in point: We wanted to take our 4 on vacation -out of state - for a month. Spanned over 2 months so that the CM could still do monthly visits. BioM not visiting so I figured that was a moot point. We submitted for travel orders about 3 weeks before "take off". My husband had a meeting to attend during the 1st week at the city we were going to. Travel time by RV was figured at 2 days. The CM had to clear it sith BioM AND HER ATTORNEY, take the request to legal about 1,5 weeks before take off, had nothing contested, 2 days before take off - still no papers. My husband had to make air reservations to get to his meeting. At 4:30 the day before - the orders were faxed to us. We couldn't go. I couldn't get ready in time (we've gotten ready before and had travel denied), AND my husband had non-refundable air ticket. Another case: Same scenario about travel. At that time we had 2 infants. My grandson was having surgery in another state. Requested travel. BioM's objected. Both had to be scheduled for hearings. Different counties, different judges, different cm's. One county transported both BioP's FROM JAIL to contest the child's travel. They had not visited since birth (we got him at 5 days) but were maybe going to be released about 1/2 way thru the stay - the judge upheld - the child went to Shelter for the duration of our trip and we got him back (still no visits) when we returned. 2nd baby: BMom didn't care but BDad didn't consent. They had biweekly visits. Went to hearing. Judge allowed travel and instructed the CM to schedule visit before and after travel. So welcome to FLORIDA. Persevere, the kids need you. We tend to do more for them ourselves. We do visits, med appts, referrals - all of it. Scheduling and transporting. Don't wait for cm's refererals. Learned thru our FPO how to go around the system and do it all yourself. It is less stressful. Document everything. Give doc to cm at monthly visit.

I feel your pain. Last Friday my wife and I got a call from placement asking if we'd take 2 children for the weekend. Only one was dropped off, who ended up having to be removed Saturday afternoon after beating the living hell out of our 2yr old FS (banged up and scratched up, but he's fine). Monday morning at 5:55 AM our doorbell rang. It was transportation, they were here to pick up the 2 kids that were placed in our home friday night... GREAT COMMUNICATION!

This is by far the biggest problem I have w/ my fkids' cw. The cw does a whole lot to sit on his *** and do nothing for the kids. It is my cw that has made me want to throw in the towel, he just makes me feel so hopeless and unsupported. Any helpful info is welcomed. How can I be a better advocate for my fkids?

You know I haveto be honest, all this news about the negative things about being a foster mom in fl has me thinking twice. yes the children need homes but it almost sounds like its a huge vicious cycle in which foster parents arent even appreciated. and then they wonder why there arent enough fp. sheesh, this is rediculous...i definetly think they should start out fresh and think of the kids best interest...as opposed to their paychecks. =0(

cstrickland: I sure hope you don't rethink your being a foster parent. Yes the system is messed up, yes cw aren't the easiest to work with, yes you won't get your referrals and etc., yes it is a vicious cycle but it is well worth it. Though most foster parents are not appreciated, but when you reach a certain milestone with a child, its all worth it. I have to say I have been fortunate enough that my kids cw is great... she returns calls, make sure all my referrals are done, but she has a personality of a cardboard box. That's perfectly fine with me. She does her job efficiently and professionally. She has opened up a bit with me, but never crosses the line. Hang in there it is worth it...

Please don't give up on wanting to be a fp. Up until very recently, I have had a VERY good foster and adoption experience. You just have to realize that cw are underpaid and overworked and social services in general is underfunded..so you are going to run into a few people along the way who don't want to do their job..... But OVERALL the GOOD has far outweighed the bad!

I understand that it is difficult reading about all the negative experiences we have, but I really must say that the satisfaction I get from knowing I am providing a safe and loving environment to my fd far outweighs the nonesense we have to deal with. Also, since I posted last I have been blessed with CW that have been 100% better than the one I was referring to in my post on this thread.Personally, I always knew I wanted to both foster and adopt, and the truth of the matter is that I am happy I have been able to foster.Best of luck to you as you gather all the info necessary to make an informed decision.

I spoke with my licensing worker - she got the necessary forms back - she just forgot to call me and let me know!! We have our Quarterly meeting next week and when she called for the appointment I asked about it. So even tho' slowly, sometimes it gets done. . . .