Would we be accepted to foster?

Re: Would we be accepted to foster?

• Junebride007

  October 2012

  We are in our 20s and are going through the foster care process however we do not have any children at home. In our state, the only age requirement if you are married is ten years or if you are single fifteen. I personally told our SW that I wouldn't be comfortable with less than fifteen years. I want to be a mother figure and not a big sister figure. How old are your children?
  

  Happily Ever After is so much fun Married June 2007 Started TTC August 2010 Diagnosed with PCOS March 2011 Started Process to become Foster Parents September 2012

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• CaptainSerious member

  October 2012

  I'd check with your county.  I've heard a lot of states have a requirement that you wait a year after the birth of a child before fostering.

  Also, if you haven't already considered it, you might want to limit yourself to fostering children who are younger than the children in your home.  I believe preserving birth order in adoption and foster care is a much bigger concern than it initially appears.

  Adoption/foster professionals often cite jealousy and the child's understanding of how they fit into the home as a reason for preserving birth order, but there's a much bigger side to it that they often choose not to discuss when not relaying the circumstances surrounding a specific child.  Many older children who are in foster care or are available for adoption have experienced trauma in their lives.  This could be as simple as losing caregivers through death, but more often means witnessing or being the victim of abuse, neglect, or other violent behavior.  Children who have suffered these types of trauma often act out those types of behaviors on younger children around them.  This can happen even if they are getting all the emotional and psychological help they need; it's often part of their process as they learn to cope with what happened to them/what they witnessed.  So in the minds of many adoption professionals, placing an older child, who may have had a turbulent past, in a home with young children is not ideal in most situations.

  If you do really want to open your home to teenagers, I would strongly suggest you review their background very closely to ascertain all the types of trauma to which they may have been exposed so that you can make a more informed decision about if you feel comfortable with them living with your younger children.

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• [Deleted User] member

  October 2012

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• JennaNAaron member

  October 2012

  In our county you are only allowed to have 5 minors in your home...that includes bio and foster.  There has to be 10 years age difference between you and child and you can't get licensed within a year of giving birth.

  ~*Jenna*~
  
  
  TTC since November 2009.
  
  Currently licensed foster parents with the hope of adopting!  Also pursuing pregnancy through IUI!  First IUI scheduled 10/3/13
  
  
  Currently loving our placements:

  A 1/08

  C 4/11

  K 6/12

  
  

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