As foster parents, you are the ones that know the child best and can provide information and insight on the foster child. It is so easy for the system just to view this child as just another case and not see them as child with a face.

Foster parents are supposed to be notified about hearings and court appointments concerning the foster children in their care in a timely manner. Timely manner can be very subjective to people. Honestly, I have not received a lot of notice from caseworkers in this area. Two or three days notice is mostly the notice I receive (occasionally the day before or day of) about hearings or court appointments. This raises a huge problem for some foster parents,... more

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Caseworkers have the paperwork to tell them how the child is doing, etc. but mostly they see the child once a month, if that. So, can they really be the ones to allow the judge to see the child as really a child and not a faceless case.

Foster parents may be reluctant to attend and become involved in court hearings for their foster children. Maybe they do not know what to except, they do not understand or believe what they have to say will make a difference. This can come from the system and caseworkers discouraging foster parents from getting involved... more

With the new law passed, Safe and Timely Placement of Foster Children of 2006 P.L. 109-239, it is strengthening the place of a foster parent in court. Some states are still in the process of passing legislation to implement these new requirements.

Judges that have been interviewed about foster parents becoming more involved in the court process of the child that are in their care, want to hear from the foster parents. They believe that foster parents can add a great deal of insight where the foster child is concerned. This so allows the judge to get a true sense of the child from someone that loves them. It can also be helpful for a judge to know that a foster parent would be interested... more

I wrote an article about foster children’s therapies. Early Childhood Intervention is a program that deals with all the therapies that I’ve discussed. Talk with your foster child’s doctor about any areas that you are concerned about and they can put you in touch with the agency in your area.

I liked the therapy for a few reasons, it was in my home, they worked with you as the parent to give you skills to help the child cope with their behaviors, it was a more relaxed setting which leads you to be more open (at least it did for me). I did not like every therapist I had, but I would... more

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Physical therapy can be of great benefit to overcome physical challenges that a foster child may be facing. If a child is having problems learning to walk, climbing stairs, running or using or controlling their muscle control you need to get them elevated for physical therapy. If you have, or thinking of fostering a child that is in a wheelchair, this therapy is used a lot with these children to help keep their muscles toned and from getting stiff.

Occupational therapy is the using of fine motor skills like, picking things up with their fingers, writing, holding and using utensils, buttoning or unbuttoning, zipping or unzipping, turning pages of a book.... more

There are all different kinds of therapy that foster children need and can benefit from. Sadly to say it is not always easy to get them the therapy and help they need. At times you will finally get the therapy lined up, and before you know it, they are being moved to a family placement or a different foster placement. I have found that it is easier to use one therapy company that offers different kinds of therapy, it is quicker to get referrals and start the process. Also you need to talk with your doctor about your concerns and that you would like them to get evaluated. Your doctor will have to give recommendations or a prescription for the child to be evaluated and receive services (my... more

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I do not advise this because it causes the caseworker problems which means it can come back to bite you on the back side. Things happen sometimes without notice, so you have to roll with the punches (so to speak).

I now live close to the state line, so we do a lot of shopping by crossing the state line. I had to talk with my caseworker about this and then they got special permission from the judge for us to go across state lines on day trips. If we want to stay the night across state lines we have to get special permission from the caseworker and judge. ... more

This is a question that seems to be asked a lot of myself and other foster parents that I know. There seems to be a lot of misinformation or information that is not entirely correct about foster care so I will address them one at time.

Foster parents can continue taking family vacations, long weekends, family reunions, etc. while you are foster parents. Does having foster children change these things, and how you spend your free time? Sure, you have two real options.

First one is you can choose to use respite care for your foster children. This may be the easier one in some ways but should not be your first choice. Placing your foster children in respite is not always what... more

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My view is that she could not even keep this child molester out of her life while he was in jail. Can you really trust that she would keep this child molester away from her children after he was out of jail? The choices they make can destroy a child’s life.

So, there are a lot of things that happen to my foster children that I do not believe is in their best interest. This is one reason I believe you have to teach and love that child as much as you can while they are in your home. This is also why you have to show the foster child what a real family is like... more

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The parents were business people with a few connections from the community. The good thing about being placed into a long term treatment facility she was placed far away from home, so she did not have to endure the pain of the visits seeing her brother living where she so desperately wanted to be.

I had two young toddlers that had been removed because of sexual abuse (to all three girls and one of them was two years old) from mother’s live in boyfriend (maybe the father to the two year old, he had repeatedly molested). The really bad part was that there had... more