[bookishmom]

This is our first weekend on the emergency placement list. Our placement coordinator texted us last night to remember to "Ask the case workers the right questions in terms of the children's needs and backgrounds." I already feel like we bug the PC enough, so I'm hesitant to ask exactly what the "right questions" are... but I also don't want to screw up when/if CPS comes to drop kids off.

Can anyone help with what questions we should ask?

[digmykids]

Best thing to think about is what will you NOT accept as far as behaviors? If your on the ER list then you should have a pretty broad willingness for many behaviors.
Often times kids coming in through ER have not been in placement so they may know nothing of behaviors.
Ask about the things you know you cannot accept and make a list if you need to because I'll tell ya when that phone rings your adreneline (sp) goes through the roof and you often lose all sense of what you should ask
Good luck!

[tabg]

I would ask about medical background and any acting out behaviors, especially if you have other children in the home. Some workers we've had will tell us every detail of the case and why the kids were taken and some won't tell us a thing. I think it's reasonable to ask what they were taken into custody for to get an idea of their background.

[ImpactingLives]

Originally Posted by digmykids

Best thing to think about is what will you NOT accept as far as behaviors? If your on the ER list then you should have a pretty broad willingness for many behaviors.
Often times kids coming in through ER have not been in placement so they may know nothing of behaviors.
Ask about the things you know you cannot accept and make a list if you need to because I'll tell ya when that phone rings your adreneline (sp) goes through the roof and you often lose all sense of what you should ask
Good luck!

I totally agree with this. We had a very violent 2yo emergency placement that was EXTREMELY violent. On the phone all they could tell me was that he wasn't potty trained, and he was very quiet. That's all they knew.

So just be prepared to be surprised about behaviors.

For emergency placements, I ask:

Are there any immediate health concerns?
Are there any siblings also going into care? (this can give you an idea if it will be a long term/short term placement)
Are you aware of any behaviors I should know about?
Is there anything you can tell me about the child's home life that would help me?

Usually I don't have a ton of questions for emergency placements because they don't know much, if anything.

[alys1]

Ask: What is the social worker's name and phone number? Who do you contact in case of a medical emergency? (I presume they will not come with cards to get medical care.)

[jmd5294]

For emergency/after-hours placements, we are lucky to get the correct spelling of the child's name, and the correct date of birth. We are typically told the conditions the child was taken from, but they typically know zero specifics about the child.
I also ask where the parents live in case they live close to us, I am prepared to run into them in the grocery store or something.
I just make sure I have a caseworker's phone number (I have the after hours worker's cell programmed into my phone), and that's pretty much it.

[bookishmom]

Thank you! We are expecting our first sibling set in the next few minutes and this is all extremely helpful. Hopefully the case worker will actually know a few of the answers...

[heidi6409]

Google your question. I did once and got a big list of questions to ask. I printed out a few copies of the list and have them handy. Once I get a call, I look at the list and write on it. Then I put the info. in a folder (I have one for each placement). I pick and choose which questions apply to me and ask them. It depends on the ages you are willing to accept. For example, if you are placed with a newborn you don't need to ask if they are mean to pets, but you would want to ask if they were born addicted to any drugs or if they have any medical issues you need to worry about. Good luck!

[bookishmom]

I actually tried googling it, but all of the responding websites were for questions that biological parents should ask. I didn't know how to word it differently in order to get more accurate responses. The questions you all gave me worked really well though.

Originally Posted by heidi6409

I printed out a few copies of the list and have them handy. Once I get a call, I look at the list and write on it. Then I put the info. in a folder (I have one for each placement). I pick and choose which questions apply to me and ask them. It depends on the ages you are willing to accept. For example, if you are placed with a newborn you don't need to ask if they are mean to pets, but you would want to ask if they were born addicted to any drugs or if they have any medical issues you need to worry about. Good luck!

Love this idea, will be printing sheets if we have additional placements in the future. Thanks!

[atoz123]

I attached ( i think) a list of questions. Hope it helps.

Rosapre-placementquestionnaire2.pdf

[1peekaboo]

Could this list be used for a pre-adoptive or temporary state ward placement?