New here: Fostering/Adopting Burlington County

Welcome to the boards, Paigesmom. I don't know the answer to all of your questions but here is what I can answer.... From what I read in your post, you have a 3-bedroom house. Your mom is in one bedroom, your husband, daughter and you are in another bedroom and you have a spare bedroom, correct? For licensing for foster/adopt, the bedroom will have to be set up for a child. You'll actually need to set it up for 2 children as I don't think they will license you without your daughter having her own sleeping space (bed). It doesn't mean she has to sleep there - she just needs to have a bed and closet space. You'll need a second bed for another child and you need to have a place for both kids to put their stuff (dresser or closet or sometimes both). I'm assuming the bedroom is big enough for 2 children - I think they need 50 square feet per child but I can't remember exact specifics. Your daughter can share with a child of the opposite sex up until a certain age (I can't remember the exact age - maybe six?) Again, I'm not saying you can't keep your daughter in your room but in order to get licensed, she'll need to have her "own" space outside of your room. Your brother can stay in the "kids" room as a guest until you get a placement as long as it stays set up for kids. Occasional guests don't need to be background checked or be part of the homestudy unless he's there a good amount. And this isn't to answer any of your questions but there are a lot of very experienced foster parents on this board who believe it is not a good idea to take in any child older than your daughter. The rule of thumb seems to be any new child should be at least one year younger than your youngest child. And one last piece of unsolicited advice (sorry!) - if you are going to foster, you may want to make yourself more anonymous on this board....if you end up with a foster child, someone can look at your previous posts and know your first name, your daughter's first name (I assume it's your daughter) and your county. The foster care rules are really strict about confidentiality so you don't want to give anyone a way to figure out who you are, if you're going to foster. As far as foster/adopt versus straight adoption, I can't really tell you the pros/cons of that because I got into this mostly to foster. But I remember them telling prospective adoptive parents that it might be a long wait because the goal is always to try and place them initially (right after removal from their bio family) with a home that is both a foster and a prospective adoptive home. I don't know how often a straight adoptive home is needed in your county. Good luck and again, welcome to the boards!

I am in a neighboring county of yours, so I'll tell you what I know and have experienced. First, the age for sharing a room with a foster of opposite gender is age 5. So once your daughter turns 5, only a female would be allowed to share the room if she sleeps there, even if it is a baby. As far as your brother, the rule of thumb I was told was if you have a "regular visitor" in the house, for example someone who sleeps over at least once a week every week, that person needs to be background checked if over the age of 18. As fostertoforever stated, the room needs to be set up when the worker comes to your home. It is a good idea to have it set up even when the initial worker comes out (usually the recruiter once you go to an info meeting). Once you are assigned a resource worker, they will give you much more information as to your home, people in it, etcAs for fostering vs adopt, we are straight foster. However I was told if you are looking to straight adopt, then once your home is approved and you give your child preferences, your file goes straight to Trenton and they will match you with a waiting child. That could be a long or short process. You just never know. There is the option to "fost/adopt"...meaning you will accept a foster placement that looks like the end goal is adoption. New Jersey is changing alot and reunification is very much emphasized, however there are always the cases where that is just not the option. Hopefully this answers some questions!