[BethanyB]

I was wondering if anyone here has done emergency care. I am thinking about doing it over the summer while I am not teaching. Although I will be tutoring because I still need to make some kind of income over the summer.

I was interested in providing emergency care for infants because I have a SMALL apartment but have a cradle and pack and play in my bedroom. I have a 6 month old fost/adopt son who has his own room. I was SO HAPPY when I got the phone call for him, and felt really sad when I had to turn down three foster placements a few days after I brought him home. I would love to be able to help out and take babies on an emergency basis.

I just have questions like...

What do they come with? How long do emergency placements stay? Do they provide you with money if the child needs clothes? I do have a LOT of baby stuff - car seat, boy clothes, toys, bottles, and pacifiers. Do they give you a stipend for food as well?

I am really excited about doing this so any input would be great! Thanks guys!
-Bethany

[yanknrebel]

Emergency placements can last anywhere from 1 night to several weeks or longer. If the child is with you any length of time, they will give you a clothing allotment for the child. There is no stipend for food, but in our state all foster children or babies can recieve WIC. As a foster parent you will recive a stipend and that is supposed to cover food, as well as shelter. What would you do with a 6 month old and another infant once school starts back?

[Gryph]

What about respite care instead?
You would be able to plan it much better.

[BethanyB]

Yanknrebel,
I have had my six month old since he was two weeks old. He goes to daycare when I am teaching. I am hoping to adopt him in the near future. I do not plan on doing emergency care in September when I start school. I just thought it would be a great thing to do over the summer when I have more time to dedicate to another child.

Maybe I was wrong about emergency care, but I thought it was for children who were taken from their parents at night and had no place to go, or had been put into care and had not found a home yet. I was under the impression that it was VERY short term. Like a night or two, three max.

In our PATH training they told us of all the border babies that many times were waiting in the hospital for homes. I thought maybe I could help by taking in those children until they found a home.

Gryph, the reason I thought I would like emergency care is that I thought it was short term. When I think of respite, I think of older children who need somewhere to stay when their foster parents need a break. I'm thinking 1 week or two. The reason I thought I would like to do infants is that I have all of the equipment. I don't think I have room for an older child. I know I don't have room for a child older than a toddler. I could not fit a full size bed in my apartment if I had one. I have the cradle and the pack and play in my room now, and my son in his own room, but it is very small. DYFS actually tells me I can fit three kids in that room, but that cracks me up! Maybe If I had one set of bunk beds and then a single size bed - and NOTHING else in the room! Or three cribs side to side. Ha Ha! Right now, I'm only licensed for two kids. My little "T" and then there would be room for one more.

Maybe I'm wrong about what I percieve emergency care to be. I had thought that in our class they described it as a day or two thing.

If anyone has done it and has some info. I'd love to hear it. I'm in New Jersey!
Thanks!

[L-A-J-C-R-C]

Hi Bethany,

I understand emergency placements to be the same as you. One or two nights. When I use respite care it's usually for a weekend, very rarely longer. We drop the kids off on Friday afternoon and pick them up on Sunday morning. We also have a medically-fragile baby that's in the hospital a lot and I am in desperate need to find a respite provider that could take my other 2 in an emergency (almost monthly for the past year). I'm usually in the hospital with C for anywhere from 2-4 days.

The longest I have ever used respite is 1 week when my grandfather passes away last year.

Hope this helps.

Michelle

[Kay-Ray1]

I agree with Michelle. I haven't taken in any foster children YET, but the way our sw talked emergency care wasn't too long and respite care was only a weekend.

If you want to do emergency care let your sw know that you can take them for x # of days. I'm sure any help would be welcome!!!!

[Dmommab]

We have done one emergency care situation in our almost 4 years as foster parents. They called at 7pm with a 8 year old boy who was leaving the hospital (after an ER visit) and needed a place to stay until they could find an appropriate foster home for him. He came to our house in hospital scrubs & slippers - no clothes at all. I didn't have ANYTHING in his size for him to wear and he didn't arrive at our house until 10pm so he slept in his "hospital attire". Only thing I had to offer him was a new toothbrush & a small stuffed animal that I had bought for such an occassion. Caseworker called me the next morning & picked him up before noon. He left in his same hospital scrubs & slippers. Poor guy! He had a lot of emotional problems but did fine with us for the one night he was here. The toughest part for me was because I had such short notice I didn't have any clothing for him at all & that made me feel horrible, although he really didn't seem to mind! We ordered pizza for him when he got here & he was so excited about that - he didn't speak of anything else! Good luck if this is what you decide to do & it is usually very short term - 3 days at the most is what I've always been told but more likely just one night & maybe part of the next day.