VENT VENT Case Plans - Are they all chaotic?

Sounds tough. I would keep plugging on getting the services though. Here is my thinking. Any case plan for ru needs to include these services being available for the children, and it is an extra buffer of protection for the kids by those who are providing the services. BTW - if the appointments for evals and stuff are a problem, push the social worker to transport for them, or provide a driver (that is something I am bad about - I take everything on my own shoulders) Diane

We do all the transporting. The main reason is because there are 4 in car seats and the only way they can do it is for 2 transporters (or cw & transporter) because no one has capability. It isn't that it's a problem ~~ except when cw makes appts for us and doesn't tell us until the morning of. . . I don't know how to explain it - it's the futility. We are foster only. I've spent hour upon hours begging for services and by the time they are in place - the case plan changes (sometimes without my knowledge) and within a week or so - the kids are gone or services are halted because they "heard" they were leaving, someone that was further down the line (the fp's didn't beg as hard as I did LOL) could've and might as well gotten the service to begin with. THis doesn't always happen but it has. And the indecision for the "plan of action" for this 3x repeat offender, for the MONTHS up to now was why .I didn't start begging sooner. I started filling out the requests, forms, applications etc. the day I was told they would be here until Biom completed her program etc. (of which she drew maximum in-house time). I'm talking major speech and physical therapy (for a toddler +.) as well as attachment disorder and violent physical rages (in a preschooler) It just seems to me that they should let us know when they have a PLAN and stay with that plan until fruition - not this - every few weeks say - we've been thinking of talking about. . . . so that everything is always up in the air. And like I said - this is all across county lines so NO services started here will cross over. All of the services would have to be reapplied for. Maybe I'm just getting burnt out. Now that I know most all the "ropes" and what I can't wait for someone else to do - It's like on "star trek" - "resistance is futile". lol

It sounds really frustrating, and I am a little confused. I have seen vents similar to yours on the forum before, and have never understood them... What difference does it make what the mother's plan is? What difference does it make what the permanency plan is? The kids' medical, occupational and mental health needs are the same regardless. Do you need to make all these applications, etc., to get the county to consent to the services or to get the county to provide the services? If they are on Medicaid, then all the medical, dental and mental healthcare needs are covered, aren't they? Here, I just talked to several people, researched therapists, then found a good one that took the state kids' plan (Medicaid under a cute name). FD could stay with the same practitioner regardless of where she lived as long as someone could get her there. Speech and OT goes through the school district. Failing that, we can also try under Medicaid. I asked the school for an eval. It surprised me that they did not recommend therapy. So I asked fd's physician for an order for a speech eval (like an order for bloodwork, did the same thing for her hearing), got a private one and got the same result with a better explanation :). If she had qualified under either set of rules, though, it would have been provided through either the school district or the Medicaid. Under the age of 3, early intervention programs are run by the state, not the agency. If we had an under-3, we would simply bring her to one of their screenings or get a screening done by a medical professional, then apply. They are usually pretty darn quick about placing these kids in qualified preschool programs as it saves a lot of money down the road. Over the age of 3, it is up to the local school district. Parents request evaluations from the school or bring their own in to set up a plan. Her cw and I thought FAS/FAE eval would be helpful. She did nothing, she didn't need to. I simply made an appointment with a qualified neurologist and got it. Under Medicaid, we didn't even need a referral. No services are provided directly "by the county" (actually, in our state, district). Nothing is tied to a specific locale, except the Medicaid, which is state-specific. So that is why I am confused and curious about the challenges facing other fps in other places. What is it, really, that you need from your county to take care of the kids?

These are my first placement, however, as soon as I got them I began trying to put in place services. First step for the baby, play therapy for the older. My thinking that no matter how long they were with me, they needed these things regardless and I hoped to accomplish as much as possible in a short time. 7 months later, their case is much like yours. Up in the air. At the end of next month we will find out if TPR occurs, I am continuing with everything that is scheduled as if they will make all the appointments, because as you stated, WE just never know anything for certain.

Most of my frustration is because I work at getting things put together - Mom is in a different county - school iep's are not reciprocal. I've been waiting since late Aug/early Sept for "places" for the kids. They are on waiting lists. One for HeadStart the other for and IEP Eval. The ONLY health and dental available to medicaid children is at the Health Dept. We have to many kids, not enough resources. I do have everything I can do for them done - now all I can do is call and bug them and wait. I was told that these would be here until Mom FINISHED her ru plan as she is a "repeat offender" and was assured again that they would be here (at least in this county) long enough for them to see some results of all the applications I've put in and the assessments that we've had done. My biggest frustration is that ** is only 3 months into a 9 month forced in-house rehab, in another county, and now they have decided to talk about talking about starting ru - one at a time. Now - with 3 close knit siblings - There is only a 38 month span between the oldest and the youngest. That's gonna cause a whole new set of troubles. So - do I wait and see if the IEP can be done in the new county? Do I keep bugging HeadStart or should we just try to get him on the waiting list in the new county? Not all counties in all states are reciprical. In fact, here they really, really don't like to use "County" resources (Health Dept) on out-of-county-kids. Like they are a different species of something LOL. I am glad that you had such an easy time with getting services that your fc's needed. Very few "foster only" have such an easy time. They see us coming ~~~ I am still frustrated by the instability that is caused by the lack of direction that the cw seems to have (and she is from a 3rd county and has no idea what services might or might not be available here)

lol It wasn't easy, I work fulltime and am single and got no help from the cw( we are now on the 3rd one in 6 months) It took 2 months for me to get an appt with a "play therapist" that I don't even like, know of any good ones? We couldn't find a pediatrician that was taking new cases for far longer and the 20 month old had already been diagosed as needing tubes. We had to get a regular pedi, then convince her of our need for referral, currently waiting on court permission, which of course they won't give until a date for surgery is schedule. Did I mention the ENT won't schedule surgery until we have court approval? :banana:

Wow. That's all insane. Didn't realize I had it so "good." Tying everything to one locale makes no sense. And where are your medical providers? Doesn't the state require all of them to accept a certain number of Medicaid patients? Here, IEP evals are supposed to be done within 45 days of request. When a child transfers, the new district is usually very happy to skip the cost of doing a new one--especially if it calls for typical, low-cost type of services (if they received a child slated for residential, they might want a re-do). The school districts are only sloppy about the 45-day rule until a parent pops up who knows the rule, then they toe the line as if their legal budgets depend on it (they do). They don't want to waste time and money defending timeliness issues when they could be using them to fight a six-figure RTC placement.... oh, sorry. That sounded just a little cynical. Hope you get what you need for the children, Amahmama. Good luck.

I have appointments. Boy, do I have appointments!! I just gave up on the cw being any help in researching what services might be available and started calling the department heads to the different "arms" of our "system" here. I now have an appt for the toddlers iep, put the preschooler in a private preschool that I pay for out of my own funds (there aren't any that accept "program" funds near our home), contacted the supervisor for the GAL program because I haven't seen a GAL (and they have one assigned), called a dept head regarding the failure of the cw to document services needed by the kids (under Other Services Required - she put none). HeadStart hasn't even acknowledged my existance since before Christmas.:fish: I hate to "waste" time and valuable resources. I have made dozens of appointments only to have the child ru'd or moved to a family placement before the appointment date - listed everything that had commitments and then got "letters" from the dr's etc saying that I'd missed appointments. One even had the nice little "since you've missed appointments for 2 of your children, we are sure that you will be able to find another dentist that will work with your schedule to a better degree" on it. The files said they were FK's and they ru'd and MOM didn't take them. And I KNOW she knew - it was documented and I TOLD her about the appointments, gave her directions and everything. It is so hard to get appt's that aren't months out - and then to keep one or two and miss the rest of the "sessions" that we've signed up for is not "using our resources"!! In this case, the bioM isn't even in our county, does not drive, and really has no interest in persuing medical or therapy type stuff (the kids weren't even current in the free vaccines and have had medicare since birth) that I know - whatever I get set up will get dropped as soon as they ru. But they keep everythign up in the air. Constant chaos. "We are doing a staffing about maybe sending the baby to ru, but you think it would be hard on the older one, so maybe he should go first" then never tell me the results of the staffings. I heard via the grapevine that they are going to try this again soon - as a new judge is sitting in that county now. AND they don't tell me the court dates in time for me to get there - I get a casual - oh, by the way, the hearing is set for 10 am (an hour notice and a 1.5 hour drive to that county). I can deal with the kids. They ALL have issues. PEOPLE have issues. WE are ALL humans. I can't deal with the SYSTEM that puts the kids so far into last place just so MOM's rights aren't bruised!!!! Why isnt' this for the KIDS!!!!:laundry:

I don't understand about the long issues for IEPs for children. In LA, once you request the IEP, they have 45 days to get it scheduled. This is even for under 3.

Not here. I've requested until I'm blue in the face. We finally had our "screening" (that took months) and they will "contact me" in 4-5 weeks to set up an appointment for the assessment. I asked if this was going to be able to be in place before they end of school year as the children are due to ru during summer and I don't know that BioM will follow thru. They aren't sure. THE SYSTEMS (all of the gov't ones) ARE CRAP. They have good intentions - but seem to be totally overwhelmed and under stacks and stacks of red tape. Some of these children don't have hundreds of years for treatment before the problems effect their entire lives. I'm being totally out there and very scarcastic - but I'm so fed up with the we'll let you know when to come back for the next step - weeks away. . . . What about her? ? ? ? ?