[FosterMamma2008]

what questions do you ask the social worker?

My husband and I are compiling a list and here is what we have come up with so far.

Just FYI we are fostering 0-2 with the hopes to eventually (sooner rather than later hopefully) adopt.

1. Why is baby being placed in care?
2. Does baby have any medical problems or birth defects?
3. How old is baby?
4. Did mom have prenatal care?
5. Did mom and/or baby test positive for drugs at birth and was baby preemie?
6. How long is baby expected to be in care?
7. Have all known family members been contacted?
8. Has baby been in another foster home and now being moved....if so why is baby being moved?


Any suggestions or additions to this list is HIGHLY appreciated and welcomed!

[naca]

We take the same age range.. I think you have a good list going here.. I can't think of anything else.. Heck the only questions I usually ask are :
How old is the baby ? and When can I pick him/her up? LOL!

[chickieboom]

Siblings?
Prior removals of siblings?
Are siblings in pre-adoptive homes?
Is TPR being filed, considered?
Visitation schedule?

[sdiedre]

Just know that most of those questions they won't be able to answer.......

[chevyjewel]

Originally Posted by sdiedre

Just know that most of those questions they won't be able to answer.......

I second that.

We're lucky if we get an accurate age, sex and name of the child before we have to answer yes or no.

Except for the one concurrent placement we've had there has never been an answer available to any of the questions you're hoping to ask.

[FosterMamma2008]

Originally Posted by sdiedre

Just know that most of those questions they won't be able to answer.......

ACK! Really? That's scary....but not scary enough for me to back out of this. :-) We're pretty tough!

I guess that's just another part of the uncertainty of all this.

What information do they typically have to offer when they call you?

[az sun]

I try to think of it this way, a baby is coming into the house, if they are old enough to know 'strangers" they have just been removed from their home. They dont know you. if its a weekend the worker dropping them of may have no details. They will probably only come with the clothes on their back. They may be sick, hungry, confused, frightened, scared, relieved, in pain, in trauma etc etc.
The worker number one priority is to bring the child to safety, beyond that they may not know anything else.
other things normally come out later.

but think a two year old is being removed due to neglect, the mother is not going to say if the baby was drug exposed most likely will not admit it to jeopardize case, the mother wont say if premmie the kid is two. the mother is likely distraught, angry, resentful, scared as well.
If they are coming straight from the hospital you MAY get more information however even our newborn was negative yet mom DID use during pregnancy so even that is uncertain.
they may be in care 5mins till relatives are found, remember the number goal is safety.

This is a leap of faith.
good luck

[az sun]

Oh they may not know the relatives to contact at that critical time unless the mother happens to have it together and they happen to know the relatives are safe, they cannot usually know that at the crisis time.
They probably dont know how long the baby will be in care, crystal ball or they may say one thing but really you never know the outcome especially with ER.
At 5 months with a 1.5 yr old and her one month old we had since birth the lawyer sat in our house saying well they will never work the plan it will go to adoption, one hour later the judge ordered the baby returned home and our little foster girl who we had for 7 months returned 3month later. you never know.

Rember if it goes to adoption you are then more likely to find out answers and get more details, this first stage is to provide safety and the goal will be ru unless its very bad abuse or multiple removal or mom has many terminations.

Ask the age, anthing they can tell you about the case if they are willing.
the be prepared for dr appt immediately, a evaluation, lawyer, sw, probably a vist within the first couple of day with mother, perhaps a removal very quick to relatives. many things occur very quick.
have some clothes and toys for age 0-2 you will probably will need them, then if they are removed within a couple of days you have a supply without spending heaps.
good luck!!!

[FosterMamma2008]

I realize with older kids most of the questions wouldnt apply. Our intent is just to do newborns but I understand we may get some older kids/toddlers.

In our MAPPS classes they really stressed us coming up with a list of questions to ask when we get placement calls. After reading replies from the experienced parents here it's kind of a lame thing to tell us to do you know?

Thanks for all your answers, I appreicate all the input.

[FosterMamma2008]

Originally Posted by az sun

Rember if it goes to adoption you are then more likely to find out answers and get more details, this first stage is to provide safety and the goal will be ru unless its very bad abuse or multiple removal or mom has many terminations.

Ask the age, anthing they can tell you about the case if they are willing.
the be prepared for dr appt immediately, a evaluation, lawyer, sw, probably a vist within the first couple of day with mother, perhaps a removal very quick to relatives. many things occur very quick.
have some clothes and toys for age 0-2 you will probably will need them, then if they are removed within a couple of days you have a supply without spending heaps.
good luck!!!

Thanks for all this input. We are CRAZY prepared (well as prepared as you can be). Just waiting on our new licensing lady to get it all together. That's what's taking so long. She hasnt been in licensing long and the last two times she was here she did the "oh yeah I forgot you have to have this or that". This time it was that we had to have a toddler bed. Now they have known for the past nine months we were fostering 0-2 and we have a crib. Now they tell us we have to ALSO have a toddler bed....which we got and put up the next day! I actually did a little montage of the room, here's a link:

Awaiting Foster baby at One True Media - share slideshows, slide shows, MySpace slideshows, MySpace codes, free video sharing, video montages.

[chevyjewel]

Originally Posted by FosterMamma2008

ACK! Really? That's scary....but not scary enough for me to back out of this. :-) We're pretty tough!

I guess that's just another part of the uncertainty of all this.

What information do they typically have to offer when they call you?

Age and gender.

Seriously, that's it!!! For example:

Intake worker - Hello Mrs. *******, how are things? Say we've got a little one that we're wondering if you can take.

Me - What's up?

Intake worker - (if you're lucky) Drug bust, suspected abuse, positive drug screen etc....

Me - Any info about the kiddo or a time line of how long they're be here? Issues with them? Family interested? Previous history?

Intake worker - (every single time) I'm sorry we don't know any of that yet. The child is a little girl/boy * years old. (sometimes) Their name is ***** I'm sorry that's about all we know right now. Can you take them?

Me - (every time) yes.

Intake worker - ok great, a worker will be by with the child in about 20 minutes.

Me - (mind is racing thinking holy moses my house isn't cleaned up to par, I've got to try to drag out everything age related I can find because I don't know if they're coming with anything, I need to get the crib/toddler bed set up asap, what appointments do I have to cancel now today, this week? etc etc etc) SOUNDS GREAT SEE YOU THEN!!!


With the exception of one that's what I've gotten every time. Usually it's not the social worker that calls you. It's an intake worker. Most of my kiddos haven't had a social worker until after they've been placed with me. If you get any info beyond the above it'll likely be inaccurate or change dramatically within the first 48 hours anyway. Don't ever believe them if they tell you it'll just be a short term placement because there are several family members filling out background checks as we speak - anything can happen!

[FosterMamma2008]

Originally Posted by chevyjewel

Age and gender.

Seriously, that's it!!! For example:

Intake worker - Hello Mrs. *******, how are things? Say we've got a little one that we're wondering if you can take.

Me - What's up?

Intake worker - (if you're lucky) Drug bust, suspected abuse, positive drug screen etc....

Me - Any info about the kiddo or a time line of how long they're be here? Issues with them? Family interested? Previous history?

Intake worker - (every single time) I'm sorry we don't know any of that yet. The child is a little girl/boy * years old. (sometimes) Their name is ***** I'm sorry that's about all we know right now. Can you take them?

Me - (every time) yes.

Intake worker - ok great, a worker will be by with the child in about 20 minutes.

Me - (mind is racing thinking holy moses my house isn't cleaned up to par, I've got to try to drag out everything age related I can find because I don't know if they're coming with anything, I need to get the crib/toddler bed set up asap, what appointments do I have to cancel now today, this week? etc etc etc) SOUNDS GREAT SEE YOU THEN!!!


With the exception of one that's what I've gotten every time. Usually it's not the social worker that calls you. It's an intake worker. Most of my kiddos haven't had a social worker until after they've been placed with me. If you get any info beyond the above it'll likely be inaccurate or change dramatically within the first 48 hours anyway. Don't ever believe them if they tell you it'll just be a short term placement because there are several family members filling out background checks as we speak - anything can happen!

THANKS AGAIN! this really gives me more of an idea of exactly what to expect!

I guess in my feeble brain I just imagined they would know more but like some of the others have said if it's in the middle of the night or the family is distraught not much is really found out right away.

Leap of faith is right....I have had a few people ask me if I have lost my mind for doing this. For some reason this just isnt scaring me away. My husband and I just feel SO LED to foster.

Glad I found this group.

[LibbyHawkins]

The intake workers I have spoken with may not know all of those, but generally once you say you will take it the caseworker(who knows a bit more) will call and ask you a few more questions and allow you to ask. Just because you say yes doesn't always mean they are on the way. If the answers(yours or theirs) are not to the liking, the baby may go elsewhere.

That being said, they told me 5lb newborn and he turned out to be a month old preemie and was 6.5 lbs, so the preemie clothes and diapers I picked up were completely unnecessary!

Sounds like you have a good attitude, hope you get a placement quickly.

Oh and always ask about medical issues AND are there siblings, which may tell you a whole lot more about the case. I ask if there is any family interested in taking the child as well. If you don't ask, you won't know until they determine suitability. This way, you can guard your heart a little(maybe).

[xxsurroundedbyxy]

Some of our placement times were not so bad. Yes, many times they are lucky if they get the name and age right but sometimes they have been very informative.

You may want to ask for the name of the child's pediatrician and dentist if they are from your area so that it is much easier to continue their care there with familiar faces and with people familiar to them and their past medical history.

Most times, family members are not contacted yet or may not be known. They need the child in foster care for them to complete homestudies etc. on any family members who step up and show interest by requesting paperwork and a homestudy.

I also ask where biofamily is from since it may not be my immediate area and what visiting plan if any is planned so that we will know if we can help with pickup or dropoff or if a DCFS worker will have to do the transporting.

Your list is great! I am sure you will learn as you go as we all have but you are prepared as much as possible!!
Kim

[Chancey]

Fostermamma2008 -

I just went and looked at your montage for the room. Wanted to comment on the crib. It is super cute! Although, it has been proven recently that anything besides a sheet in the crib (blanket, bumper pads, stuffed animals etc.) is a suffocation hazard to the babies. In Texas they are so serious about this that it has become a new standard for licensing - nothing in the crib at all except a tightly fitting sheet.

In regards to keeping the kiddos warm, they need to have blanket sleepers!