[Archive]

This message was originally posted by Wendi5000.

What are the home visits like? I know the best way to handle them is to just be yourself, and my parents & Aunt have been through the inspection process so I know a bit about it, but as a future foster parent I'd just like a little input on what it's like, what your experiences have been, etc. Thanks.

[Archive]

This message was originally posted by cdgayer.

We had our homestudy in July, although for some strange reason, we haven't received our liscense yet.

Anyway, I cleaned and cleaned and stressed out like crazy. I
am not the best housekeeper, and I wanted everything perfect. Well, the cw came. She sat at our kitchen table and asked a bunch of questions that were on a list: Are there any guns in the house?, do you have a swing set?, have you ever had to wait a long time for something you really wanted?--a whole bunch of them. Then she wanted a tour of the house. She just looked around in each room, not really an inspection, just a glance.

She then answered some questions we had, and told us we should receive our liscense three weeks from that Friday. That was 7 weeks ago, and still no liscense. We patiently(???) continue to wait.

So, don't stress out!

Cindy

[Archive]

This message was originally posted by Wendi5000.

Uh-oh.... how critical is the gun issue? I mean, it shouldn't be a problem if the guns are kept in a locked safe out in the garage, and there's not even any ammunition in the home because the guns are purely for collectionpurposes, right? Just curiose....

[Archive]

This message was originally posted by cdgayer.

Guns are ok if they are locked up and the ammunition is stored seperately. It's really all commom sense things.

[Archive]

This message was originally posted by lambeausam.

Just a suggestion regarding gun storage...In addition to a secure cabinet for the guns, consider trigger locks. That way if the cabinet is accidently left unlocked or the lock breaks, the guns are still secure.

[Archive]

This message was originally posted by jodyk2.

My experience was similar to Cindy's (down to not being a good housekeeper!). The first time the licensing worker came out, she measured both bedrooms. (I asked why she measured mine, & she said it was in case I wanted 3 kids. Having my wonderful but active 2yo fs for a year now, I think one's all I can handle ) But, she said that before the next time she came out, I'd have to have the baby's room set up -- with both a bed & crib, since I asked for ages 0-4. That part seemed silly, but she was new, too.

Other than that, it was mostly just questions & things I'd need to get -- really, just a carbon monoxide detector, since the apt. is equipped with everything else. She didn't check for locked cabinets or medicine storage, but she did flush toilets, open cabinets & the refrigerator & turn on faucets. The follow-ups have been little more than sitting on the couch & answering the same questions again. Nobody else has wanted to walk through again, although the cw has come into the baby's room & bathroom on visits once or twice.

It took a little over 3 months from the final inspection (& everything done) for me to get my license in the mail, so don't worry about it being more than 3 weeks. You may still have a bit of a wait...

[arizona]

I was wondering how important a clean, neat house is? I am not a picky person when it comes to a clean house as long as it isn't filthy. I am a little scared about passing the homestudy because I am not a tidy housekepper. I heard rumors that you had to paint the walls, have milk in the refrigerators, and a room set up for the kids. But my question is why do you have to do this before your licensed? What if they dont' license you? Also the fact that I am single and 40.

I stated the process and all I needed was the homestudy. Unfortunately I was then laid off before getting the homestudy. And became unqalified to be a foster parent. I want to start it again but I am not working. I do have some money in the bank, I took out my pension money because I can't find work. Not that is any great amount but it is enough to make due along with unemployment for 6 months. I have gone back to school full time but can't get the idea of being a foster mother out of my head. They said they might consider the income in the bank as qualification, but I had to sign a paper saying that I was putting it on hold. Has anyone ever been in this same perdicument?

I live in Arizona and I also heard that they just passed a law dealing with taking care of the children since there have been so many cases that the case worker didn't do anything and the children died. Does anybody know about this law?

[sharkey]

I can't say as to the financial situation or the AZ law but regarding housekeeping and your home study...they really do look for things to be reasonably clean, not spotless. My house is a "fixer" and has been in a constant state of upgrading (no base boards for nearly two years now, paint peeling on ceilings of rooms that I haven't gotten to yet, etc...) and when I had the home study I had no hot water in the kitchen while I was waiting for the plumber to come. The kids rooms were mostly finished and painted and I added another smoke detector and some fire extinguishers. My house could be cleaner but it's picked up most of the time and poses no health or safety hazards. That's what they look for.

[jodyk]

I'm ALWAYS nervous about the cleanliness of my apt. when anyone from the agency comes over, but truth be told, they don't really seem to pay that much attention to it.

At my agency, you only have to prove that you earn enough for your family as it is, without any foster children, so that's all they consider. I don't know how much the fact that you don't have money coming in will affect their decision about letting you foster.

I, too, am single & in my 40's (43, to be exact) & I got my fs when I was 42 (& again this year). He's 2 now (he was 7 mo the first time I got him, 16mo when he when back to his biomom & 20 mo when he came back to me). It takes a lot of energy (and more for me, since I'm not very energetic to begin with), but the rewards are tremendous. And, I think that, in some ways, being older helps because I'm more patient, more flexible & can switch gears/tactics more easily.

Good luck to you, & keep us posted.

[happydaze]

In my experience they are not looking for the "perfect" house, they want a "home". I stressed out and cleaned and cleaned. Truly they are mostly concerned with saftey and sanitation. Obviously no dishes lying around, house picked up and vacuumed, rooms picked up. It's really just common sense and my home visit was so much easier then I expected, don't scare yourself! One of our trainers said they don't like houses "too perfect" because then it looks like you may not be able tohandle kids and the chaos that comes with them. Good luck!

[KaaNai1]

Do they really check to see whether you have products yet (car seat/cribs, etc)? I want a baby or young toddler, but haven't purchased any of the stuff they need yet. I figured that I would after getting licensed or once I learn the age of the child I am getting.

[happydaze]

It depends on the state and the agency just give them a call. In our experience, no they didn't say we had to have all that stuff becuase like you say the type of carseat, and bed/crib depends on the age of child. They were just looking at square footage, safety, and you can show them which room will be the childs. In our state they just do one big homevisit, we got the checklist and the info from the classes we had to do before the visit. I've noticed that other posters have had multiple home visits and the 1st visit lets you know what you need to do. Good Luck!

[helton6]

I know when we started our class we had our first homevisit and we too, like all of you out did ourselves! But our worker knew it was lived in cause we have 4 children of our own. As for finanial, the worker is looking at it to the point of you not needing the state money you will recieve every month to support your self and a child. Does that make sense? They don't want you to rely on that income cause thats what puts alot of families, even foster families, in destress.

As for beds/ cribs, carseats, ect. they asked us if we could get them on a moments notice, they just don't want a 2mth old sleeping on the floor or a 4 year old on the couch for a long period of time.

As for the lic. My husband and I had to put a hold on our lic,after our classes were done, for us to put our family first before we continued on. After 4 monthsof being on hold we summitted our lic and it took 6 weeks to get ours, be patient, or call if you are worried about it. Let them know you are anxious and want to see what the hold up is!

Hope this helps