Starting to think about Foster/Adopt Need advise

1. What does special needs include? I sort of though all foster children where consider special needs due to what they have gone through Special needs can be anything from a physical defect through mental retardation and other problems like feeding tubes, etc. The range is huge. Not all foster children have special needs like these. Their needs can be developmental delays, speech delays and the like, which are not labeled special needs in the traditional sense of the labeling. In Texas there is a level system where they assign mild. moderate or severe to the level of need. I have an 18 month old now who has no needs whatso ever. She has never been abused or neglected. The Mom simply can't take care of her because of her own problems. 2. We have a 6 year old and a 3 year old and would really not like to change the peaking order of our children. I really don't want a small baby and am willing to wait a few years for my daughter to get older but is it possible to get a single child under 5?

Of the two placements I have had so far, the first was a sib group of a 2. 5 yr old girl and an 18 month old boy. Now I have an 18 month old girl. I'm open to sib groups of 3 up to 9 yrs old, but all the calls I have gotten have been for much younger kids. There are all kinds and ages of kids in foster care. 3. After you adopt do you still get some subsity? If not we would definalty need to wait unti bio daughter is out of daycare - can't affort two in daycare. Subsidies can depend on several factors, but not all of these: age of the child being adopted, the circumstances of their situation and if they have any special needs. Other issues for you to think about are how fostering and then adopting works. As you may read on many of the posts, a child placed into foster care is not free for adoption until the judge signs a TPR order on the parents. Generally the process can take anywhere from a year to several years depending on the state you live in and the circumstances of the case. If you work full time, most states provide daycare reimbursement along with the daily stipend for the child. This is how and why most foster parents are able to foster and work full time. If you haven't done so yet, I would suggest that you contact your local CPS office or private agency and go to an informational meeting where you can ask questions and get some answers specifically about fostering in your area.

thank you for your comment. I actually did contact my local CPS last year to inquire about foster and adoption and they seemed to not be very interested in helping me along since I wasn't really open to sibling groups or older children. I felt like they gave me the cold sholder and they pretty much told me if I wasn't open to those there was pretty much no chance. So I put it out of my mind for a while but I still would pursue it.

I have had several phone calls like the ones you mentioned above. I don't know how they ever recruit families when they lose people on the first call. I know they are busy, but In my opinion, its not the time to scare people off. Let them come to a meeting and learn more. Make more phone calls and depending on your state, private agencies may also handle foster care so check around. If the person I am talking on the phone can't help me I always ask if they know the best person to talk to. In two different states this had led me to a great outcome! Good luck!