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Thinking of fostering
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<blockquote data-quote="donna723" data-source="post: 393699" data-attributes="member: 1883"><p>It's certainly something to check in to but I would be very, very cautious.</p><p> </p><p>My own kids are grown and a few years ago I wanted to do this very badly. It's quite an undertaking. I was still working at the time but I drove 30 miles for ten weeks of night classes given by DCS which included lots and lots of homework. Every aspect of my personal and professional life was investigated. I went through three home studies. I submitted financial statements, personal and bank references, was fingerprinted, and spent weeks gathering and submitting documentation such as birth certificates and thirty year old marriage and divorce papers. I either mailed or faxed these documents to the SW I was working with and I started to get uneasy when she claimed not to have gotten some of these and asked that I resubmit them! Some of these had some pretty sensitive information on them and they were "lost"! More and more paperwork jumbles. After a while I started to realize that it wasn't something that I could do while I was still working, so even though I went through all preparation, I never went through with it.</p><p> </p><p>And now that I'm retired, I still think about it but probably won't do it. It all depends on your local CPS office but these people seemed to be completely overloaded and disorganized and this is who I would have to go through. Kids can be moved at a moments notice for no reason, you must keep endless reports and track every dime, and one complaint from an angry child and you will be trying to defend yourself from something that you did not do. Virtually ALL of the children, at least the older ones, are on some type of medication and go to some kind of counseling. I know the need for foster parents is very great and I ache for the children who are in "the system" through no fault of their own. But, at least here, I think it would be too difficult to work with those people who run "the system" and I would be letting myself in for frustration and heartbreak.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="donna723, post: 393699, member: 1883"] It's certainly something to check in to but I would be very, very cautious. My own kids are grown and a few years ago I wanted to do this very badly. It's quite an undertaking. I was still working at the time but I drove 30 miles for ten weeks of night classes given by DCS which included lots and lots of homework. Every aspect of my personal and professional life was investigated. I went through three home studies. I submitted financial statements, personal and bank references, was fingerprinted, and spent weeks gathering and submitting documentation such as birth certificates and thirty year old marriage and divorce papers. I either mailed or faxed these documents to the SW I was working with and I started to get uneasy when she claimed not to have gotten some of these and asked that I resubmit them! Some of these had some pretty sensitive information on them and they were "lost"! More and more paperwork jumbles. After a while I started to realize that it wasn't something that I could do while I was still working, so even though I went through all preparation, I never went through with it. And now that I'm retired, I still think about it but probably won't do it. It all depends on your local CPS office but these people seemed to be completely overloaded and disorganized and this is who I would have to go through. Kids can be moved at a moments notice for no reason, you must keep endless reports and track every dime, and one complaint from an angry child and you will be trying to defend yourself from something that you did not do. Virtually ALL of the children, at least the older ones, are on some type of medication and go to some kind of counseling. I know the need for foster parents is very great and I ache for the children who are in "the system" through no fault of their own. But, at least here, I think it would be too difficult to work with those people who run "the system" and I would be letting myself in for frustration and heartbreak. [/QUOTE]
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