As a foster parent you may never know if a foster child has medical issues when they are placed in your home. The foster parent can see a wide range of different medical issues. At times it can be up to the foster parent to try and find what is happening with the foster child medical issues. This could mean calling a foster child’s last school and speaking with the school nurse. A newly placed foster child states they have asthma, but the caseworker does not know a thing about it. The school nurse at his or her last school should have a record of this and can tell if the foster child received medication at school.

The foster child in care may not realize that they have a problem, since it may not have been addressed with their bio parents. It is not uncommon to see foster children with severe tooth decay to the point of needing surgery. You may see a child struggling with eating or chewing things when he or she is have dental problems.

I fostered a little boy, that repeatedly urinated on the bathroom floor when he went and he seemed to have problems going. I talked to the caseworker about my concerns and his difficulties. She talked with bio mom and learned that he needed to sit to urinate because of a condition that he was born with. After some investigating it was learned that he was supposed to have surgery over three years ago, to allow him to function as a normal boy and one day as a man. So, we had to make plans for the little boy to get surgery that he needed.

If the foster child has been in foster care for some time then you may know more about any medical issues or if the foster child has a serious medical condition. If you have any concerns about the child’s actions or behaviors talk with the child’s caseworker or the doctor. Sometimes, talking to an older foster child, they can open up with about what is going on with them or how they physically feel.

Foster parent support forum, click here.