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[quote=Anonymous]Hi OP,
Foster mom here. There are lots of grade school children who could use a great foster home. Sometimes I find that first time parents, while new, also give the most intense efforts because they aren't jaded or tired by prior parenting experiences,

We have used a great aftercare through the Ymca. I think it's better quality than the Rec program offered at school (better ratio of teacher to student and more structure). They also offer camps for when school is closed which minimizes the time I have to miss for work. As for getting sick and doctors appts, yes those exist but if you are in your 40's this isn't news to you. Depending on the services needed, we've been able to get some services to come to our home or to the school.

The hardest part will be all the X factors that nobody can tell you about including the placement worker. Most of the kids we've had have come with so little information or such superficial information that it was months before the real story worked itself out into daylight.

Taking one child will help make things more manageable. Often siblings are placed separately due to intentional reasons (other siblings offending on them for example or a child offending on other siblings). Having an idea of what you can and can't do will help, but will probably also be moot as you won't know everything before you accept.

My biggest prep advice is to have a room ready. Nest a little bit to the extent you can. Clean out the guest room, buy some kid toiletries (toothbrush is big). Nightlight and or lamp with dimmer switch is big as many don't like the dark. Alarm clock and calendar are helpful as it helps with orientation. School supplies are also great to have as most will not have theirs or will have never had them (pencils, paper, binder, crayons, markers, glue stick). Children's books that can reach a variety of ages are nice (like dr. Seuss). Even if they are older, most of my foster children have had lower reading abilities and can enjoy these types of books.

You can't buy a lot of things until you know you have a placement coming, but it will be one less thing to do. I usually head to target right in advance of a placement (like hours before) and plan to spend $400-500. Most of that is clothing with a few size options (i.e. Underwear in a medium and a large) and then I return the one that doesn't fit the next week. CPS can usually tell me about what size, but this avoids dragging the new placement through target on top of everything else.

Anyway, best of luck. It's not always the most fun, but it is rewarding. We keep in touch with the children that return home and continue to help support them in little ways. In some ways, that's been even better because we get to be the fun aunt/uncle and we don't have to worry about being "the parent".[/quote]

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