Flip-flopping on fostering.

Being a newbie to all this I wasn't sure if you knew what ru meant. :) Ru=going back to bio parents.

Thanks! I will definitely have to think about it more. I want to do it, but at the same time, can I handle it? I'm not sure yet. I don't think I'd end up sabotaging RU or anything like that, but I would worry about becoming depressed when a child leaves.

I went into foster with the intend of adopting somewhere along the line. My first placement went to adoption. Now I am waiting for my next placement. I would like to adopt another one at some point but if the next placement or two RU, I am good with that. There are different types of placements and some are more sure to head to adoption. In TX, we now all have to (or at least will have to) use a private agency, if you haven't you should talk to a couple and get a feel for the types of children they place. An agency should work with you to help you build your family. Yes, it will hurt if they leave, but you'll know that you loved them and cared for them while they were with you.

In our State, you can foster/adopt or foster only. We are foster/adopt parents and will be truly blessed when we are able to adopt our first placement. We expected that it would take multiple placements, but here we are w/ a sibling set of 3. And as crazy as most ppl think we are, we are looking to open our home to foster next year. We learned like Inshape discussed that there's such a great need and now we want to continue helping as many children as possible. Like pp suggested, go to multiple FFA orientations to see if foster/adopt is for you.

In our State, you can foster/adopt or foster only. We are foster/adopt parents and will be truly blessed when we are able to adopt our first placement. We expected that it would take multiple placements, but here we are w/ a sibling set of 3. And as crazy as most ppl think we are, we are looking to open our home to foster next year. We learned like Inshape discussed that there's such a great need and now we want to continue helping as many children as possible. Like pp suggested, go to multiple FFA orientations to see if foster/adopt is for you.

Thanks for the information! Quick two questions: First, how do agencies feel about dogs? I am a dog lover, and will always have a dog in my life. However, I wonder if agencies are particularly concerned with that? I myself worry constantly about children and dogs together, for both of their safety, since I've seen too many horror stories. While I have researched safety tips for children and dogs, I just want to make sure that it's not an issue. The second question is about working foster parents. I'm currently single (who knows how it will be later), and I'm getting my certification as an elementary school teacher. I may also get my certification as a therapeutic riding instructor. Nothing is set in stone yet. I'm obviously not sure what my schedule will be, and I assume that since I'm working it would be best to foster school-aged children, but I want to know if that will also be an issue, not necessarily just for the agencies, but for the children?

Quick two questions: First, how do agencies feel about dogs? I am a dog lover, and will always have a dog in my life. However, I wonder if agencies are particularly concerned with that? I myself worry constantly about children and dogs together, for both of their safety, since I've seen too many horror stories. While I have researched safety tips for children and dogs, I just want to make sure that it's not an issue. Definitely NOT an issue with my agency. I have a dog, he is a Toy Poodle-Chihuahua mix and very friendly. As long as the dog has his shots they are fine. Of course, if you have large aggressive dogs that might be an issue. (We have two cats too, also not an issue) The second question is about working foster parents. I'm currently single (who knows how it will be later), and I'm getting my certification as an elementary school teacher. I may also get my certification as a therapeutic riding instructor. Nothing is set in stone yet. I'm obviously not sure what my schedule will be, and I assume that since I'm working it would be best to foster school-aged children, but I want to know if that will also be an issue, not necessarily just for the agencies, but for the children? I am single, work full-time. Also, NOT an issue. My only issue is if I have one too young to go to daycare. But I have a babysitter who has been cleared to care for children in my home.

Being a teacher is great with school-aged, having the same schedule and all, but it is not necessary to keep to that age range if you want younger ones. Just make sure you have someone who can help for the first six weeks, until they can go to daycare and/or that you can take FMLA time.

Awesome! My current dogs are not child-friendly (large, boisterous, and not used to kids), but it's unlikely that I'll start fostering until they've passed on due to old age anyways. Sad as it is, they don't live long...I have a preference for large and active breeds, but I think that as long as they're trained and socialized, they'll be okay. That's also great to hear. I would prefer to foster/adopt between ages 2-10, but if they need a foster home for older or younger children, I'm not opposed to it.

My husband and I just completed our home study this last Monday. We are in Denton County, Texas and working with a Christian agency. I was also worried about dogs as well! We have 3 crazy dogs (a yorkie, a shnauzer/jack russel mix, and a border collie mix) who love attention! They are fairly well behaved but still jump on people when they enter our home. I was terrified of how that would work when the lady came to do our home study. She did not seem to mind at all. As far as the dogs, all she asked was if we think they get along with children and if they are current on shots. As far as choosing straight adoption or foster to adopt, my husband and I both felt we had a better chance at getting a younger child by going the foster to adopt route. We knew our end goal was adoption and we have been told by many people that if you want to adopt younger kids, you have a better chance when fostering. Most children who get the parenal rights terminated end up being adopted by their foster families which means that typically, older children are the ones available for straight adoption. Plus, with fostering, you have a longer time to get to know the child(ren) before choosing to adopt. Good luck! Feel free to private message me if you have any questions! I have a friend who just got licensed and she is also a single woman with no bio kids.

Thanks mamaTinTX! I do have one question, and I'll send you a PM in a little bit.

First, how do agencies feel about dogs? I am a dog lover, and will always have a dog in my life. However, I wonder if agencies are particularly concerned with that? I myself worry constantly about children and dogs together, for both of their safety, since I've seen too many horror stories. While I have researched safety tips for children and dogs, I just want to make sure that it's not an issue. We have 4 dogs and it was a non-issue. I did bring in our dog trainer 3 months prior to licensing just to get a better handle on our younger two. I will normally put the younger two in doggie daycare for any SW visits because they love to compete for attention w/ our babies. The second question is about working foster parents. I'm currently single (who knows how it will be later), and I'm getting my certification as an elementary school teacher. I may also get my certification as a therapeutic riding instructor. Nothing is set in stone yet. I'm obviously not sure what my schedule will be, and I assume that since I'm working it would be best to foster school-aged children, but I want to know if that will also be an issue, not necessarily just for the agencies, but for the children? We started w/ 15mo/4mo and just recently added their newborn sibling. My hubby and I are both full time parents. I have two girlfriends who are single parents who work full time as well. One friend picked up a newborn from the hospital while the other's placement was around 15mo.

Hey guys, I have one more question! If I can afford it, I would love to get my children involved in sports, clubs, etc, just whatever they're interested in. I never had that experience growing up (I'm not an adoptee, I just grew up dirt poor), but I think it is important to give children an outlet, particularly in foster care where they need some degree of normalcy. I would also like to take family vacations once I have adopted (also not something that I got to experience much, and I assume that there are rules against taking foster kids out of state or country). Is all of this okay?

Here, we are very much encouraged to give kids that kind of normalcy. I will be camping with a foster mom friend this summer (she has a current placement, I do not, but who knows by then). Sometimes the caseworker has funds to be able to pay for things like sports or other activities for kids, other times it comes out of your foster care rate (depends on the state and also on the state's current financial situation). You need permission to take foster kids out of state, but it is possible, at least sometimes; it depends on the situation. I also know of people who have gotten permission to take foster kids on out of country vacations; I had a patient whose foster parents were taking him on a cruise with international stops, and I know other foster parents who have taken kids out of country (however, we do live near the border, so our state may see things differently; for some folks, the closest grocery store is in another country, so they are back and forth all the time).

My advice is to stick around this forum and read. Over time the discussions will give you a taste of what the ups and downs of fostering can be, and then you can decide if you can handle it. My hubby and I have decided that fostering is not going to work for our family right now, and are going to settle in for the long wait to adopt. We are going to get our foster license, though, in hopes of having more options for visits when a child is matched with us, but only for that reason. I did a lot of reading and right now with two school aged bio kids of my own, did not feel I could handle the emotional roller coaster of fostering life. It is a personal decision, and only you can figure out what works for you.

My advice is to stick around this forum and read. Over time the discussions will give you a taste of what the ups and downs of fostering can be, and then you can decide if you can handle it. My hubby and I have decided that fostering is not going to work for our family right now, and are going to settle in for the long wait to adopt. We are going to get our foster license, though, in hopes of having more options for visits when a child is matched with us, but only for that reason. I did a lot of reading and right now with two school aged bio kids of my own, did not feel I could handle the emotional roller coaster of fostering life. It is a personal decision, and only you can figure out what works for you.