Disney and Foster Children

[PoohGal05]

To the last two posters. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you absolutely have to check with the case worker for the child to make sure it's ok to take them out of state. There are many issues at play. The state has to ok (and in some cases, a judge has to approve your travel). There is an issue if the child gets sick out of state because they will have state medicaid and will not be covered if you didn't have state permission to travel. Also, most children in foster care have regular visitation with their bio parents and if a trip interfers with visits, you'll need permission from the BIO family to go too.

BTW, You don't have to buy airfare for children under two.

A friend of mine I work with has a foster child and she has told me in Oklahoma, all you have to do is get a judge to sign off to take the child out of state. I was told as soon as you know of any trips to let the caseworker know as soon as possible.

Thanks for the info about airfare. Someone who DOESN'T work in the travel industry told me that you have to buy a seat for a child under 2, even if they don't use it. I talked to my travel agent and she told you don't have to buy airfare for children under 2.

With the rising costs of things, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time we go next year, airlines will start charging for children under 2.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

A friend of mine I work with has a foster child and she has told me in Oklahoma, all you have to do is get a judge to sign off to take the child out of state. I was told as soon as you know of any trips to let the caseworker know as soon as possible.

Thanks for the info about airfare. Someone who DOESN'T work in the travel industry told me that you have to buy a seat for a child under 2, even if they don't use it. I talked to my travel agent and she told you don't have to buy airfare for children under 2.

With the rising costs of things, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time we go next year, airlines will start charging for children under 2.

It's not as easy as you may think to get a "judge to sign off" Again if the bio family says no, the judge won't sign off. Also, the caseworker has to ask the judge to sign off so basically you have to ask the caseworker, the caseworker has to make a clinicial decision if "it's in the child's best interest" to go, the caseworker needs to get permission from bio family if child is going to miss any visitation and THEN, the caseworker asks the judges permission. It's a process so yes, if you are interested in booking a Disney vacation, let caseworker for the child know immediately

And yes, sadly they probably WILL start charging for infants soon! But maybe the confusion is because of this...if you don't pay for the infant, they won't have a seat (maybe your friend was talking about the child having an actual seat). You'll have to hold them. Personally I paid for DD before 2 because I didn't want to hold a toddler for a long flight. But that's up to you.

 

[mom2threeboys]

A friend of mine I work with has a foster child and she has told me in Oklahoma, all you have to do is get a judge to sign off to take the child out of state. I was told as soon as you know of any trips to let the caseworker know as soon as possible.

Thanks for the info about airfare. Someone who DOESN'T work in the travel industry told me that you have to buy a seat for a child under 2, even if they don't use it. I talked to my travel agent and she told you don't have to buy airfare for children under 2.

With the rising costs of things, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time we go next year, airlines will start charging for children under 2.

I can't help much with the foster situation, but I can answer about airfare. To my knowledge a child under two needs a lap ticket, as long as you plan to hold them. I think these are typically free for domestic flights. When we last flew it was internationally and there was a small charge (10% of the adult ticket price); we were able to purchase this at the airport when we checked in.

Also, I applaud all of you who foster, and provide children with the love they deserve!

 

[Disney_Angel]

Loving this thread....thanks everyone for your contributions.

 

[PoohGal05]

Does anyone have any updates on their foster care children or how their classes are going?

 

[Ohio Disney Girl]

Does anyone have any updates on thei foster care children or how their classes are going?

We have two classes to go and then have to schedule our home visit. My caseworker just told me today that she will recommend that we don't get a placement once we are approved until after our vacation as the time between now and then would be too short to transition a child. I'm o.k. with that as I wouldn't want the child to feel any more "shuffled" than neccessary and even though a trip to Disney could be wonderful for a child, depending on what they are coming out of, they may benefit more from stability than another change. We will be taking our 2 children, but I think they are almost as excited about getting a new face in the house as they are about Disney!

 

[stm61]

we also are involved with foster care. I'm always afraid we'll get a last minute placement right before vacation, since that would require an extra room that I really can't afford this year. Anyway, every time I've had to call Disney about our reservations or ADR's I've asked about a last minute addition or subtraction due to foster care placements. Every cm has said there's no penalty to ADD a person, as long as they're under 18. To SUBTRACT a person there is a penalty if it's less then so many days, I think she said 35 or 45. I've asked the same question at least 6 times, to at least 6 different cm's including a supervisor, and gotten the same answer each time. That said, if I do get a call last minute I would not take a new child last minute. What the case worker tells you may not be accurate information about the child, she may not have much information to give you. Our county does not have a children's home, they go straight from their family to a foster family, and the social worker only knows what the parents, siblings, etc, have told her. Unless there was absolutely no other place to put the child, I'd tell the social worker I couldn't take them.

 

[Deffenm]

Ohio Disney Girl, I just wanted to say good luck to you and your family. We live very close to Hilliard and we have 3 children that we adopted. Our first son was adopted when he was almost 3 (he is now 7) from Franklin County Children Services, our next two are siblings and they were almost 3 and 7 (now 4 & 9) from Wood County (Bowling Green) area. I could not imagine my life without them. I am also very thankful for the foster families that took very good care of them until they found a forever home with us!

 

[Ohio Disney Girl]

Ohio Disney Girl, I just wanted to say good luck to you and your family. We live very close to Hilliard and we have 3 children that we adopted. Our first son was adopted when he was almost 3 (he is now 7) from Franklin County Children Services, our next two are siblings and they were almost 3 and 7 (now 4 & 9) from Wood County (Bowling Green) area. I could not imagine my life without them. I am also very thankful for the foster families that took very good care of them until they found a forever home with us!

Thanks so much! We've thought long and hard about it and really feel it is a wonderful decision for us and a way to help a child in need. We would love to keep them all, but realize that a good start on the journey to a better life is a gift as well!

 

[PoohGal05]

I had my second home study this afternoon (Friday). I think the lady was impressed that we had gotten some safety issues taken care of since she was at our house last week. We needed a door for our utility closet and a lock for the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink. Since there are no handles, I had a magnetic locked installed. She had never seen anything like it! She let me read the draft that she had typed and go over any misinformation that was in the report. She will correct the information and turn it in to the social service agency next week. I should know something next week! I will have to have a final walk through from the social service agency I work for, as they do emergency, therapeutic and contract foster care.

This week, I also visited a family home child care, which I will have to have since I work a full time job. The lady who operates the program is a former co-worker of mine. She has a space for a baby and if I get an infant younger than 6 weeks (as there seems to be a lot of young infants waiting for home placements), I have someplace for the child to go. My plan has been to take PTO for a week to get to know this little person. I don't know if I will be able to take a full week because I have 3 days of Professional Development. So we'll see.

 

[PoohGal05]

Hey everyone!
I had a child placed with me almost 2 weeks ago, a 2 week old infant boy! He's been such a joy to have! In the almost 2 weeks that he's been here, I have signed him up for a home base service and WIC. I also took him to his newborn check up, a visit that was scheduled before he was placed with me. He has a case manager with the agency I work for and she has also visited us.

There is a children's hospital here that has a clinic that only treats children in foster care. So many children are bounced around from home to home, that there records are in different places. If the parents choose to go to this clinic, as long as the child is in foster care, there medical records stay in one place. The case manager told me that people either like it or they don't. I really liked it when I was there last week! Everyone there was very kind and knowledgeable about children in foster care. I even got a welcome packet and folder with resources for foster families. Working in a resource based program, some of the programs on the list I was familiar with. Some of them were also new, too.

My friends I take tap with are so excited for me! They are giving me/us a baby shower next week! How cool is THAT?! I have already received some gifts. The second day I had the baby, I took him to my eye doctor's office, as the ladies in the office are like family to me. I wanted to introduce the baby to them. They were so excited to get to meet this little boy! A couple of days after the visit, I received a package in the mail from them. They sent me some clothes for the baby!

Does anyone have anything updates to share?

 

[Shagley]

Congratulations on your placement!! If you haven't already, head over to the forum at www.fosterparents.com. There is a group of great Foster Parent's with a wealth of information if you should have any questions. I have been in the process of becoming a Foster Parent for about a year now. I completed the training and then had some personal issues come up that I had to deal with first. Now I am ready to finish up the licensing process!

 

[natnelliesmom]

You won't be needing another room- as she'll be in the same room- so that won't change. You can pay for DDP at checkin so you should be fine there as well.
I would call and discuss with reservations- but I am sure it won't be a problem.
We had a similar circumstance with a "friend" last year. She and her husband were fighting about custody and neither would leave the children (twin 18 month old boys) with the other. The police told them that if they didn't resolve the issue that the boys would go into foster care till the courts awarded custody.
I got a panicked phone call- I guess they both agreed the boys would be safe with my DH and I.
We had them for just over a month while the custody was arranged. It would have been a much more stressful time for those boys if they had gone with a stranger. I am just glad that we could give them the love and support they needed to get through that rough spot.
If more of us could help kids in need- this world would be a better place. It truly does take a village.
-Sarah

 

[Disney_Angel]

Does anyone have any updates on thei foster care children or how their classes are going?

We are still trying to get my realative out of care in NJ...we live in PA.
I am just amazed at how the system works. But we are not giving up!

 

[Disney_Angel]

Hey everyone!
I had a child placed with me almost 2 weeks ago, a 2 week old infant boy! He's been such a joy to have! In the almost 2 weeks that he's been here, I have signed him up for a home base service and WIC. I also took him to his newborn check up, a visit that was scheduled before he was placed with me. He has a case manager with the agency I work for and she has also visited us.

There is a children's hospital here that has a clinic that only treats children in foster care. So many children are bounced around from home to home, that there records are in different places. If the parents choose to go to this clinic, as long as the child is in foster care, there medical records stay in one place. The case manager told me that people either like it or they don't. I really liked it when I was there last week! Everyone there was very kind and knowledgeable about children in foster care. I even got a welcome packet and folder with resources for foster families. Working in a resource based program, some of the programs on the list I was familiar with. Some of them were also new, too.

My friends I take tap with are so excited for me! They are giving me/us a baby shower next week! How cool is THAT?! I have already received some gifts. The second day I had the baby, I took him to my eye doctor's office, as the ladies in the office are like family to me. I wanted to introduce the baby to them. They were so excited to get to meet this little boy! A couple of days after the visit, I received a package in the mail from them. They sent me some clothes for the baby!

Does anyone have anything updates to share?

Congratulations! I am so happy for you!!! Two week old? WOW....he must be so cute!

 

[PoohGal05]

He IS very cute! My friends are so excited for me. Lots of them got the email invitation that went out about the shower next week. Those that didn't got a paper invitation and they are just as excited.

We are slowly getting this baby boy on a schedule. He wakes up a couple of times during the night for a botttle, but that was anything that I hadn't expected. Every day is a new adventure with this baby, something new that he wasn't doing the day before. I have quite a bit of paperwork I have to do for him, but it's not anything that I don't already do with my job.

Tomorrow, my mom and I are going shopping for something special for him to wear to the shower next week. I have NO idea what I'm going to wear, but I'll find something!

 

[mykidsintow]

We have been 3 times with "extras". We have a 14 month old now, but he is not going on our upcoming trip. I have 2 ppl setup to keep him, surely one will workout! We have taken 4 &6 yr old siblings with foster care and then a 2 yr old and a seperate trip a 4 yr old - both medical missions children in the US from Africa for medical care.

Our little one now is also from Africa. If he were older I would take him. I just don't see dealing with a baby at disney when he will have no memory of it at all. So, this trip we go with no extras .

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[stm61]

just wanted to let everyone know we had to add an additional person literally the day before our trip! This was a "repeater", a boy we'd had before, and I'd kept in contact with his family. It wasn't a typical placement, the family is dealing with major medical issues with other family members and they'd had to voluntarily place several kids locally off and on, when unavoidable travel for treatments comes up. I didn't get definate word until Thurs. night, called WDW Fri morning, and had no issues adding a teen to the reservation. I didn't give them any details, just said I needed to add a child under 18, and they never asked any questions other then his age.