Licenseing Rules

According to the "text" the changes are statewide. They aren't really difficult, just for the most part more annoying than anything else. Like - you MUST have a vehicle that will hold the entire family and you MUST have appropriate carseats (even if you don't know yet what that may be). You MUST have your daycare set up before taking a child. (just how you do that without just paying for a retained space - I'm just not sure of). If you have a pool or pond - you MUST have coast guard certified life jackets and they MUST be on the children at all times that they are in the area. I asked about public pools - yes fk's must wear them even at a public pool. You Must have your fire extinguisher tagged annually (even if it is new - you have to pay for an inspection). You Must have your recertification application in 4 months before renewal date (think they are just a bit slow?). New foster parents must have 12 annual training hours. Older fp's still only need 8, These are the ones I can remember off of the top of my head, I'm sure that there were more - but it may be of use for everyone to contact the agencies before buying any replacement articles - to make sure you won't have to upgrade - or buy more new stuff for relicensing. Sometimes I wonder if UFF even wants foster families... They could make so much more profit if they could just put all the kids in the "shelters" and group care for them there. It seems like they are "legislating" us right out of the "family care" system.

I'll have to check with our licensing specialist as this is news to me. 1. We do have a car that holds all of us 2. Daycare isn't a problem, dw is a stay at home mom. 3. We have a pool fence around the pool, i'm wondering if we're still going to need the life jackets? They ARE NOT cheap. 4. Our rules state that our Fire extinguisher needs to be inspected yearly. To be honest it's cheaper to buy a new one from home depot than to pay for an inspection. 5. have to look into the application 6. We're required to have 16 hours of training a year. We can do the training online at sociallearning.com. Ugggh.. always something new to deal with.. oh well.. we just keep chugging away

1. We do have a car that holds all of us **We do too so that's easy :) 2. Daycare isn't a problem, dw is a stay at home mom. **Same here!! Or my Mom is licensed and can watch them herself when I can't. 3. We have a pool fence around the pool, i'm wondering if we're still going to need the life jackets? They ARE NOT cheap. **No pool so that doesn't matter to us. I asked about taking them to the HS pool for swimming lessons and they said that I could. I guess that means life jackets for them, huh? 4. Our rules state that our Fire extinguisher needs to be inspected yearly. To be honest it's cheaper to buy a new one from home depot than to pay for an inspection. **If you buy a new fire extinguisher you still have to have it tagged. They don't come tagged from Home Depot. I had to take ours to the first extinguisher place here and have them test it and it cost me 10.00. The strange thing is our health inspector didn't even check our smoke detectors...do they not check those too to make sure they are operational? 5. have to look into the application **Wow...that I have to check into. 6. We're required to have 16 hours of training a year. We can do the training online at sociallearning.com. **I wonder if we can do that here in Duval County? This is my first year doing foster care so I'm still learning :)

Ohter issue is that there are to be "NO MORE THAN 5 CHILDREN IN A HOME AT A TIME". This includes respite children. I had a backup babysitter with 2 children. She can't be "backup" anymore because my 4 with her 2 makes 6 - so unless she gets a babysitter for one of her children - she can't watch mine. And according to UFF - this goes for Licensed (private) Day Care also. So it boils down to: if you work and have Professional Day Care in place - you might make it to the Dr. without the kids - if not - you have a next to impossible time because all caregivers must be screened - and total may not be more than 5 - EVER. If someone in FL has found a way around this - I would love to get out for a movie (just the DH and I) again someday. We are working on getting another backkup sitter - but the hassles are almost to cumbersome for another to bother with. Mostly becuase we don't habitually use a sitter.

We were told that as long as you have the receipt for the extinguisher that would suffice as an inspection. You pay between 10 and 20 dollars to get them inspected when a new one from home depot is like 15. I'd rather get a new one than trust an older one, inspected or not.

Wow 15.00 for an extinguisher? Ours here are minimum of 35.00 for the type they require. It has to be a certain size and number.

NEW RULES!!!!! Even if it is BRAND NEW it has to be inspected and tagged. They have to be the good ones - for the newbies - the $15 ones are NOT the right kind. If the Heath Insp doesn't catch it - home insp will. We have always bought a new one - because we not only would have to pay the $35 for the inpsection and tag - but we would have to drive teh 50 miles (one way) to an inspection station. Kinda sucks - but that is one of the many NEW RULES. Check with your licensing worker. They come into effect on 1/1 for newbies and re-license both. So it you are preparing for your homestudy and the licensing doesn't get done (imagine that???) - you will have to come up to the new regs. They've just about done me in. I think I may be burning out. Not just with the rules and ineptness of the system - but since we do not adopt - we see/hear of the same kids coming back thru. And the time limits mean nothing - there are ways around them to. Every time I feel that something has happened to help some of these kids - someone finds a way around it - or an inept system just doesn't do what it is designed to do. We can put kids back with double and triple offenders - but a fp can't know if a child has HIV. Now - how's that for a lopsided system? I need about 30 pages where I can vent and not have to worry about confidentiality!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you 100%. Once our children are reunified/adopted we're most likely getting out of foster care. I'm disgusted with the system. They put us under the microscope to get licensed, yet do no checks on the bios. Our FD's bios EACH have a criminal record a mile long. How they would EVER consider reunification is not only heart breaking, but should be a crime in itself.

I know what you mean, we just finished our last home study last night and papers should be at the state in 5 or so days. I couldnt believe everything we had to do just to help out a child. We had to lock up all chemicals inside and outside of home so we bought a building to put up outside even though we have a Large garage, we had to buy a ring bouy with a rope for the pool, had to pay 40 each to get certified for pool safety (that was a JOKE) and then yes, the new extinguisher cost 50 bucks..And yes, I have 2 infant car seats and you have to make sure that they are not outdated on the back. Someone said you will get ticketed if you get stopped. These were only a few of the fences we had to hurdle over to get this far. I feel your pain...L

One thing that I couldnt believe is that after doing TONS of paperwork and they make us purchase so much that they do not even require us to be CPR certified...and about the fire exstinguisher, she is corrected...it has to be tagged and cant be one from a store and not tagged...

I guess all agencies work and do things differently. We bought a fire extinguisher from Home Depot, the receipt acted as the inspection tag.

After Jan 1, 2007 it won't be good enough (the fire extinguisher receipt). And that is from Tallahassee. I got my renewal packet today - my license is up in June 07. They want it returned so that they have 6 months to process it!!! Now, how's that for a joke??? How many things could change between now and June???? I read all the other threads and they shout the virtues of private agencies. What did we get? And I just read the the board rate in N Virginia is $950!!! And I'll just bet is doesn't take 6 months to do a renewal!! I can't get documents from them - I've been trying for 2 months to get case plans. Please please give us DCF back. The UFF is absolutely tearing me up!! I'm almost ready to just say "stuff it" to them and find some other way to help out. But I look at these little faces and think of where they would be it no one does fc. Remember the pics of the old orphanages? Would it go back to that? Someone, please just tell me it's worth it. Please

I'm waiting to see if we get a similar package. We did get something in the mail stating some new rules about children spending the night at someone elses home will go into effect in 07 and stay tuned for more info. I agree that this sure isn't easy, but the kids are so worth it. We're dreading the permanancy hearing in April for our 1 yr old FD who's parents have 9 warrants (in other states) for their arrest. Case worker went to the director of operations who in turn said because they were issued prior to FD coming into care it WILL NOT change their case plan. The reason FD came into care was dad was picked up on warrants and mom was in jail. The GAL said she will do everything in her power to make sure FD bios either satisfy the warrants or don't get her back. Oh well enough rambling.. kids are starting to stir and I'm letting DW sleep in today. From our house to yours... Happy Holidays and a very happy and safe New Year!

Amahmama, are you thru a private agency or not? I was just wondering if the private one has as many rules as the state one.

Florida (at least our counties) have "privatized", meaning that the County itself goes thru an agency (United for Families). We have the rules that the State mandates, the rules of UFF, and the rules of common sense. And sometimes they just don't add up. All I can see, having dealt both directly with the County and now UFF, all that happened is they put another layer of payroll between the taxpayers and the children - so there are more rice bowls being filled than before. We've had worse communication, more waste, more rules, and more children than ever in the system. AND they stay in the system way to long!!! I have a fs (4) that has been in the "system" one way or another his whole life - and he is in ru. And slated to be the last of the siblings ru'd. go figure!!!! Like who needs one on one time with Mom first - the 4yo or the 9mo????? Another vent - I'm full of them - lol