[yogamama]

Hi--

I am interesting in fostering an infant, however I need to work during the day. Is it possible to have a foster child in daycare, or do you have to be able to be with them every day? It would not have to be full time daycare, my schedule is somewhat flexible, but I would need a certain amount of time to work.

I am a total newbie to all of this, but I want to make sure that it is even possible before I go any farther. I will not take a school age child because I have a daughter who is 6 and I would want her to be significantly older than any foster child. Thanks for any advice!

yogamama

[missymissus]

Unless you plan on taking in medically fragile babies, you probably won't have any problem at all.

I'm licensed for two kids 0-3. So far I've had 3 kids, two of them infants, who have had to be in daycare either full or part time depending on what my school/work schedule was like at the time and I've never had any issues getting it approved.

[yogamama]

Great, sounds encouraging. Are you paying for the daycare out of pocket, with the stipend, or with a childcare subsidy? I am afraid I may not qualify for a subsidy since I am self-employed...

[missymissus]

I'm in WA and the state has paid for daycare for all of the kids. I just let the social worker know why I need daycare and get them in touch with the daycare provider. After that, I don't deal with the financial part of daycare at all.

[NicoleP80]

Yes you can put your child in daycare. The state will pay for it in full for you. You need to find a daycare that takes DSHS payments and is LICENSED.

I do in home daycare and I have 2 foster children who come here.

[yogamama]

Interesting, I wonder if it works that way here. I just did some research and it looks like all foster families in the state of NC qualify for childcare subsidy, regardless of income. If this is the case, I am super psyched to get started on this journey, can't wait to call for more information tomorrow. Any advice on whether to call dss or private agencies?

[mommytoEli]

we had our first foster baby in daycare, we both worked, the entire time he was our foster child. there were no childcare subsidies where we were in ca, so we shelled out twice the amount that we took in, but it was worth it for us to be able to foster, and eventually adopt our son. the only thing we were required to do was submit a copy of the daycare license to our worker. easy.

[greenrobin]

In TX we can get daycare assistance for licensed approved daycares. It is a pain sometimes to get the sw in gear, but worth it! We live in a small rural town that has 3 licensed centers that accept CCS funding. One of the centers is awful--I got the kids out as quickly as I could. One I never tried. One I wanted to use had an outstanding violation and CPS wouldn't allow me to put our little girl there.

In the end, I opted to pay for her care. Her brother is in Head Start.

BTW--all assistance is given to the kids, not to the foster families, so they are nearly always automatically eligible, just like WIC and free lunch. Also, when you get called for a placment, tell them up front that you will need CCS money (or whatever it's called in your state.). The only problem we've had with it, other than slow sw, is that the fund can run out toward the end of the fiscal year.

[lyly]

Does any one know what is the youngest age of a foster child that can be placed in a daycare?

[hcg]

It depends on the daycare. Most daycare centers will say 6 weeks. Mine said 3, so I worked from home for the first 2 weeks.

A private (licensed) childcare provider might take newborns.

[missymissus]

The childcare provider I use is licensed for kids newborn to 6 years old. The other ones in the area though tend to only accept 6 weeks and older.

[millie58]

I'm in NY and when I had a newborn, he couldn't go to daycare until he was 6 weeks old.

[tinatyme]

My daycare will work with me and take from birth on. We usually stay home with the baby at least 3-4 weeks to get them settled and bond with them but it is nice to know that our center will take them under 6 weeks. It is great that our daycare providers are so loving with the babies (all the children but especially with the babies) and we feel so comfortable with them. You should start researching the day care centers/licensed providers in your area and find one that has dealt with social services before and that you feel completely comfortable with. It will make all the difference in the world!