When my foster parents got licensed, they had to have a safety check. Safety always comes first. On Saturday, September 11th, my foster parents asked me if I want to be adopted, and I said Yes!! I am so happy. According to the state of Florida, it says it should take about 8 months, but my county goes by fast, so it should take between 1-2 months. Thank you for these tips on how to do the safety audit, or inspection. 😁😁💕❤
When I was in foster care in 1979, the first night, I was in the "girls' room" ... but it was too small (1 bunk bed set and a padded exam table??). There were already 3 girls in the, but 2 of them were biological children, so that night, they shared the top bunk. I slept on the exam table. After that, I was in the "boys' room." It was the full depth of the ranch house. They had a bassinet for their biological baby boy, a bunk bed set where the bottom bunk was a crib - picture a "jail" for a bottom bunk. They also had a loft bed - it was at least king size ... but I think it may have been 2 queen or king beds put together. The final "bed" was a window seat that led to the ladder to the top bunk. I got to sleep in the loft bed. My brother was in the "jail" (until the boy on the top bunk got in trouble for turning on the light at night and waking up the baby), then my brother got the top bunk. The window seat bed went to their high school-aged son. I was in the loft because it was on the opposite side of all the other beds, and as a girl, I needed to be separated from the boys.
I put a lock on my small linen closet in primary bathroom (just changed out the doorknob for a keyed knob) and that worked well for locking up all the meds without multiple boxes! Just a suggestion in case anyone wants to ask about that route.
Best of luck for the homestudy! I'm sure it'll go well with this new county, and hopefully you'll be able to foster again soon! (Also, you mentioned removing the Tide Pods from their container removes the child proof cap which is totally true, but some of that stuff can also look like candy or appeal to a child because it smells nice. If it's not in the cleaning product container, they might be less likely to realize it's not candy, etc. in some situations. I'm not saying this as a negative to anyone, but just another safety point for anyone with children to have in mind. I'd hate for any accidents to happen like that.)
I never thought about some of these things before, like water temperature! Before finding your channel a couple years ago I didn’t know even what foster care was, I really have learned so much since then! My boyfriend and I have also talked about foster care or doing respite/emergency care in the future, but I never would have known about it if not for your channel! ☺️
This makes my heart so incredibly happy. It is why we continue to share and inform to hopefully inspire people to take action. Thank you for sharing this
Agencies get audited every couple of years. The state will pick a few of their families to do a safety audit. We have been licensed for 4 1/2 years and we got picked for a safety audit from the state last year. We are in northeast Ohio.
@@BeTheVillageCommunity I'm in Hamilton Co. I'm a respite provider and my daughter is a foster. She has a walk through quarterly, maybe it's her agency that requires it and not the state? They do a walk through of my home every other year, in the same time frame we have to be fingerprint again.
Spoken like a true northerner! In the south, your house can be super clean (full time cleaning lady clean), and unless you fumigate it up the wazoo, you will have bugs (roaches and ants, mostly). Heck, even in certain apartment and condo buildings regardless of pest control you will see roaches. They’re invincible. They love the heat and humidity.
@@BeTheVillageCommunity I’m OCD about cleaning my kitchen and food storage, plus we have monthly (!!) pest control and I still see these little sh**s 🪳🪳🪳 around. I live in a condo building.
In the South, your house can be beyond spotless, and when you open the door, a bug will walk or fly in! But, of course, if it is an opportunistic bug, the overall look is not going to be an infestation.
The water temperature one is so important. My niece got burned by hot water when she was a little under a year due to the homes water heating system being super old and not working properly which made the water turn hot unexpectedly and she was put into foster care.
I poured boiling water down myself when I was about 3, massive burns down my entire torso. Thankfully I lived next door to a doctor, was treated within minutes and have only a tiny dimple on my right side from all the burns. Also thankfully no one called CPS. My neighbor knew I was one of those ADHD kids and it was a fluke thing. My parents even ended up having to empty my bedroom and lock me in at night since as a baby I could sleep walk and climb. Nothing worked, and after the third “break out” when they found me asleep, scaling the bricks of the fireplace at 2:30am like the toddler Spider-Man, they and the docs had to go drastic. 😂 My poor parents. People who heard about it thought either they were the worst parents ever or I needed an exorcism. 😂 But they kept me safe and eventually I stopped and the lock could be left open. I went through several sleepwalking bouts later in life too but thankfully no climbing, and we all knew I just needed to be kept from doing anything and after a couple nights I would stop. 🤷♀️ My parents still talk about how difficult it was and kinda traumatic, but I am glad they did for my safety.
From Michigan, our agency actually tested the temp of our water with a meat thermometer. I understand and support the reasoning for the rule but I do miss my super hot showers :).
What about pets? I have 2 dogs - 1 is amazing with all people and the other is slow to warm up and can sound defensive at first. This is what is currently holding us back from fostering while we work on training him out of this.
@@BeTheVillageCommunity the conspiracy theorists in me thinks they probably send the kids to other counties, and have all the visitation and etc at that far away place so the parents find it difficult to comply
Random thought being a flood survivor, are there more requirements for those who live within the 100 year flood plane/near major water sources? Are you required to have additional insurance?
Can you show us the box you got for the medicine in the kitchen? My sister is a foster care giver and she needs something to keep on hand for vitamins and those kinds of things.
Put a keyed lock door knob on a linen closet and store all medications in there. That way it is faster and easier to get to with a key but still keeps everything safely tucked away.
@@chrystalteal4171 I have never heard of that before .must be a regional thing.i even tried to Google it.and only got pic of etsy wooden craved pumpkin seats.
@@janellemiller1195 I just googled it and several photos of baby infant seats showed up. It was a popular name when I was little. Mostly an older generational name for infant seats but a lot sticks around.
When my foster parents got licensed, they had to have a safety check. Safety always comes first. On Saturday, September 11th, my foster parents asked me if I want to be adopted, and I said Yes!! I am so happy. According to the state of Florida, it says it should take about 8 months, but my county goes by fast, so it should take between 1-2 months. Thank you for these tips on how to do the safety audit, or inspection. 😁😁💕❤
Congrats Jenny, wonderful news! ☺️😊
Thank you so much! 🤗
That is very exciting news!!! Congratulations Jenny
So happy for you!!! 😄🎉
Congratulations Jenny!! Here’s to a very bright, loving future ahead for you and your family! ❤️🥂
I am so glad to see you all uploading again. You bring such awareness to the foster care community. As a former case worker thank you.
Darcy & Sawyer in the spinny office chair in the background 😂
I wondered when that would get noticed 🤣
First thing I noticed 😂
When I was in foster care in 1979, the first night, I was in the "girls' room" ... but it was too small (1 bunk bed set and a padded exam table??). There were already 3 girls in the, but 2 of them were biological children, so that night, they shared the top bunk. I slept on the exam table. After that, I was in the "boys' room." It was the full depth of the ranch house. They had a bassinet for their biological baby boy, a bunk bed set where the bottom bunk was a crib - picture a "jail" for a bottom bunk. They also had a loft bed - it was at least king size ... but I think it may have been 2 queen or king beds put together. The final "bed" was a window seat that led to the ladder to the top bunk. I got to sleep in the loft bed. My brother was in the "jail" (until the boy on the top bunk got in trouble for turning on the light at night and waking up the baby), then my brother got the top bunk. The window seat bed went to their high school-aged son. I was in the loft because it was on the opposite side of all the other beds, and as a girl, I needed to be separated from the boys.
John’s blockbuster shirt is just awesome
I put a lock on my small linen closet in primary bathroom (just changed out the doorknob for a keyed knob) and that worked well for locking up all the meds without multiple boxes! Just a suggestion in case anyone wants to ask about that route.
I’ve heard that strategy too!
Great video and thank you for sharing everything very informative article on your channel, thinking about maybe fostering in the future
So glad it was helpful!
Best of luck for the homestudy! I'm sure it'll go well with this new county, and hopefully you'll be able to foster again soon!
(Also, you mentioned removing the Tide Pods from their container removes the child proof cap which is totally true, but some of that stuff can also look like candy or appeal to a child because it smells nice. If it's not in the cleaning product container, they might be less likely to realize it's not candy, etc. in some situations. I'm not saying this as a negative to anyone, but just another safety point for anyone with children to have in mind. I'd hate for any accidents to happen like that.)
Great point!
I never thought about some of these things before, like water temperature! Before finding your channel a couple years ago I didn’t know even what foster care was, I really have learned so much since then! My boyfriend and I have also talked about foster care or doing respite/emergency care in the future, but I never would have known about it if not for your channel! ☺️
This makes my heart so incredibly happy. It is why we continue to share and inform to hopefully inspire people to take action. Thank you for sharing this
Agencies get audited every couple of years. The state will pick a few of their families to do a safety audit. We have been licensed for 4 1/2 years and we got picked for a safety audit from the state last year. We are in northeast Ohio.
Dogs have to be up to date on vaccines. And from my experience, social workers are required to do a walk through every 3 months.
Where are you located? It’s different everywhere. Our pet vaccines are checked initially and then with recertifications.
@@BeTheVillageCommunity I'm in Hamilton Co. I'm a respite provider and my daughter is a foster. She has a walk through quarterly, maybe it's her agency that requires it and not the state? They do a walk through of my home every other year, in the same time frame we have to be fingerprint again.
@@beckysgarden5851 you have to fingerprint?
@@SaarLoveable for respite providers,yes.
Spoken like a true northerner! In the south, your house can be super clean (full time cleaning lady clean), and unless you fumigate it up the wazoo, you will have bugs (roaches and ants, mostly). Heck, even in certain apartment and condo buildings regardless of pest control you will see roaches. They’re invincible. They love the heat and humidity.
Southern states may have different guidelines but I guess the type of bugs and circumstances matter
@@BeTheVillageCommunity I’m OCD about cleaning my kitchen and food storage, plus we have monthly (!!) pest control and I still see these little sh**s 🪳🪳🪳 around. I live in a condo building.
Supposedly they come inside for the AC and water 😭 it’s definitely a constant struggle lol
In the South, your house can be beyond spotless, and when you open the door, a bug will walk or fly in! But, of course, if it is an opportunistic bug, the overall look is not going to be an infestation.
The water temperature one is so important. My niece got burned by hot water when she was a little under a year due to the homes water heating system being super old and not working properly which made the water turn hot unexpectedly and she was put into foster care.
That’s a great example of how a child wouldn’t need to be removed but services and support could be provided to fix the issue without removal
I poured boiling water down myself when I was about 3, massive burns down my entire torso. Thankfully I lived next door to a doctor, was treated within minutes and have only a tiny dimple on my right side from all the burns. Also thankfully no one called CPS. My neighbor knew I was one of those ADHD kids and it was a fluke thing. My parents even ended up having to empty my bedroom and lock me in at night since as a baby I could sleep walk and climb. Nothing worked, and after the third “break out” when they found me asleep, scaling the bricks of the fireplace at 2:30am like the toddler Spider-Man, they and the docs had to go drastic. 😂 My poor parents. People who heard about it thought either they were the worst parents ever or I needed an exorcism. 😂 But they kept me safe and eventually I stopped and the lock could be left open. I went through several sleepwalking bouts later in life too but thankfully no climbing, and we all knew I just needed to be kept from doing anything and after a couple nights I would stop. 🤷♀️ My parents still talk about how difficult it was and kinda traumatic, but I am glad they did for my safety.
From Michigan, our agency actually tested the temp of our water with a meat thermometer. I understand and support the reasoning for the rule but I do miss my super hot showers :).
I thought you were about to say the tide pod challenge was still popular 😅😂
Oh gosh I’m glad it’s not lol
What about pets? I have 2 dogs - 1 is amazing with all people and the other is slow to warm up and can sound defensive at first. This is what is currently holding us back from fostering while we work on training him out of this.
In Illinois they do temp our water.
Would a river in you backyard be an issue? I imagine we would be required to have a fence
I wonder how any family in Flint Mi. Can meet the safety requirements with the water issues…
I honestly thought the same thing... but didn't want to say it. I think that's something that is just standard so it isn't a consideration.
@@BeTheVillageCommunity the conspiracy theorists in me thinks they probably send the kids to other counties, and have all the visitation and etc at that far away place so the parents find it difficult to comply
Do you have links for the medicine lock boxes?
It’s crazy to me that someone without running water would consider fostering a child ….
Random thought being a flood survivor, are there more requirements for those who live within the 100 year flood plane/near major water sources? Are you required to have additional insurance?
Do you have to have another home study each time after you take a break from taking in kids?
You are transferring from Hamilton county?
Can you show us the box you got for the medicine in the kitchen? My sister is a foster care giver and she needs something to keep on hand for vitamins and those kinds of things.
Put a keyed lock door knob on a linen closet and store all medications in there. That way it is faster and easier to get to with a key but still keeps everything safely tucked away.
What things do we need to get for a 2 and 4 year old kids? Since you have kids close to my niece and her brother’s ages what are your suggestions.
Hey hope everything well x
Do you know if you’d still have to lock up medications if you took in strictly infants?
You’d want to check with the specific county/agency/state on that one
❤️
Did I hear...Exit signs over your doors?
Can you live in an apartment?
Is this the same as a homestudy?
The safety audit is part of the home study, yes!
@@BeTheVillageCommunity how much more in depth is the homestudy? It sounded exactly the same
For reference The fire extinguishers at my work must be replaced every 6 months
Replaced? Or just serviced?
@@brianap4520 they take them away and put a different one in, but I’m guessing then in the next cycle the old one comes back, in a rotation of sorts.
What is a pumpkin seat. I have only heard of infant, convertible seats, high back busters and low busters.
A pumpkin seat is the nickname for infant carseats with the handle.
@@chrystalteal4171 I have never heard of that before .must be a regional thing.i even tried to Google it.and only got pic of etsy wooden craved pumpkin seats.
@@janellemiller1195 I just googled it and several photos of baby infant seats showed up. It was a popular name when I was little. Mostly an older generational name for infant seats but a lot sticks around.