Foster dad q&a part 3! 

It is this is just the dad to the kids they foster

So true

mr laura 😭 how cute

The problem is some foster dads try to be the authority figure, especially those who come from very religious backgrounds and blame the lack of fathers for all the problems in the world. I had several foster dads like that and I was a teenage girl. I'm guessing Chris is talking more about being the fun foster dad playing with younger kids. I was a moody teen and had foster dads who thought they needed to get tough with me to avoid me getting pregnant or becoming a stripper or something like that.

Oh that's a really good question! Would love to hear some insights on this

If they have a phone they can keep it, they can keep anything they own (as long as it wasn’t taken by police as evidence if there a case happening). If they don’t have a phone then often foster parents will pick up a tracfone for them to be able to get in contact with them. A lot of foster parents recommend doing that especially if the kid ends up being moved because then they have access to at least their social workers number and yours (if you give it to them) if anything happens. I watch another RU-vid channel of this huge (10+ plus kids) family where most of their kids they fostered and adopted, two of them had been removed from a previous foster home because the foster parents were arrested for child abuse and neglect. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who foster who shouldn’t and a lot of abuse happens in the system, if a kid is being removed from your home you never know where they’re going which is why people have started recommending the phone thing. Or getting a piece of jewelry with at least their social workers name and number engraved, because then they can easily use any phone to get help.

I don't know any way to link to it, but definitely Laura has at least one and maybe multiple videos about reunification and things the foster family can do to prepare the child.

A lot of foster kids when they first enter the system have undiagnosed issues. Part of being is foster care is a lot of doctors visits and therapy to make sure they are healthy so they’ll often get a diagnosis, which depending on it can shift what their level of care placement is. I realize this is a problematic term but can’t think of a better way to word it, high functioning kids depending on what they see will probably go into a lower needs classification at first and potentially be moved to a higher if needed, while a low functioning kid more obviously requires more specialized care so can immediately be categorized as higher needs care.

@@greenbeantm1096 I think the general term now is "[level of] support needs" or it may be something like "autistic with additional learning/developmental difficulties" So for example I would be considered low/moderate support needs, I do require accommodations to prevent meltdowns/shutdowns but I can generally get by and can mask pretty well. Someone who uses AAC may be +developmental difficulties. If somebody requires a 1:1 carer they could be called High Support Needs

@@kutanra thank you for the info! I figured there was an updated way to say it but didn’t know what that was

I was in foster care. The first thing the girls did, in all but one home, was take the new girl in the bedroom and tell which men to avoid at all costs. As an adult I went to church with a foster mom. Every adult that I've spoken to that was in her home says that she is an angel and that they were always safe in her home. Nope she's not married.