Spent a good portion of the day yesterday in a training seminar to upgrade our foster care license. Interesting stuff and great to meet new foster-parents-in-training. Making connections is always good so that you have someone to call when you need help. If you are unfamiliar with foster parenting, what I mean is, foster children are not like your own. As a foster-parent, you are licensed by the state to care for these kids and if you need to go somewhere and are unable to take your kids with you (say, the hospital or to see a sick relative) you can't just drop them off at your sister's house or even at your mom's. Responsible adults like your sister and your mom (assuming they are as responsible as you and you'd trust them) can be listed as alternative care givers under certain circumstances, but unless they get their home inspected by the social workers and have a fire inspection like you did for your house, they would have to watch your foster children in your house.
That isn't going to work all that often.
As a result, it is good to make friends with other foster parents whose homes have been inspected and certified. Then, in a pinch, you can watch their kids or they can watch yours and, as long as the agency is properly informed (know the rules of your county or agency), you're good to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment