Another lost child (death mentioned)

I doubt a screening would have caught anything. They usually aren't very intensive. Unless her pupils were dialated strangly or her heart beat was irregular, they'd probably not have caught anything. Sounds like it might have been a brain aneurism - which maybe be cause my drugs, or could be a fluke - things like this happen even to healthy kids in their own homes. I feel very sorry for the foster family and the babysitter though. My aunt lost a foster baby when they were just young, brand new foster parents (and had young kids of their own). The baby had many medical issues, and basically died of a SIDS type issue - but they had to be investigated, they had to go through a lot in court. They were eventually cleared, but that put a permanent mark on their hearts, and they never did foster again. Just having to experience a dead child in your home is enough, but all went along with it nearly devastated them.

we aren't required to take them to the dr at all here to my knowledge. of course, i've only had 2 foster placements so far here. one came from another foster home so they may have had to see a dr when first removed with them. the other placement came from kin. but, they never said anything about having to take them to the dr at all or within a certain amount of time in our training classes.

Our dept takes the kids to the doctor before they are dropped off. There's a dr office a block away. Who knows if a doctor visit would have prevented her death. If she grabbed her head, screamed, and then collapsed and died, it was most likely an aneurysm or blood clot in her brain. A doctor visit wouldn't have prevented it. A kindergarten student in my oldest daughter's class died suddenly like that from a blood clot in her brain. She was watching cartoons on her couch, said her head hurt and died.

I didn't read your post until after I posted mine. You're right to be concerned about the foster parents and babysitter. They may not have known her a long time but it's such a traumatic and life changing event when you watch a child die. The foster parents and babysitter need more prayers than you can imagine.

[QUOTE=mythreesonsjmo]I doubt a screening would have caught anything. They usually aren't very intensive. Unless her pupils were dialated strangly or her heart beat was irregular, they'd probably not have caught anything. Sounds like it might have been a brain aneurism - which maybe be cause my drugs, or could be a fluke - things like this happen even to healthy kids in their own homes. I feel very sorry for the foster family and the babysitter though. [QUOTE] Exactly my thoughts. Very sad :(

That is not a requirement here. However, I do like to get my fosters in to see their dr as soon as possible. That way they can get looked over and I can get any important medical information.

We have to get a checkup for kids new to the system within a week. But even still, the exams I've witnessed for my placements would never have picked up whatever this little girl had going on. Unless she had her pupils dilating unevenly as an indicator (which I'd think a foster parent would probably notice in the first couple of days), the doctors we've seen wouldn't have found anything wrong with her either. So the fact that she didn't see a doc right away doesn't convince me that that would definitely have saved her life. (Although I agree, it could have.... And either way, it's horribly sad that she was ever in this situation to begin with.)

While I agree that from what we know so far, it's unlikely that a doctor visit would have caught anything, I will be interested to see what the Sheriff's procedural investigation reveals -- are the CPS officers regularly missing the checkup or was this a one officer error?

If I had to guess, I would say they frequently miss those deadlines, and it finally caught up with them. Just because I'm in Pinellas County and they brought me a 9 month old baby girl one night. They said that they decided to "skip" the exam because the child had recently been seen by her regular pediatrician. It was very late and I had to work the next morning, so a transporter came to pick her up the next morning to take her to the day care they use until the children are placed (I was a temporary emergency-type placement-I couldn't take her long term). she was still considered in shelter status. Well I got a call from placement that day at work saying she was vomitting repeatedly at school and needed to be picked up. So I took her to the after hours clinic that night to have her checked out-she also had full-blown lice! Great! I hadn't even noticed since she came so late the night before. As a rule now, I will always take any kids that are brought to me straight out of the home to the doctor ASAP. I took a look at the previous doctors visits notes in her blue book that night, and lo and behold the doctors report said she had nits in her hair. That was two weeks prior to when I got her. Live and learn!

Omygosh, poor sweet baby. One of our severely addicted drug babies didn't get seen by a doctor until few weeks after placement, and not because of lack of trying on my part. I must have called ten different doctor's offices and they were all booked three months in advanced and the ones that weren't didn't accept Medicaid, of course. I finally found one doctor's office and made an appointment for 9 in the morning, arrived on time, and sat in the waiting room waiting with two other kids! until 1130!! When I asked and they told me they were behind and it would be at least another hour until I was seen, I left. I was seriously about to take her to an ER to get her seen, when I had the supervisor call a newer clinic that got really good reviews and, because the supervisor called, they were willing to see the child the next morning. Now I have a good relationship with that dctr's office and I love love love them. I hear that my experience is pretty standard for where I'm from. I have a great dctr's office now, so have no more issues, but this is another area that need work.

We have a nurse at the county intake who does a prelim check and then have to see doctor for well visit within two weeks. Same for dentist but it takes two months to get onto the dental clinic here so we get a break on that.I agree with pp, sounds like an aneurism. Poor child and families. The article heading is a little bad, makes it like something happened by foster family.

I may have this wrong, but I believe there is a difference between the health screening and the initial Ped visit. I think here in Texas the children are taken to an er for a screening upon removal, then the foster parents are asked to get them a checkup within 15-30 days. Most of my placements took place late at night, despite having gotten the call early in the day, due to how long the er took.

We are required to do the 72 hour thing here too... since I usually take newborns from the hospital, I simply swing by my doc's office on the way home and they work us in. My biggest fear and panic in the world is that something will happen to one of my little people. Not just that the bios could have done something, but that life could happen and a random weirdness happen. That article breaks my heart.

After a surprising amount of googling, I found it's part of Florida's administrative code -- IOW, it is the requirement everywhere in the state.

I wonder how long it is in NY, no one came to see my FKs until 2 weeks after they were in my care.