My Family Moments: The check is in the mail

Friday, March 8, 2013

The check is in the mail

Money is always a question that comes up when people find out we are foster parents. "Do you have to pay for all of his stuff?" "How much money do you make?" "You get paid right?"
I don't get offended by these questions. I am actually amused. They usually come from people who don't understand why we are taking care of other people's babies to begin with. And then add the fact that we don't get paid for it... Phew, that really throws them. Bottom line is this. It's not a secret that I have always wanted more kids. People know that I adore being a Mom! A lot of people know that I am obsessed with helping everyone. Helping with the good days and the bad days. I just enjoy serving others. Well, there it is. I am able to be a Mom and help other families at the same time. Money has never been a part of any of this equation. It still isn't today.

My answer to the questions is always the same. "We don't get paid to Foster. We do get a stipend from the County to reimburse us for the costs of raising the child. It covers the diapers, the clothes, the extra food, the gas for all the visits and Dr's appts, etc. "Little Man" is covered through MediCal and he is signed up for WIC which takes care of his formula and most of his food. So, no we don't have extra money in our pockets. We just have extra love in our heart and home." All of this comes through with the same smile on my face. It's honestly a measly detail for us. Well, most of the time.

"Little Man" came to us October 26th of last year. That would be 4 weeks before Thanksgiving, 5 weeks before Abby's birthday and 8 weeks before Christmas. Needless to say, expenses were flowing. The check doesn't come right when you get a child. Not only were we given 6 hours notice that there was a 2-day old ready for us to pick up from the hospital but he was coming to us with a onesie and a blanket from the hospital. It got kind of crazy scrambling for hand me downs, diapers and many other little things. Angel's always brings an amazing goody bag with lots of donated items. Clothes, formula, diapers, etc. It lasts for about 2 weeks. The county takes so long!! We didn't receive any compensation till the 2nd week of December. I can't tell you how exciting it was to find that check in the mailbox. Oh baby! We could breathe and our holidays could commence.

"Why do you put yourself through that?" I respond the only way I know how,"Who else is going to?" In February, Angel's had to turn away 3 babies that needed homes. For us, it's not an option not to. There are so many more ups than there are downs. It's just worth it, every step of the way.

Good Night!
:)Amy

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"Foster Family" Terminology

SW: Social Worker = This is a professionally trained (at times I feel from a YouTube video) individual who works for any County or private organization. My foster baby will have a SW and I will have a SW who is also known as a CCW. (see below)

CCW: Clinical Case Worker = This is a professionally trained individual, also known as a Social Worker who works for Angel’s Foster Family Network. They are assigned to a maximum of 12 families at one time and lead them through the fostering system. They are our right hand gal. (no males as of yet) This person does all the legal pushing and pulling on our behalf so we can focus solely on loving and caring for our foster babies. I would not and will not ever do my job as a foster mom without these people.

Supervised Visit = The bioparent has rights to see their child no matter the circumstances. Most often the visits begin as 1 to 2 hours, 1 to 2 times a week. An adult that is approved must watch the parent with the child at all times. (sometimes a lot of work and sometimes boring as heck)

Unsupervised Visit = The bioparent has rights to see their child no matter the circumstances before. If they are improving their situation then they will eventually get the right to have visits without supervision. The foster parent must drop off the child at an approved location and pick them up later. Most often the visit is for 2-6 hours 1 to 2 times a week. And these will only increase in length as the situation improves. (super hard for the foster parent to move to this step)

Foster Baby/Child = A child that has been removed from their biological family due to many different reasons affecting the welfare of the child. They are then placed in protective custody under the County and State.