foster ?

[kittykat]

It has been on my mind on and off for a couple of years now I've been thinking about becoming a foster parent. I havnt brought this to my DH attention yet. Could some one please tell me what i need to consider eg age of kids ect what kind of home do i need i have not much of a idea i know that it would be a big challenge. Today i was at school and a elderly lady had a new born baby i thought it was here grand child but she told be the mother of the baby left her at the hospital and she had him for the past two days i nearly cried for the baby and the mother she really must of been scared. I have a feeling i can do it not sure what DH and friends and family would think.
kath

[destined to be a mum]

I have not had any experience in fostering and have thought about it ourselves,but decided it is not for us.
Contact your local DOCS and they will send you out some info about it and answer any questions you may have.Do not worry what others will think,but make sure your DH and children are ok with it,as it is a big change within the family.I beleive you can get children from birth to 17yrs old.
Good luck with your decision.I know here in QLD they do need more foster carers.

[Rach75]

my mum is a foster carer and has been for 15 years or so

she does part-time/respite care for children 3 and over (again I think )

when she first started we had a few littlies come thru and its so hard to see them go, if they are going home, but when they are being moved to another carer etc and then you hear they have been moved again its heartbreaking.

the main thing I find is you have no control over things, sometimes the kids say they dont want to go on visits (with parents/siblings etc) your not allowed to say you dont have to go, then the kids sometimes think your the one sending or making them do things, and sometimes there repressed feelings can be taken out on you.

anyway its hard work but sometimes there are thngs that happen that make you realise something you did was right, for example mum had a girl stay with her a few years back for 6 mths or so anyway she has been moved back and forth since, mum has seen her around at gatherings etc, anyway she is turning 18 this week and her current carer asked her if there was any of her old carers she would like to invite and she has said the only one who means anything is my mum

if you would like mums email I can PM it to you I am sure she can give you some info and thoughts etc

[fostercarevictoria]

Kath, a site which might be helpful in answering some of your questions is Foster Care Victoria . The blog has answers to some FAQ, as well as lots of other relevant info for people wanting to know more about the foster care system.

[chorkette]

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[Lissie]

Carmen,

I have thought about foster care, but do not think i could handle looking after and loving a child and then have them taken away again. Is long term care exactly that - long term until the age of 18 under your care? I would love to help a child and share our lives but i the thought of a child being taken away and being sent back to who know what scares us. Its just a thought going through our minds at the moment should IVF not work out.
You seem to know alittle about it.

[tiggerlinda]

Kath

DH and I have been looking into this too in Brisie if you visit the child saftey website they send you a great info pack and they also have sessions they tell me it will take about 6 mths to be approved but they really need people in Qld so if you can and DH is willing I think it would be great

[HotI]

Short term foster care may be one night, a few days, weeks or months.
Long term foster care can be 6 months or years.
Permanent care is legally up to 18 years, but i would presume that you would then consider that child to be part of your family by then (we do!)
Adoption means the child is a legal dependent with all legal rights of a child born to you including being entitled to your estate.



Different departments may vary on definition, so you will have to check with your state department.

[PrincessLollyPopLePink]

DH and I are new foster carers and I'd say the best way is to attend the training courses. Than most likely you'll get a feel if it's going to be for you or not, you might even change your mind on the type of care you'd like to do. At first I thought we'd just do respite care, doing the course made us really wish to do it full time, hard to explain in words.