At this time we have three foster kids. We still have our foster teen who we are trying to adopt. After our visit from the adoption worker I haven’t heard a word. I am not sure what we need to renew! So frustrating as we have limited time.
We also have our 4 year old. She is kind of destructive. I notice that she always has something in her hands and is tearing it up. I wonder if she would enjoy beading. I am thinking of making something with blocks and shoe laces to keep her hands busy. On a good note her aggression went way down when her brother left. I know that grandma is trying to get them but that takes months on at a good time, I can’t imagine how long it will take at this time.
Last Thursday evening we got called asking if we would take an overnighted 17 year old boy. We said yes. Then Friday they asked if we would take him for the weekend. We said yes. He is a runner and had been gone for months. He ran from a group home and told everyone he would run again if he went to a group home again. He is also a therapeutic child. Well, he was doing great rooming with Anthony so we said we were willing to keep him. On Monday they said that they were going to let us keep him as a permanent placement. Yesterday morning his worker called all upset and said that placement decided that he needed moved because he was therapeutic. They were moving him to a group home! Ummm, and how is that in his best interest. The worker was trying to stop the move. I got on the phone and started working up the line. Well, something worked and placement decided to keep him in our home. The whole incident upset us, they were not doing what is in the best interest of the child. In 5 months he will be 18 and plans on going to family out of state so we have 5 months to get his GED and drivers license.
Although we are full, we are still getting calls for placements. We sure needs more foster homes! Anyone interested? I wonder if I scare people off from fostering.
Hi! I found your blog a few months ago and worked your way through it from the beginning. Thank you for writing!
ReplyDeleteWe were foster parents years ago, and we let our license expire after adopting our youngest in 2014 (Our kids are 20, 17, 14 and 8). We just re-licensed a little over a month ago. We're open for kids under 4, as youngest needs to have a bit of a gap between her and any foster kids. So far we've only been called for a sibling set of 10 and 12 year old brothers. We had to say no.
I find your blog to be very real, and I appreciate your candor. We've had similar experiences dealing with the system here in Florida. They've apparently re-worked things a bit since our previous time, so I'm hoping things are better somewhat now.
I like hearing about your older kids too, as our youngest's bio-mom pops in and out of the picture at times, and there are a lot of similarities between her and one of your kids.
-Rebecca
Hi Felicia,
ReplyDeleteI've followed your blog for several years, and when I first found it I went back to the very beginning and read through every post. I have been insterested in one day becoming a foster parent for many years and I'm finally certified and awaiting my first placment. I just wanted to say you didn't scare me off, and I have been extremely thankful to read experiences that are honest about the realities of foster care.
Thank you for continuing to post and update!
Liz
I hope the system in Florida has gotten better. I know some folks who struggled to get licensed so it looks like some things have improved! Hope you receive a placement soon! Those calls will come soon.
ReplyDelete