In a past blog, I gave a warning about fostering. This time I'd like to give some advice from our days as foster parents. When we started this process, we had to take a mandatory class. They go into some of the things you might encounter, but on a less scary level. When they talk about things that might happen, it doesn't sound so bad. They won't tell you about the destructive children that destroy things in your house. When you try to get compensation from the DCF (Department of Children and Families), they will say that the child is yours and that you have to deal with it. You do get money for their care, but it is minimal. It was like $7 to $14 a day. They also got a check for clothing.
One thing that you need to be aware of as a foster parent, is that you need to ask questions of the person trying to place the child. As you take in more children, your list of questions will grow. Examples of questions we would ask are: Was the child molested? (Older children that have gone through this will victimize younger children). Are they violent? (We had a child that was under house arrest for beating up her foster parent? Are they sick? What sex is the child? (We only took in girls. It made it easier, since we tended to stock up on clothes from yard sales and thrift shops). Be aware that the person on the phone will not tell you everything about the child. It is your responsibility to ask. Their job is to find placement. Even if there is something like house arrest, they will with hold it from you if you do not ask. That child will sit in their office until they find placement.
In our classes, they told us that most of the time the children will come to you with the clothes on their backs or they have a plastic bag of things they grabbed real quick. My wife and I started to go around to yard sales and look for suitcases. When a child left our house, they had their stuff in a suitcase. Like I said in the previous paragraph, we also stocked up on clothing. They clothing money does not come instantly. Usually, you have to get them ready for daycare or/and school the next day. We would set up the clothes in our garage by sizes.
Another thing you should do, is to set up a drop in agreement with a daycare that accepts what the city/state will pay. We had an agreement with a daycare and it worked out great. You should also get to know the Medicaid/Medicare doctors. This is the insurance the children get with the state or at least the State of Florida. It is hard to find these doctors. If you do, it will probably take some time to be seen by a doctor.
One last thing, be prepared to stay up late for a placement. They might call you at 4:00 PM and not show up until 1:00 AM. I fell for the children that are stuck in that situation. They have to sit in the office of the social worker until they get transported to your house. I don't know if they ever came early. If both parents work, work something out with your employer. You may have to stay up late and then get their daycare/schooling set up the next day.
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