[jasemerald]

Alright, I was thinking (scary). I know the list of questions to ask during full disclosure of a possible adoptable situation. However, what are the general questions you ask when you get a call about placement? Should you ask about lenght is care and if ru or adoption is the goal? Can you ask what the perceived amount of time the placement will be? I am thinking during a transitional period to a relative or what ever.
Also, what red flags and reading between the lines should I be doing? I am sure this is similar to children that are photolisted but thought that some of you may have advice.
The reason I ask is that we are ultimatly looking to adopt and only have room for 2 (one boy and one girl) due to us having a small house and 2 children already.
Thanks for any input!

[mommacass]

These are all questions you can ask but they may or, most likely, may not know the answer. You need to ask what is important to you and do your best to know what you can and can't handle.

What is goal?
Are there any known relatives?
Are they on any medications?
Is it short or long term placement?

[theivoryraven]

When I get a call to take in a child, here's some of the questions I ask:
What is the age of the child?
Why are they coming into care?
How long have they been in care?
Had the child been placed with a foster home before?
And if so, why were they moved?
Are there any relatives you're looking at placing the child with?
Does the child have siblings?
About how long of a placement do you think it will be?
Does the child have any behavioral issues?
Does the child have any educational issues?
Does the child have any special needs?
Is the child on any meds?

And lastly, I've learned to always keep lice treatment shampoo in the medicine cabinet and I check their scalps when they get to my house. Also, watch out for scabies as well, I learned that out the hard way!

[jasemerald]

Thanks! I feel like the call will be coming soon again as we do older children and just upped the license to two. I appreciate the input!

[ImpactingLives]

Here are my questions Some are deal breakers, most are not. Some you won't get an answer to...that just depends on how familiar the person is who's calling. In our current case the placement person had the CW familiar with the case call because she couldn't answer our deal breaker questions and I can't take a placement without those answers.


Questions to ask:
What is the name, age, sex, race of child?
What is the reason for removal?
Is this an initial placement or a disruption (if so why)?
Does this child have a history of sexually acting out or sexual allegations?
Does this child have a history of making false allegations?
Does this child have a history of being physically abusive to their siblings, parents or pets?
Does this child have a history of setting fires or any other violent behaviors?
Is there a risk of abduction or any other safety concerns I should have regarding the birth parents?
Does this child have a history of running away?
Does the child have any siblings being placed or are placed in another home, will sibling visits be happening?
Do you have any information on visitation schedule?
Does the child have any medical needs/therapy/medication?
If school age, what is the name of the last school they attended and grade/is it expected that I will keep them in that school until the end of the term?
Does the child have an IEP?
Are there any appointments/visits set already that I need to be aware of?
Does the child have any communicable diseases?
Are there any other kin who will be involved in this case that we need to maintain contact with?
Is this child involved in church?
What is the person making the placement's name/phone number?
When is the next court date?
How big is the child so I can bring an appropriate car seat with me?

[MamaPenny]

I ask the basics about the child and the case, but one thing I have learned to ask is who the social worker is. . .I have a few who I know I just can't work with, or who I have to "handle" a certain way. No more "just finished her internship--it's her first case!" for me!

[ImpactingLives]

Wow, in my area you generally don't know who the case worker will be until after 4-6 weeks. Until then it's the intake worker. Goes to show you how different each area is.

The one thing I never ask is "will this child be adoptable?" When we took our 1st they called 8 other families because they all said yes and then asked that question. Because the families showed they weren't willing to work towards RU they decided not to place with them. 3 of those 8 were closed as a direct result of asking that question. (FWIW, our area does not have foster to adopt, so that's why it was a big deal).

[MamaPenny]

Agreed, ImpactingLives: asking if the child is "adoptable" is no-no. I work with DCF, not an agency, and my job as a foster parent is to support RU. I try to get a better sense of where the case is going at my first or second meeting with the worker, but I would never ask that initially. The fact we are not "in it" to adopt may help me there. . .we are a foster family, first, and because we are still young enough, we will always consider adopting a child in our care who becomes free because we believe in preserving the child's stable home if at all possible. But if we end up adopting, it will be icing. . .it's not our goal.

I have never even been contacted by an intake worker, I don't think. . .kiddos in my care have always been removed and brought to me by the caseworker. Intake workers only have the case a minimal amount of time.

[wendy_bird23]

Just wanted to say thanks for the great lists! I'm in the process of getting licensed and will hopefully be receiving my first placement soon so it's great to get a good list of questions to ask. They gave us a form filled with questions to ask at the PRIDE training but I found it far too long and detailed to be really useful in the moment when you actually receive a call.

Two more I'd add to the list are child's eating and sleeping routines/habits. As a childcare provider I know how much of a difference being aware of what a child likes to eat and what their typical nap/bed routine (if any) looks like can make. Of course the CW may not have this info but it never hurts to ask.

[c.a]

I take emergency cases. So my questions tend to be: do they have any clothes? Are they coming with diapers? When was the last time they ate?

With my first long-term placement I had about 90 minutes from phone call to placement. I tried to ask questions, but wasn't a parent and didn't know what to ask. We learned.

With our son we had a few days notice so I had a lot more information. But I was grieving from the loss of the first one going home, so I don't remember anything.

Our third arrived as an emergency placement and then stayed for almost a year. Before he arrived I only had the information that the emergency worker could gather at 2:00 am.

For our fourth (my current foster daughter), I received an email with very little info. That was two years ago. I figured the rest out.

Good luck on your journey.