Final Inspection

Hey 2hopeful Dads! I had my final inspection in mid-March. Before my inspection, my home study worker told me that meds couldn't just be "high up" - they had to be under lock and key. I was offered the option to put a lock on my existing medicine cabinet or buy a separate, locked cabinet. I also needed to lock up all alcohol and cleaning supplies. I ended up buying one of those "snap together" rubbermaid-type cabinets and using a combo lock. Apparently, just putting things (meds, alcohol etc.) "high up" is not good enough because they are worried about older kids getting access to things they shouldn't have...I pointed out I wasn't seeking to foster older kids (my age range is 2-8) but they said the license is for a number of kids, not a certain age range. They made me have waterproof matress pads also. Good luck!!

Try not to sweat it. I've had...5 or 6 inspections now, nobody has ever asked or checked about mattress covers (I didn't even realize that was one!)Medicine, yes, lock and key but what you can use (what we use) is a fishing tackle box with a luggage lock. We had one inspector that insisted this also be kept not in the bathroom so then I moved it to my bedroom closet but other inspectors did not care. They will work with you to get your to pass, even coming back if need be. Good luck!

OK, you asked!--Do you know where the "kid's consignment" stores are that are near your home? Most are new/used. Have you cruised them? Tried to memorize the inventory? (ha) Purchased a few things? Gotten friendly with some of the sales staff so when you come dashing in asking for "these 6 things for 2 kids these ages" they'll recognize you? --Do you have a printout of the route to the nearest emergency room on the side of your frig or similar place, near the door you'd exit with hurt child? I figured I wouldn't even be able to remember IF there was a nearby hospital, much less WHERE it was, or how to get there, if I was holding a severely hurt child.--Better fire extinguishers than they want you to have? Inside back door (for easy access from back yard)? One in garage? Both floors if have them? Small one for car? First aid kit for car as well as house? (If you ever plan on taking the children out of the home....)--What age(s) are you licensed for? Do you have an adorable little safe stool for standing on to wash hands?--As someone implied, get the tool box with padlock for meds.And oh yes, my licensor DID lift the edge of the bedding to make sure there was a plastic cover on that mattress. And thank heavens for it, once I got the child (!) She didn't, however, ck to see what my water temp was, and I hadn't turned it down yet. So...psCan I have the old bathroom doorknob? (haha)

Thank you everyone.. Our inspector will be here tomorrow afternoon, so I'll be doing some last minute shopping tomorrrow! I've heard mixed things about locking up meds, but I'm just going to spend the money and get a case that we can put a lock on.. why not - if we do end up with a toddler, better to be safe than sorry either way. Alys1 - You know, I would have sent you all the door knobs (we just decided to replace them all, so they looked the same anyway) but my MIL was here and snatched them up. They're original to the house, and she wanted them for her house haha. Maybe you guys can duke-it-out for them.

Good Luck tomorrow! Try not to stress too much...I know it's hard, but the state really does want to license you. If you need to correct something minor, most inspectors will let you do fix it right then while he/she is there. We had to fix the enclosure around our above the ground pool and she came back two weeks later and we were good to go. Just make sure you ask when you should get your official license because I had to call Trenton a month after our inspection and it was in a file on someone's desk who was, of course, on vacation! Story of our life!!! :evilgrin: Keep us updated and let us know how everything goes!-Kate

So how did it go?

yaaayyy! Everything went super smooth. Thank you for your tips. Our RW said not to worry about certain things, like meds. She said as long as they were high up, we'd be ok.. but I went ahead and did what foster2forever suggested, and I grabbed a small box (like a toolbox/tacklebox) while I was at Target... and good thing I did! (thankyou thankyou thankyou).We did get "written up" for one thing. We have a crack in one of our storm windows on the sunporch.. she wrote it up as a level 2, so its not going to affect us getting our license. We were going to replace all of those windows anyway, so its really not a big deal at all. We were told we would be licensed for 4 children, and our RW should expect "the email" by tomorrow or tuesday at the latest! Our paper license will be in the mail within 3 weeks. Overall it was the easiest part of the entire process. She was happy to see we've gone the extra mile on some things. ie, we have paper blinds in the kids room with no strings at all in them (home depot, cut to size, you can even paint them!) and a few other things. SOOOOO excited!!!!!! Thank you everyone for all your tips.. now we can officially be part of the "ugh, how long do we have to wait" group! hahha

Yay! Congratulations and welcome to the world of "waiting." What age range are you seeking? I haven't heard anything yet although I did receive my paper license in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I've been advised to call the placement person and introduce myself and tell her the age range of children I'm interested in or to stop in at the office and introduce myself (I don't really know my resource worker as my home study was "subbed out" to an outside agency) and I did the PRIDE training at another office so everyone I have met so far has been from an office other than the office I am assigned to. I've been holding off doing anything for now because I have a houseful of cousins coming from abroad for two weeks in June which I didn't expect when I started the licensing process. One of my cousins won a award which is being presented in NYC so a bunch of them are coming over for the ceremony and it will be pandemonium for 2 weeks at my house. I'm just as happy not having a placement until after the cousins leave...I purposefully have not made any other plans for the summer or fall - no vacations, no weekends away. But I figure there's a high likelihood of getting a call on the day before the cousins arrive - doesn't life always seem to work that way? We'll see.... Good luck and keep us updated if you get a call!

Congratulations!!!! Welcome (Officially) to this crazy world-can't wait to hear about you first call!-Kate

Congratulations! Glad it went smoothly. Keep us updated as to your progress. Your kids are out there waiting for you!

that's great! Good luck!

ya know, i feel bad that i dropped off the face of the earth - we were e-mailing back and forth and i dropped the ball. let's touch base - can you send me a PM with your e-mail address again? we would love to talk and answer any questions you might have about the craziness you are embarking upon ;-p also we know about a local resource you should know about. i'll keep it vague for now <g>