Some questions about infants in foster care?

BNev

i was in a group home for six months, and dealt with a lot of foster kids

im pretty sure that its the same for an infant and you get a bunch of help, but you have to have a decent income anyways or they won't even let you foster

most foster homes are hell, i have hearda lot of horror stories, but i do wish more parents would foster kids, then i wouldnt of had to be in that hellish group home and tried to kill myself

oh and they have carseats at children services, my social worker always had one in her car for when she picked up kids

hope i helped, any other questions, feel free to message me

Shannon

The baby gets medicaid, WIC and whatever else the county will allow the foster parents to get from the government. (Two foster parents I know received food stamps as well although they normally would not qualify) They will also get a stipend to help provide other needs including but not limited to car seats, clothing, a crib and so on. You can also get vouchers for furniture stores or even kmart to buy things the baby needs (Worked at kmart as a teen and did these vouchers as they would come in). Some foster parents will have it on hand already, others will go out and get it the same day as the baby is placed. It all depends on the family what they will do. One mom kept the crib just in case, and bottles. You can buy new nipples.

Opedial

Usually you will have lots of that stuff already. See you have to be somewhat prepared to take a child, and specify the age. I only took children ages 5-9 so I was ready for children that age, had toys for them etc. etc.

I would be given an emergency clothes voucher if they had no clothes.

corcoranfaire

We weren't expecting an infant when we got the call when our foster child was 1 day old. We had a twin bed, as well as toys and clothes for toddlers to grade school kids that we had bought to be prepared, but only a crib I had gotten when my sister came with her little ones to visit. The night we got the placement call, we spent several hours at Walmart picking out items and making sure we got everything we would need since we were picking her up from the hospital the next day. That night we got a car seat/stroller combo with an extra base, changing table, changing table covers/pads, receiving blankets, baby swing, bouncy seat, several types of bottles, pack-n-play, several types of formula, nipples for the different bottles, bottle liners, bottle warmer, bottle brush, bibs, dishwasher bottle holder, several types of passifiers, wipes, diapers, diaper rash ointment, infant robes, infant socks, infant onesies, infant hats, sound machine, humidifier, fingernail clipper, gas medicine, tylenol, suction bulb, baby lotion, infant bath, baby soap, baby comb/brush, crib bedding, matress pad, crib music toy.

We spend everything we receive and much more on our foster/adopt daughter. We receive about $640 per month at the begining of the next month and will until we adopt her. We pay about $900 a month in part-time daycare alone (plus $200 in fees to get her into a daycare), at least $150 in formula a month, over $100 a month in diapers and wipes, and that doesn't include everything else we bought to bring her home and all the bigger clothes, toys, and other items since then.

She is currently receiving Medicaid because we can't put her on my work insurance until we adopt her, even as a secondary insurance. They said we could apply for WIC for her, but we don't feel comfortable taking something that others really need so won't. We did receive a $100 gift card a few weeks after we got her to help with the costs, but since we had already spent much more than that, just had to provide receipts to our agency. Our agency worker sometimes brings us a pack of diapers, books, or formula samples when she comes for her monthly visit. At Christmas she got a few gifts from the Agency, her GAL, and her Caseworker.

A foster parent is responsible for getting everything the foster child needs and continue making sure all their needs are met. They deserve just as much as any other child in your home. If you can't afford paying for another child, you should think seriously if you can really afford a foster child because if you do it right, you spend much more than you get in payments.

Randy B

I my area the foster parents of all foster children, regardless of their age, get the monthly upkeep money. The only thing that changes is that as the child gets older the amount generally goes up to allow for extra expences. For example, with the infant we had as a foster child (and eventually adopted) there was no need for the monthly money for the child's allowance (spending money) or for her yearly recreation expense fund. Even with that we still received approx $750 a month for her food, clothing, diapers, bottles.....

In our case we received word that we would be receiving this child at about 1 pm. She was being discharged from the hospital that evening at 4 days old. We had already obtained a crib and such but we still had no clothing, no nothing for a child of that age. When the social workers provided us with the required paperwork to check the child out of the hospital we also received a Walmart voucher for $350 worth of supplies so once we picked her up at the hospital we headed right over to Wallies to buy what we needed.

Normally, at least in our area, the foster parents are expected to have much of this stuff ready to go. Stuff like a bed/crib, car seat, high chair, dresser, change table..... or they need to be able to have some sort of plan what to do till they can get one. A few days of looking through the buy/trade/sell listings in the local paper and we had it all ready to go before we were even formally approved as foster parents although we knew the approval was coming. Of course, once the child moves on to another home or returns to their birth parents the foster parents are free to use most of the items again for the next child.

At one time our local foster agency had a support office where we could obtain all of this stuff for a new placement but it was not financially feasible to keep it going.

Nijela S

i guess that they will be prepared because fostering a kid is not an easy job an they would obviously now what was coming ahead before they agreed to take the child . no they dont get money allowance because they have to be rich in the fist place to adopt the child.

Sabas S

Im not sure how it works.. But my mother was trying to be a foster parent in California.

She was going to adopt by an Agency not by the state..

They are Angency that actually Pay you depending on there age.
EX: 13-16 1,200 Monthly and 300 every 3 months for shoes,chlothes. I was told that my mother will be able to get food stamps for the kids as well.

Not sure what state your in but look for agency's... if you want to do it for the love of helping a child then you go to state and adopt them = NO PAY (But you dont really deal with Social works...You do but not as much)

or if you want to make money off it there are 2 ways..
1. Foster House - which is sad because you get close to the child then they leave to others houses (These kids are usually really bad LIKE I SAID USUALLY)
2. Foster Mom - They get money for the kid depending on there age but they dont take them away from you... You basically adopted them and they pay you for them to stay at your house (how I explain above)

My suggestions if you arent RICH is go with an Agency... there all over the USA..

Hopefully I helped.

funny6612

im not sure about any of these questions, really. but it sounds like the questions you have are really specific, and the answers differ in every scenario. there is a lot of info you could learn about infant foster care. sooo much that i recommend doing some thing to find info that i would never recommend on yahoo answer. go to google and search "infant forster care" and go to the sites that look like organizations and just read like the whole thing. find out all the info you can. hope this helps.

barack is back

I think you would do very well in the foster care service, you need a house and some experience taking care of children. perhaps you could get a job working in a foster home, they need outside help too. the City or the phone book can give you places to check out

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