Thank you for your videos! My husband and I have talked about foster care as an option for us at some point and your videos have provided us with a lot of great information.
I am just beginning the process of becoming a foster mom and am curious about the fingerprinting. I am a teacher in Texas, so I have already been fingerprinted and am 'in the system.' Does that count or is there some kind of different database my prints have to be collected and put into as a foster parent?
That's a really good question and it may depend on what your agency says. I feel like when we were in one particular state that would have counted but I'm not sure for Texas. Your agency should be able to walk you through all of that and even help you set that up if need be. Texas is pretty strict on its foster parents but in a good way from my perspective. They really do make their families jump through a lot of hoops to become Foster parents compared to other States but I know that it's just to make sure they're providing the best Foster homes possible ❤️
From my experience I have found that private agencies tend to offer a bit more support than going straight through the county. I'm sure that's different everywhere but we have fostered in three states and that's been my personal experience. I've noticed that private agencies tend to add more rules for foster parents as well, but in an effort to make sure they have the absolute best homes. A private agency is also more likely to have their own support groups and respite systems in place.