Interim foster care

[Anonymous]

We would love to be foster parents and are considering interim care - fostering between birth and placement. If it helps you give advice, I'm a SAHM, DH's job gives flexible/reliable hours (aka he's not working unexpected overtime nor does he bring work home), and we have 3 young biological children. It would be a year or so before we would be ready for several reasons.

Has anyone else here done this? What was your experience? Challenges? Did you go through an agency or the state? We're in the very early stages of thinking through everything, so any insight would be helpful!

[Anonymous]

Interim the way you are describing is more with private agencies that do newborn placements during the revocation period. If you have 3 young children, it may be hard to focus on a newborn.

[Anonymous]

Maybe urgent care (short-term, maximum 7-day placement) would be a better fit, but honestly it's hard to see how you could manage the demands of either with three young children of your own. It would be hard for them, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe urgent care (short-term, maximum 7-day placement) would be a better fit, but honestly it's hard to see how you could manage the demands of either with three young children of your own. It would be hard for them, too.

Urgent requires medical and other visits. Are you able to do lots of transportation?

[Anonymous]

OP here --

18:15, I was wondering if this is more of a thing with private agencies... I guess it makes sense. I've actually only heard of it through the private agencies that we're familiar with.

Our children are young, but by the time we could do this (at least a year), one will be in K and another in preschool. We'd still have a toddler, but we may also wait until he's at least in preK before pursuing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe urgent care (short-term, maximum 7-day placement) would be a better fit, but honestly it's hard to see how you could manage the demands of either with three young children of your own. It would be hard for them, too.

Urgent requires medical and other visits. Are you able to do lots of transportation?

Yes, I would be able to. Between DH's schedule and other help, appointments wouldn't be much of an issue. Logistically. I understand that there's a lot of emotional stuff that we'll be dealing with. I suspect that side of it is something that you can't fully prepare for in advance.

[Anonymous]

And you have to think hard about how the hard emotional stuff will impact your other children, who won't be big enough to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe urgent care (short-term, maximum 7-day placement) would be a better fit, but honestly it's hard to see how you could manage the demands of either with three young children of your own. It would be hard for them, too.

Urgent requires medical and other visits. Are you able to do lots of transportation?

Yes, I would be able to. Between DH's schedule and other help, appointments wouldn't be much of an issue. Logistically. I understand that there's a lot of emotional stuff that we'll be dealing with. I suspect that side of it is something that you can't fully prepare for in advance.

You have no preparation. You get a call and a child in hours. Next day they need a doctor apt. They may have family visits and other stuff.

[Anonymous]

OP - your first responsibility is to the 3 you have put on this planet. Wait until they are old enough to understand the ramifications. I am an adoptive mom to an FASD- affected child. I recently was asked by my agency to talk to another adoptive mom who had brought an FASD affected toddler into the house with her two bio children who were under the age of 4. She was devastated because of the impacts the toddler's behavior were having on her other children. Many foster kids have similiar prenatal exposure issues. Do not do this until your kids are much older.

[Anonymous]

I am planning to do this also when our kids are older. We adopted our kids and want to do 'cradle care' for kids who have to wait before final placement.

[Anonymous]

Op I havent done this myself but I I know someone who does it.
Our DD is adopted and we used an agency here in the US. Because the birth mothers in MD have 30 days to change their mind, The agency will sometimes place the baby with a foster parent for the 30 days. This is to avoid the adoptive mother getting attached then having to give the baby back.
In our case, the birth mother didnt have a plan until she was in the hospital. So the agency too the baby into care, then got all her paperwork started. We had 8 days notice to adopt DD but she was 30 days when we got her.
The person who took care of her looks after several babies a year, usually for up to a month. There are not many appointments per say but she does have to be avail at short notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op I havent done this myself but I I know someone who does it.
Our DD is adopted and we used an agency here in the US. Because the birth mothers in MD have 30 days to change their mind, The agency will sometimes place the baby with a foster parent for the 30 days. This is to avoid the adoptive mother getting attached then having to give the baby back.
In our case, the birth mother didnt have a plan until she was in the hospital. So the agency too the baby into care, then got all her paperwork started. We had 8 days notice to adopt DD but she was 30 days when we got her.
The person who took care of her looks after several babies a year, usually for up to a month. There are not many appointments per say but she does have to be avail at short notice.

Same PP here, forgot to add, Our DD is now 4 and we are in touch with her foster Mom on facebook. We invited her to DD's baptism ( she came) and went to visit last summer, she is a part of DD's story. I dont think she stays in touch with all the babies but I think its neat she did with us.

[Anonymous]

To all the people saying she shouldn't do this - serious question, who do you feel is "prepared" and should do it?