[wrekdiver]

I live in Virginia and they do pay for my babysitting. Though they only mentioned this after I got my first placement and it seemed like a last minute decision.

The way it works in Augusta County is--they have a list of childcare providers who have contracted with SS. To be on the list, the provider has to be TB tested every year, know child/infant CPR, etc. The list they gave me was pretty exhaustive (over 90 providers to choose from) and divided 3 catergories.
1)Personal provider-One person providing daycare for a max. of 6 children (less than 4 infants)
2)Homecare providers-2 or more providers in a home setting. Max of 12 children
3)Daycare provider

We can choose anybody to watch our fs but they will only pay for those from the approved list that they have screened. They pay the provider directly.
I was really impressed with the people we interviewed for the position. They all seemed real nice and some of them even provided meals.

My babysitter was also a really big help to me as new foster parent trying to navigate the system. She gave me all kind of advice about different agencies I could contact to get more help for my fs, how to handle different fostercare situations that came up, what resources me and my fs were entitled to that they did not mention but were willing to give me when I asked for them.

They are also sensitive to the needs of the foster children. This was not something I had thought of prior to becoming a fosterparent but some providers I talked to (not on the approved SS list) said some pretty nasty things about foster children. One provider said that ALL fosterchildren had behavioral problems. Well, she didn't even ask me for his age (8 months old). One provider said they didn't feel comfortable with all the extra security needed for fosterchildren? The *extra* security is that only my dh or I can pick him up. What's the big deal?

Another area of consideration is the child's therapies and visitations. Physical/occupational therapies can be done at the babysitter's. If you work and the child needs transportation for things like psych visits or visitations then SS will have to take him/her. Though they may grunt/groan about it. But these are things that you might want to discuss with the babysitter since she will be at least partially responsible for making sure things run smoothly.