When a child is removed from his or her parental home a judge or magistrate must sign an order allowing it. A child protective service worker usually requests this order, although a police officer may also request it. Once the removal has been approved, the child can be placed temporarily in foster care, a group home, or juvenile facility. That order is temporary, however, and after it is signed, an adjudication hearing must take place within 72 hours. Typically, a foster care worker has not yet been assigned to the case. Therefore, the child protective service worker involved in the... more

This type of foster care is not for everybody. You have to be willing and able to take placements at a moment's notice. For myself, someone that likes to have control of the situations this can be a challenge and something that you have to work through.

This can be exciting and pose obstacles for the foster family to overcome. You never know how many children you will wake up to find yourself mothering in just a few short hours. You will be working with a wide range of ages.

One of the challenges that you may face is being unprepared for an infant with formula, diapers, and all those other little baby things. Another challenge that I was faced with is having children already... more