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Infants can be harder for agencies to place due to the expense of care for an infant. If you choose to foster infants, you need to think about if you will need child care. It is possible in some cases to be reimbursed for day care expenses (it is a limited amount and you may have to go on a wait list, so do not count on it for sure) but for the large part you will be responsible for the expense up front. You can get formula though WIC, see another posting here about this.... more

You will need to be able to cover your foster children’s expenses for a few weeks or up to a couple of months, since monthly reimbursements can take awhile to get started.

Clothing your foster child will be the biggest expense for you. Get the child clothing allowance paperwork in ASAP, so you will get some monies to help with this expense. Remember, you can slowly add to their clothing and they need hygiene stuff also. If you know or get ready to start foster care you need to start shopping and stocking up on sale with hygiene needs, school supplies, and even some clothes when you find great sales.

I keep tubs labeled with sizes of extra clothing and tubs with baby supplies,... more

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Granted some foster families do not feel the need for respite but you have to remember that other foster parents may have different circumstances or deal with therapeutic children (they are a whole different ball game, so to speak). Believe me, there are some specialized therapeutic children that you would have to get a break from or you would go insane.

For most of my foster children I have not used respite. I am kind of funny about letting people I do not know care of my children even if they are foster children. I had to testify in court for CPS, so they tried to arrange care for my foster daughter with no cost to me. I did not want some stranger... more

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When you deal with special needs children, there are challenges that come with them that you will have to find ways to deal with them. When I was caring for my autistic foster son there were times when I had to use respite type care for him that I have not done with other foster children. I could take my children including my autistic foster son shopping, on errands, appointments, and some outings. Also there were times when I knew that certain settings would cause problems for him, Like an appointment that I’ll be very involved in, or I was unsure how he would react... more

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Most likely your foster children had never experienced these things I’ve mentioned and every child deserves to have these experiences. Yes it can make these events more stressful by involving a foster child (I’ll be writing about ways to ease the process, so keep checking back.) It does not mean it cannot be done and the foster child would be successful. People, we take this job as a foster parent so we need to do what is right by the child and what that child deserves. Remember it is a job as a parent and a foster parent. How I think about it is would I put my own child... more

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I personally have found that home day care providers are easier to work with because of drop-ins and can be more accepting of difficult children. I found a lady not far from my house that I used. I could call her with a week’s notice or the day I needed care with multiple special needs children. Even if I needed overnight care she worked with me. A great bonus for me was that she could watch my own children for me so I didn’t have to split up my foster kids and my children up. I also had my sister go through some classes and the background checks so she could help me... more

You as the foster parent are entitled to so many days (a month or a year, depending on your agency) for respite care for your foster children. Respite care is for Foster children in care when the Foster parent needs a break or something comes up in their lives. Some Foster parents do not need respite care. There are children that are foster children in care that will need respite care expressly if you work with therapeutic children or children with severe behaviors or emotional needs. These children can be very draining to you personally, your family and your way of life. There may be times that you have severe problems between a foster child, one of your children or another foster child... more

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Behaviors – This could be about anything. Does the child have anger issues, does this child react with violence (hitting, kicking, throwing things, etc.), does this child bully or intimidate younger or smaller children, does this child harm self, others, or pets, does this child sexually act out with self or others, etc.?

Special Needs- Does this child have physical special needs glasses, hearing issues, medical conditions, etc.? Does this child have emotional needs trust issues, bonding issues, etc.? Does this child need or receive therapy services speech, physical, occupational, behavior, etc.? If the child is under the age of five do not assume that... more

These questions will not fit every placement you get called on. When you get a call on a child that has been in the system you should get most of this information. I have experienced that if you do not ask the questions, for the most part you are just given basic information. You need to know as much information as possible to make the decision whether you can provide care for this child. It is better to know what you are jumping into, than not realizing it until you are screaming for help. We all have our limits on what we can deal with, so be honest and keep them in mind when called for a placement.

Siblings - Are they looking to place siblings together? If not why (could be... more

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Inventory of Clothing: You will fill this out on each child when they come into your home. My agency only wants the clothing listed that the child can actual wear. I always list the clothing they cannot wear (due to size or condition) on the back just to protect myself. I do not get rid of anything of the child’s even if it is in poor condition. I place it in my garage with their name on the box. In some areas or with some agencies you will also do a list when the child leaves.

Fire Escape Map: A drawing of your house showing the exits out of the rooms. We also have to state where the meeting place is once everyone gets out of the house (this should... more