Alternate Caregiver?

Ignore her, lol. Sounds like she's fishing to see if you have a support system. The agency finds other licensed families to do respite, or you can ask other fp's who are licensed. You are not required to have an alternate caregiver.

I was asked for a "backup" both for my home study and when I got my first placement...they said in case of emergency.

When my sister in law adopted they had to name a second in case something ever happened to them. Also, when we began fostering we had to name two alternate caregivers should we ever need hep with the kids. I do think it's part of your support network but it's not biggie. I just named one family one friend.

We are military and got shipped off to the middle of nowhere in July of last year. My husband is an instructor and people in his office are constantly rotating because you can only be here four years maximum at this base. With that being said, we have no family and have yet to find friends that we can trust. I found on the state website that it says this: Alternate care. 11 The Bridge resource family is required to identify an alternate caregiver who can care for the child in case of family emergencies, family vacations, or when the family needs a break. The alternate caregiver may be used for periods of time over 12 hours at a time on an irregular basis. The Bridge resource family is responsible for identifying an alternate caregiver and reimbursing the alternate caregiver. When funding is available, respite vouchers may be used. The alternate caregiver must be at least 21 years of age. The alternate caregiver and each adult household member must be willing to: (1) submit to a background assessment by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), per OAC 340:75-7-15; (2) submit to a records search for past history, per OAC 340:75-7-15; (3) submit to a search of Juvenile Justice Information System (JOLTS) records for any child 13 years of age or older living in the house, per OAC 340:75-7-15; (4) engage in an evaluation of the home to assess the location, condition, and capacity to accommodate the child in foster care; (5) provide one reference on Form 04AF026E, Alternate Caregiver Reference Letter; (6) comply with discipline policy, per OAC 340:75-7-38 and confidentiality policy, per OAC 340:75-1-42; and (7) participate in a yearly re-assessment. There is no way we could just ask any of my husbands co-worker "casual friends" if they would be willing to do all of this. Thankfully I found a list of home daycare workers that receive dhs subsity's so I guess I will just have to list them. :camo:

I had to have at least one alternate caregiver when my license was transferred to private agency last year. Our county didn't require one for our license. My friends did go and get approved after I got my first placement, but they let their approval lapse after Chubbs' adoption. Mostly, for us, the alternate caregiver is to ensure we have a safe person for babysitting while we get our training done. It isn't easy. They have to be over 18, get FBI fingerprinted, and criminal/background check. ANd that is just to babysit in YOUR home. If you want them approved to babysit in their own home, they have to do a mini home study on them.It is one of the most aggravating things, outside of CWs, to me, we are entrusted to care for these children but not smart enough to entrust them to only the best babysitters. Certainly these rules stem from prior abuses, but still. It is really hard to get your friends to do this because EVERYONE I know works. These caregivers are NOT expected to watch children longterm. Not even allowed. My approved folks had to take turns spending the night with my girls when I had to fly to FL for a funeral and when I was in hospital for broken ankle. None of them could be with the girls for greater than 24 hours. But, that was with county.For planned trips that we cannot take children with us we generally find other foster parents to do respite.

Our alternate caregivers our my in-laws. They have been approved for babysitting, but just recently completed the full home study/walk through so they can watch our foster child while we go on vacation. We have been fostering almost 3 years and this is the first time we have not taken a child with us. The other alternative is respite care (a foster home) which is perfectly acceptable. You definitely don't have to have an alternate caregiver. To be honest, we would never trust another foster home (unless we knew them personally) to watch our precious kiddos and are much more comfortable picking someone ourselves. We are in OK as well and our worker told us our alternate caregiver can watch them for up to 14 days with permission of course. This is the first trip we have gone on where we are not taking our foster child with us. I do feel that in most cases it is important to include your foster children in trips, especially when they are old enough to understand. I wanted to point out that there are many situations where a foster child might not go with you. The parents may refuse permission. The judge can override that, but depending on the situation may not. The child if old enough may refuse to go. You may be going somewhere inappropriate-say a funeral. The time spent on vacation may interfere with the child's school, therapies, or visits. You may just need a break. In this case, we are going on a short trip to meet up with our extended family. We have three children two and under and honestly the thought of traveling with them all is overwhelming. How would I even carry 3 carseats through an airport? But anyway, out foster child is an infant and we have decided to leave her with my in-laws who she is familiar with. She will get some great quality one on one time and we will get a break and get to focus on the two older kids. Ater doing this awhile, you may see the benefit in having a respite.