I'm new (not licensed yet) and have questions...

Hi, Congrats on your decision to foster. To answer some of your questions, I would be upfront and honest with your boss now that you have intentions of being a sahm for a short period when you get your first foster kiddo. Finding a home based daycare that will take your kiddo for 2 days a week will not be a problem you just need to call around. 0-18 months is not a big span at all. Please do not expect to have all calls to you be in that age, stick to your guns on what you want and what your comfortable with. Don't take this the wrong way, please expect your foster kiddo to go home, reunification is always the first goal and its sorta hard to come by little ones that actually stick around. Are you prepared to be a sahm for a couple of months to go back to work to let this child go back home or to relatives? Would you do this for every kid you get? Just a couple of things to think about. Good luck!!!

I guess I hadn't thought about the possibility of my foster child going back and what I'd do with my time in between foster kids! I don't know what I'd do! I guess if I don't have a fc in my home, I want to be at work full-time. How long should I take off work to be with an infant, before starting work 2 days a week again? Any suggestions?And how do you do it? How do you get baby after baby, and give them all back?

It will all depend on the age and situation of the child. Some children are required to be in daycare 5 days a week. So you may not need to spend anytime at home. Say for example you get a 12 month old that has been in care for a few months. It is very possible that child is already in a daycare and daycare is court ordered. In that case you have to put them in daycare. Daycare is used as another set of eyes on a child in the system. It is part of the Rilya Wilson Act. This requires foster children in certain cases to be enrolled in daycare full time. State paid for. I have even seen cases where the caregiver is a stay at home mom, but the children are still required to be in daycare.

You just need to make sure your boss is willing to let you take time off on each and every foster baby. Always expect for them to leave and be pleasantly suprised when they don't. How do I do it???? That's a very common question, and I always say I don't know I just do it. I have lost a 7yr, 2yr, 3yr, 9mths, 3 mths and now 11 mths. It's part of the game, some kids you bond with immediately and others your not as sad to see go. I have been very fortunate to have great CW's (with exception of 1 or 2) that advised me in advance that he/she were leaving within so many days/weeks. My first placement I stayed home for 1 day (they came Sat. I went to work on Sun left them with DH and was out on Mon - I work a Mon-Fri job). I will definately say your first placement is the hardest and would've probably should've taken at least 3 days off but at that time I was really busy at work. I have never taken any days off after a placement of new kids. It's routine, I have a great daycare provider who is usually able to take them immediately. With my BS, I went back to work full time when he was 2 1/2 months old, luckily for me my MIL stayed with him until 2 1/2 yrs old. I think a baby less then a year old should not be a in large daycare, a home based is better. Most important with home based check for references, check with the DCF and local licensing agency, ask around.