Fostering?

[Willows_Firefly]

Does anyone here foster?

My partner is most of the way through the process and we are likely to have our first child placed with us in September!

I'd love to hear about your experiences... positive and negative.

Please PM me or share below 

[ashes]

I haven't, and the only people I've known to do it did the foster-to-adopt option.  That is children were only placed with them that they were interested in (and most likely be) adopting. 

One of my friends did have some heartache along the way.  The first two children placed with them (who were a biological brother and sister, the boy being 3 and the girl being a 6-month-old baby) were ultimately taken away.  They were told that the biological parents' rights would be terminated (since the boy had a broken arm from abuse and the baby was deemed borderline starving by a pediatrician).  But of course the biological parents said they would take parenting classes and blah, blah, blah.  So after 6 months the children were sent back to their biological parents, and my friend was extremely upset.  They even went to court to try and get the kids back, but they were denied.

Ultimately they were able to adopt a boy and a girl (the boy being about 9 months old when they got him, and the girl being a newborn and left at a hospital).  So they closed their foster file.

It is a wonderful thing to be a foster family and try and provide a safe, loving environment for children who have been through so much ugliness.  But I'm sure there will be experiences that will tug at your heartstrings, so stay strong! 

[kaoskat]

I've only ever fostered puppies never human children. However, helping someone who needs help, animal or human, is always a wonderful thing to do. Best of luck being a foster parent!

[Sarahlacewing]

My parents fostered a teenager when I was really small, but they say she was a very troubled girl and in the end they couldn't handle her and she left. I don't really remember her but I know they never fostered again after that.

[stopxmotion]

Good luck. Let us know how it goes. What is the process like? You get to choose the age range of the child, right?

[GazeboMouse]

I want to long-term foster or adopt but it won't happen for a long while sadly.
A friend is waiting for the paperwork to be finalised for her to foster babies. Another person I know fosters babies, and has a severely disabled 17 year old as a permanent foster child, she's had her since she was 6 months! Several of the special needs children I work with are in foster placements, makes a huge difference when they are settled in a family. A family member was also fostered as a teenager, and is still in contact with her foster mother 10 years later, expects her to do babysitting as well!

[melodys_angel]

I dont have anything constructive to add on--but I do wish you the best of luck.  Taking that step really does mean soo much, I think

[True]

my sister just finished the process to be a foster mom, and will probably get her first kid some time after her wedding..

id like to foster/adopt some day, because i dont want to get pregnant again.. but that wont be for a long time probably. id love to have a little girl some day.

anyway i have no experience stories unfortunatly, but I think its a really great thing that people are willing to open up their homes like that, and i wish you and your partner the best of luck.

[Eviecorn]

I'll be paying attention to this thread.  At some point later in life I would like to do a foster situation.