This message was originally posted by
Live2shop.
Seems like Pennsylvania is more relaxed than Washington. My mother and father (the greatest parents in the world) were just turned down for a foster license because of medical issues. My mother is on Paxil for depression and my father has congenital (sp?) heart failure. They were hoping for Down Syndrome children. I had a Down's brother that passed away in 1997 at age 26. Both are great individuals and have a lot to offer children. Not to mention how great I turned out. hehe
Also, we had a home inspection (which included a fire inspection). We had to make several changes to the house. Like add some handrails on the stairway, the deck rails could not have spaces larger than 2 inches, all ponds (no matter how shallow) had to have a grate to cover them, my pool had to have a 6 foot fence around it, and my shed had to have a bolt lock on it. These were some expensive changes. This is to name a few.
Then in the homestudy they ask about your and your spouses childhood. They want to know every detail of your experiences growing up. Then they want to know everything about your household, marriage and children. They interview your children too. We also had to have three references so they could mail a 5 page questionaire out to.
In WA the fire extinguisher had to be a certain rating (can't remember what one). And each room had to have ample square footage per child. It had to have a minimum of 50 square feet of space per room, per child. A single person can be licensed for 3 or 4 (can't remember) and a married couple can be licensed for up to 6 (including bio children). As the space and capabilities allowed anyway.
Income was a factor too. They told us in class that we had to have other sources of income. They explained that some people are in it for the money and they did not want anyone dependant on the fostercare subsidies. We had to give a copy of proof of income and a current tax return to show sufficient income.
Hmmm. TB test, first aid, CPR and HIV training.
I think the only requirement with other adults in the house was that they had to have a background check. And, all your pets be current on their shots.
Hope this helped.