Foster parent for medically fragile child

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I talked to a 60 year old CNA last week. She said she had been ill but had recovered. She said that she is a foster parent for a child with medical problems. She said that they pay her to take care of the child. She acted like she was getting well paid for doing this foster care. She said she didn't need to go out and get an outside job anymore. Was she telling the truth? I had thought that foster pay was not good.:confused: Thanks

Hi! I haven't been on the site in a while. I do appreciate your input. At the end of Oct. we were given the opportunity to foster a 5 month old baby. He was a 25 wk preemie and was/is still in the hospital. Of course we aren't recieving any reimbursement for him while he is there, but by agreeing to take him we are getting to go ahead and visit - bond with him and learn the details of his care for when we get to bring him home. I believe he will be home by Christmas. :-) It's over an hour drive one way to the hospital, and I am going there twice a week and spending the day with him. I would go more often if I could afford to. I love this child as if he were my own. It really bothers me that it seems many people think foster parents are only in it for the money.

Many people voice the opinion that people are in it for the money, because they have experience with people where this is the clear motive. Some people make it no secret that they are getting good money for what they "do" and they are not even ashamed to admit to the schemes they employ to skirt the rules, if they do skirt the rules. They seem to think that no third party who enters their home would ever consider turning them in to the authorities. You can't fault people for establishing viewpoints based upon experience. I doubt that they paint everyone with the same brush, even if they have not had experience with those where that shoe does not fit. I know that I do not.

I understand what you are saying. We are brand new at this, and we are truly wanting to be foster PARENTS to the children we take into our home. My husband & I feel we are too old to consider adopting (for the child's sake, not ours). We are both 54. But our goal is to give the children we care for the most loving, stable, warm, nurturing environment we possible can until they have to leave us for whatever reason. It's hard to think that people are using children to get easy money when these kiddos need loving families.

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I noticed some of you are licensed to care for PMN children and one of you was even in Texas where I am. I am having the hardest time finding any information on getting licensed to foster PMN children. I am currently only licensed for regular foster care and have called several agencies. However they are all treating me as if I am not already a foster parent and want me to start from scratch. Which would be fine, except I am trying to find out what are the differences, what would we have to do differently from regular fostering? For example I have heard that we would have to fill out more logs than usual and we would have to have a wheel chair ramp. Can anyone help me out with this? We are located near Houston, Tx.

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me out? I am currently a foster parent. However we want to foster for PMN children. I am wanting to know what are the differences bewteen regular fostering, and fostering for PMN children? For example I heard that you have to keep more logs, and we would have to have a wheel chair ramp built. What else as far as rules and regulations would be diffrent. I have contacted several different agencies but I've yet to speak with anyone who could tell me anything. One lady told me there were no differences, then went on to tell me my home would need to be set up for oxygen? I'm beyond confused, and am about to just give up and stick with regular foster parenting. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi! I am a newly licensed foster parent for medically fragile children. We have no kids yet. I am a LVN in Texas. I am currently working as a home health nurse for a child with a trach,vent,etc. I have just been told by my foster agency that I will not be allowed to leave my children in the care of their nurses at any time, but that there will have to be a separate, agency-approved person in the home any time my husband or I one are not there. I will not be able to work if this is the case, and I wasn't expecting this issue at all! I've spent hours trying to find someplace that it's written as a legal policy or law, & can find none. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!

I am not in Texas but I would presume that in a state that large, there are are a few agencies that specialize in medically needy children. I found this 6330 Types of Care; 6331 Emergency Care; 6332 Basic Care; 6333 Therapeutic Care; 6334 Primary Medical Needs Care; 6335 Habilitative Care that explains the level of care.

If you don't smoke and don't allow smoking in your home and don't have animals that chew on oxygen tubing, then you are set up for oxygen.

As far as ramps and the like go, I have never heard of an agency requiring it prior to a match but I would presume that if you are telling your agency that you want a child in a wheelchair that they could require you to have a ramp and wheelchair accessible vehicle prior to a match. We did not build our ramp or buy a wheelchair van until we had an adoptive match and were committed to the child.

I would go back to your public agency and ask them how the referral process works when they have a child they can not place in one of their own homes. They probably have some sort of email blast system to get the info to the private foster care agencies. Then ask them which agencies usually respond when they have a medically needy child. Then contact one of those agencies.

I actually just worked a DYFS case last week, the child who was in foster care had medical issues. The social worker did say that foster parents get good money for each child they take in, they get even more money if a child has medical needs.

Yes, foster parents get paid. It varies widely from state to state and is supposed to pay for certain things. I can tell you that we got $1390/month for our son while he was in foster care. We averaged about $500/month for medical supplies that insurance didn't cover. About $100/month went for electricity for running a ventilator 24/7, charging a back-up vent, charging a marine battery, charging lithium batteries, running a suction machine, charging the other suction machine, running the t-pump 24/7, running the nebulizer, running the Vest, running an oxygen compressor 24/7, lights, running the electric hospital bed and air mattress. Our wheelchair van got about 1 mile to the gallon. Okay, not really that bad but it's really only about 9 miles to the gallon. Clothing and books are supposed to come from that subsidy as well. His formula was covered by insurance but any extra formula (like when the nurse spilled the whole day's worth) had to be paid for and we used his money for that. We used $200/month to pay down the huge co-pay we had for his electric hospital bed. And we tried to save $400/month in a special account in case anything happened to one of us or he outlived both of us. We ended up using all of that money to pay for part of his funeral. So anyone that thinks that we make money doing this is sadly mistaken.

Are there ridiculous parents and social workers out there? Yes, there are. I know of a family that has so many foster children and adopted special needs children that they make in ONE MONTH what an average middle class family makes in a YEAR.

I firmly believe that the number of immobile children should be equal to the number of adults in the home. If there are two parents and a live-in grandparent, than I would be okay with 3. But I would NEVER take three kids that are unable to fend for themselves when there is only my hubby and me here.

Foster care rates are public information and you can find them out for the state you live in s well as what therapeutic or treatment rates are and how your states classify children into types of foster care (basic, medical, therapeutic, specialized, etc.).

I am wondering about the Angels in Waiting. I am probably going against the grain here, but I am interested in how much LVN's and RN's are paid in California. Most of us have to make an income, and don't feel like we can take on the role of foster parent and work too, particularly if we are older. I don't mean that the money should be our motivating factor. I have thought about being a foster parent for years, and it isn't because of the money. I have taken care of medically fragile children in their homes. Now I am wondering about the Angels in Waiting program. Does anyone know if it is only in Southern CA. that the program exists?

Specializes in foster parent.

I had a foster child for 7 year   Never have a got any addition to mypay for her being medical fragile

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