Newb Moment Fo' sure!

Some of these can be subjective- but are mostly what they sound like. And some situations end up being nothing like the initial description when you get your call (some people have adopted emergency or respite placements- some long term end up being overnight until a relative shows up) Foster - Longterm Exacly how it sounds. Sometimes a CW has an idea that a case is going to be a long one but still absolutely intends the outcome to be reunification with parents or family. Could be a situation where out of state relatives are going through ICPC and a home study to take a child in- but that process can take months. I think what counts as long term is subjective- to me it is anything over 3 months, but most would probably say 6 months to a year. That is often the minimum time it usually takes to complete a case to reunification.

Foster - ER (or short term) Emergency only- you are just taking a child in long enough to shelter for family or other foster parents to take them in. For example- you might get a call for a child who has been removed- and the state has identified a relative placement already but they are out of town for a few days. But many people on here have taken "emergency" cases that have turned into long term. The thing is- the cabinet usually doesn't have all the facts in the first few days (or weeks or sometimes months!) and what looks like one situation could be another entirely. Foster/Adopt (is what we are going for) And as opposed to just adopt. -So this really depends on the state you live in and how your agency handles adoptive placements. I am going to throw some other terms at you that may help. Legal Risk/Low Legal Risk- Some states will identify a case as a legal risk placement- some even will identify the level of risk. I am not up on the actual guidelines- I believe I have read to be considered legal risk- TPR (termination of parental rights) has to be scheduled or have already occurred. A child might be in a foster only home, but his/her parents rights have been terminated and no family has been identified as an appropriate adoptive resource. It is called risk though, because there is still a possibility that TPR could be overturned, or that relatives could come forward and present themselves as placement options. Concurrent Planning: The idea of this type of foster/adoption process is to minimize the amount of times a child has to move, and to shorten their path to permanency should reunification not be possible. The first goal that is pursued is generally still reunification- but in my area what classifies a case as a "concurrent" one is a situation that initially looks grim for reunification. (Maybe bios have previous TPRs, family does not look like a possibility, the level of abuse/neglect/drug addiction can be a factor. This is my state (KY's) answer to foster/adoption. Generally- if you are looking to foster and hopefully adopt an infant or toddler this is the way to go in my state. But just like with legal risk- even more than that- there is a big chance that the child(ren) will go to family. My first placement was concurrent because the grandparents initially refused to be a resource and no other family came forward, but they changed their mind within a short enough time to still be the first choice for placement. My current FD is what I would call a "stronger" concurrent placement because it is her second time in care so her ongoing worker requested an adoptive home- vs an investigative worker who just gathers the initial facts of a case. Straight Adoption- well, from foster care- if I am correct in almost every state you have to have the child in your home for at least 6 months as a foster placement before you can adopt. There may be exceptions- but that is my understanding. So really that is also foster/adoption. If you get licensed only for adoption- my understanding is you can usually only adopt the kids who have been legally free and past any appeal times. These are usually older kids/teens. Large/minority sibling groups, and kids/teens with severe medical/physical/mental disabilities. There could be exceptions- but not that I have seen or read about. --I think I covered the ones I know about. :) I am not totally sure what you are asking here. It sounds like you are asking if you can change your mind about whether you take foster only or adoptive placements, or up the number you are approved to take. A lot of that depends on your area and agency. In my state- they include adoption classes/certification in your foster classes- so at any point I could close my foster license but still be open to adopt if I wanted to. Some areas require separate classes for adoption. I would get approved for as many kids as you hope to have in your home- but you can always tell your worker you only want to be listed as open for ____. But- I have to warn you- if your area is anywhere near as active as mine- you may still get calls for more kids or kids out of your range or acceptable needs. Don't be afraid to say no if it isn't right for your family. For us- knowing we only wanted concurrent places that might go to adoption, I try to ask as many questions as I can. There are several great threads with suggestions on what to ask when you get a placement call. Bottom line is that as much as you ask- DHFS may not have all (or any!) of the answers. It is impossible to know exactly what will happen with a case. I hope that helps! Good luck!

Oh awesome you did answer the questions I was wondering and getting so confused. and sorry about the other question or rather the last what I meant are we allowed after we adopt to foster someomore kids? We would love to providing we don't adopt 2 or more that is. At least once we move to a bigger house even if I have 2 or more adopted I want to foster...big surprise I love kids....here is a hint on my 35 birthday a freind asked me after seeing my pictures as to why there was more children than adults at my birthday I told her because I love kids and all my friends brought their kids and then some :clap:

As far as I know- there should be no reason why you couldn't continue to foster after you adopt, as long as your living space meets the agency's requirements. Some agencies and states require that you go on hold for a certain amount of time before you take more placements, but not where I am located. I am glad you have a big heart for children. There needs to be more people like you! God bless on your journey. I look forward to seeing your updates when you get approved and start getting calls. :)

Those are good descriptions of the various catagories. It is so true things can be unpredictable. My STAD came to me as an emergency placement then became considered legal risk but, there was no suitable family, and the bios didn't want to follow any case plan so things moved along to adoption. We should finalize next month.

Oh well I hope all goes well and yeah I am very eagerly waiting I know it seems a lot but the information you guys shared helped clear up a lot.

NO you do not have to be a stay at home parent to foster. That is a common misconception to fostering/adopting. As long as you have reliable child care and spend a good amount of time with the child (they are with you more than with the child care) you are ok.