[infoster]

We have a 4 month old FS, who we found out at 10 weeks old he had been born blind due to congenital cataracts. He has since then had two surgeries at Riley's Children Hospital, and around 10 post-op appointments. He has to wear extremely thick glasses and very expensive contact lens that are made special because he has no lens in his eyes. The Doctors at Rileys have told us that he will need to have an appointment every 2 months for the next two-three years of his life, as his vision will constantly change since he is so little and still growing. They explained that a child's eyes will stop growing anywhere between 3-5 years old, and that he will need lens transplants at that time. He is pretty much Blind without his glasses and or contacts in. Would he be considered a speacial needs child? Also if he is, then how does one change in the system to list him as one? Also we live two hours away from Riley's Children Hospital. Thanks for the advice.

[Lylac]

I would say yes, it is a special need. I would get his doctors to write a letter, stating what his diagnoses are, and also his prognosis. This isn't something that will just go away.

I would then give a "copy" of the letter to his case worker, and push for her/him to change it in their files.

[Barksum]

Your foster son's caseworker should already have this ball rolling - as long as you've kept the cw up to date on all that has been happening. Your FS should have a GAL, a CASA, and/or an attorney. You will need to update whichever one your FS has about his health issues, as well. All of the parties who report to the court (cw, GAL/CASA/attorney, and you, if you go to court and chose to speak on the record) should place this in their reports so the judge will know and it will all go into your FS's court files as well.

This SHOULD all be happening, as long as your Cw is kept informed, and you should probably receive a different rate as foster parents due to the level of your Fs's needs. We had a nurse who came to the home and discussed the care involved for a child and she wrote a report based on her interview and observation of the child. In the report she used specific formulas to determine the additional funds we received for our Ds's extra needs.