Babysitting foster kids

I don't know how much it varies from state to state -- but in Illinois, we were only able to use licensed childcare providers, even home providers had to be licensed. They couldn't even go for an overnight someplace (a friend, family member) without a background check and waiver.

In Maine it's not that strict. If you trust the person then it's okay with them. Except, apparently, minors. I'm not allowed to leave any foster child alone with any of my teenagers, including my 17-year-old.

Omg , I got in trouble fir this with my first placement. In Texas, each agency gets to set their own rules. During pride someone asked about it and was told that only regular babysitters would need background checks. So I left my foster daughter with a cousin to watch her for an afternoon. It was last minute due to a family emergency, but I mentioned it casually to my caseworker. I had nothing to hide. They wrote me up for allowing someone not background checked to watch her one time. I mentioned the pride class and they denied saying that and sent me a rules document I'd never seen before which stated that all babysitters needed to be background checked before being allowed to watch over foster children. Well minimum standards just says the agency gets to set the rules and I have no evidence of what they said in class except for my memory.As you can imagine, when I was looking to reopen my home, I definitely don't trust that agency and did not return. All this is just my way of recommending you get the policy in writing beforehand.