[UTbrie]

I am almost ready for a homestudy and am trying to get the house ready. I am wondering what everyone uses to lock up their medications and where they bought it? Also do cleaners (bleach, toilet bowl cleaner etc) need to be locked up? Would a childproof latch be sufficient for under the kitchen/bathroom sink? Do they need to be put up in higher cabinets.....I have very limited storage and a small kitchen. I don't really have room to put the cleaner up in higher cabinets. What does everyone else do? Thanks so much for the help...I want to go shopping for necessary items this week.

[fredalina]

Where i live they said that cleaners and chemicals, as well as meds, have to be stored behind a lock, not just a child-safety lock, but a real lock. They do make real locks for cabinets, but i was afraid that it would reduce the property value, so i bought a safe for the meds, a lockbox for refrigerated meds (would work for all meds if you only had a few meds but we tend to keep way too much OTC junk plus my prescriptions, plus big bottles of vitamins, etc) and a locking utility cabinet for the chemicals, which is in the garage. Also the agencies in the area require the safe with meds to actually be stored behind another lock and key, but that's one thing i'm thankful for not going through an agency lol.

[ang-n-noel]

I'm in SC. We have to keep meds and chemicals up high OR under child proof lock. Our meds we have in a high cabinet in the kitchen, and our chemicals are mostly on a high shelf in a bathroom utility closet. There are a few others in my hall bathroom under the sink with a cabinet lock on the doors.

[sadoyle1216]

We have all our cleaners in a foot-locker type thing with a padlock in our laundry room. We are required to have all cleaners and medications behind and actual lock. The child-proofing "locks" are too easy for most children to figure out. Additionally, all psychotropic medications (including our dog's seizure meds) have to be double locked, so we have a cosmetic bag locked at the zipper inside another bag with the zipper locked.

[carlychan]

Here in my county in Souther CA we do not have to have them locked, just up high or behind child locked cabinets. Even in the garage the paint supplies and such just need to be "out of sight." They are in a tool cabinet. They were much less strick than I assumed. You may want to check with your licensing worker before modifing your house too much!

[stevenstwin]

The answers above are good, but I just have to throw this story in because it has always been funny, to me. We were required to put our kitchen knives up high. Now, the foster son we were doing this for was 14 and six feet tall. I said to the home inspection lady "all right, I'll put the knives on the top shelf if that is what you require. But you do realize I'm going to need to get FS to fetch them down for me when I need them, because I can't reach!". She admitted that the "one size fits all" checklist was really silly, and did consent to let me skip the child-proof outlet covers ;-)

[SarahBethsMommy]

Our SW told us here in AL that the child-proof locks were sufficient if they weren't up high for the cleaners. The medications are in a toolbox that has a lock on it (keyed lock). I just keep that in my bathroom. They had to be under a real lock and the toolboxes cost $5 (I got two... we have lots of meds) and the locks were $2 a piece.

[ScrapMonkey]

Our meds are in a large toolbox/tackle box and kept on the fridge. It locks but we're not required to keep a lock on it, just up high. Our licensing worker suggested it to us. I am about to get a second tackle box, one for adult meds and one for kid's meds just to sort them out the Tylenol bottles, etc.

[shaslove]

We have child-locks on the cabinet in the kitchen, and just a child door handle on our hall closet (cleaners, and meds being high up).

With the higher dose ones (percet from surgery, etc) we have that locked in a safe in our bedroom.

[dachshunds4you]

We put our cleaners on top of the fridge and on a shelf in the laundry room.
For meds, we keep in a tackle box locked, then in a locked cabinet, the ones that are magnetic. Can't even tell a lock is on the cabinet.

[UTbrie]

Thanks so much for the help! Using a tackle box/tool box with a lock on it sounds like a great idea!!! I will have to email my caseworker about the agencies requirements on cleaners being locked up. Seems to very much depend on the agency/state/county that is licensing. Just finished coat one of paint on one of the bedrooms, almost done setting up for the kids

[AmahMama]

At our last re-licensing home study (in FL) we were told we have to keep ALL cleaners behind a key locked door. The only one I had was in the garage... so even my dish soap and bottles of soft hand soap had to go out there. I had them in the pantry on a high shelf with a chain lock on the door - but according to her - that wasn't correct enough. Our meds are in a locked trunk in my closet floor. She suggested that I keep them out in the garage cabinet too - but she couldn't make me do that.

Find out from your agency - it varies greatly! and Good Luck!

[DreamingAzure]

Originally Posted by AmahMama

At our last re-licensing home study (in FL) we were told we have to keep ALL cleaners behind a key locked door. The only one I had was in the garage... so even my dish soap and bottles of soft hand soap had to go out there. I had them in the pantry on a high shelf with a chain lock on the door - but according to her - that wasn't correct enough. Our meds are in a locked trunk in my closet floor. She suggested that I keep them out in the garage cabinet too - but she couldn't make me do that.

Find out from your agency - it varies greatly! and Good Luck!

How silly! I would really question a SW who told me that I had to keep cleaning supplies up on a top. You aren't SUPPOSE to keep cleaning supplies above eye level for safety purposes! There have been a large number or injuries when a bleach cap wasn't on tightly, and it got dumped into the upturned face of the person trying to get it down off of the shelf!

I can understand the need to keep things locked up...but that's just nuts!

Keyed locks are pretty easy to install, all you need is a power drill and a little time

[hcg]

I have a full-height cupboard in the bathroom for the cleaners and medicines (and towels and washcloths and so on) and I have it secured with a sliding bolt at adult eye-level that I can put a padlock through. It was very easy to install - took about 10 minutes.

[kayb]

I have six Rubbermaid type shoebox sized containers labeled with the type of meds inside and locked inside our Hopechest. (Learn from my experience cedar smell does not mix well with vitamin smell)