First not all. Second, as a former older foster child and teen in foster care, this shows you that birth order, myths, and stereotypes about foster youth are all crap. People just don't want to take us in and actually put in the work needed to help us. Third, many aren't willing to take in a foster child especially an older one. How many times have we heard about birth order? Smdh. Yet these same people will open up their homes to a grown adult who was in foster care who have degrees and titles next to their name and aren't scared. Crazy. This is for information purposes to show the double s ..read more

Hello everyone! I am wanting some opinions from others in the foster community about a situation our family is in. Long story short, my family fostered for a few years. Almost all of our foster kids were able to return to family. We have always kept ourselves as an open resource for families after reunification. Whether as free baby sitters or to give advice or even find community resources . We send birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, etc. We love all of our foster kids and their families. At one point during our time as foster parents we had a placement of a child that came from a very difficu ..read more

I recently made a big step by requesting my medical records from DYFC. Which covered everything from my medical history and psychiatric evaluations to the reasons behind why I ended up in foster care. I found out that I was exposed to cocaine at birth, which probably led to severe behavioral issues as a child. Which led to my frequent moves between various group homes, and I read that I was even evaluated for homicidal and suicidal intentions, which made me sound like a serial killer... And reflecting on everything and trying to be positive, I've made amazing decisions in my life. Rock climbi ..read more

I know that you can leave the father blank on birth certificates and that it's frequently assumed to be the husband, even if that's not the case. However, I was wondering if in situations like surrogate mothers, if the non-bio mother could be put on the birth certificate? I'm assuming they put down the name of the woman they just watched pop the kid out, but I wanted to check. Thanks submitted by /u/AnythingTurbulent236 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Dose Being in foster care count as extreme financial hardship? submitted by /u/WorldlinessHot5445 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I know the basics like clothes, shoes, and furniture, but are there any other need to know essentials? I am a teacher, and though he is not in my class I know him very well. I got my kinship foster license and I get him Tuesday. We did not really buy anything yet because he had a relative trying to take him, but that didn’t work out. Where are good places to shop for little boys? He’s a 10-12 and wears a 6 in men’s shoes. Help help help!! submitted by /u/Opening-Knowledge910 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I have a friend who was a foster parent. Her foster son was placed with her as a kinship. She was his nanny but the family he lived with was moving states and that's how she got this placement. Anyway this little boys case was closed last year. His family consists of his mom and moms boyfriend and a little brother mom had with said boyfriend. They moved states recently with his grandma and grandmas boyfriend. Anyway while they were there my friend received a call from the moms boyfriend a couple weeks ago and she said he seemed high or on something but he called her and told her he wanted to ..read more

I hope this is ok to post here. Excuse the length but this is MY story, and there’s no one else to tell it to. I want to be heard, please. Call me ‘Dave’. I’m 37 years old, I play bass guitar, I box, and I enjoy a moderately successful career in finance. While I’m not wealthy, I’m quite comfortable and proud of my craft – especially given that I had aged out of a residential institution at 18 years old with an 8th grade education. I love the man I’ve become and what I’ve accomplished – but I am still waiting for someone to return my heart to me and to ease the vacuum in my chest cavity. Oblig ..read more

Need advice because my life is falling apart and I have absolutely no one to go to for solid advice. I’m married with 4 children (three teens and a 1 year old) and CPS just place my two siblings (older children) in my care under an emergency order. They said there’s a high chance they may be placed permanently and we are expected to take them. I want to take them! There is zero hesitation from me. My kids and husband however are having a hard time adjusting. With 6 kids in the house, my teens are stressed about having space and don’t understand why things have to change so much. My husband is ..read more

Hi I attended an informational session today with 4 foster parents and three caseworkers! It was amazing! They really encouraged us to go ahead because there is never a perfect time to become foster parents. They were really impressed with how young we are and said they truly needed more young couples willing to foster. They put a lot of my concerns at ease, and they even encouraged us to take on teens! I feel in my heart that I should be open to teenagers, but I was very hesitant because of how young I am. We came home and immediately filled out our application, we are over the moon! Thank y ..read more