Only thrift stores for foster children - Page 2

[christophersmom]

Originally Posted by hannahgrace 

I dress my kids well....from hand me downs to thrift to Gymboree. I think the state should trust us to dress our kids well

This is me, my kids usually always look cute and have nice clothes (all three of them, my bio, adopted and foster). They don't get treated any differently and never will. In my county we don't usually get a clothing stipend. For my current foster since we were her first family in foster care I got a $175 Target check that could be used for car seat, diapers, and clothes/shoes only. It was restrictive enough.

The forum where I found the article, I posted this:

Plain and simply ridiculous!
I do bargain shop and will admit I bought a Jillian's Closet and a Hanna Andersson dress the other day for $2 each at the thrift store. But I don't have time to regularly sort through all the junk to find nice stuff for my kids, I do it for fun once in a great while. It is not fair to the parents or the kids and what do you do if you signed your kid up for basketball and there are NO basketball shoes in the thrift stores.
Like they said it doesn't even save any money. And where are they supposed to buy underwear and socks? And technically you really shouldn't wear used shoes. I do very occasionally buy very newish used shoes though.

[babygirlie]

I'm sure it has it's place but it's hard to argue the four plus $3 shelves at Walmart for brand new tops and pants all day long plus they coupon. match. This is in the toddler section.. I can usually buy adult men's clothes for $1-$5.

[queenjane]

i'm not sure the guy who wants only thrift stores to be used even understands how little money FPs get for clothes. I know i get $107 twice a year (fall/winter and then spring) for each child. And if i recall correctly we are supposed to use a portion of our monthly check towards clothing as well (15 bucks or something? cant remember.) Its not like i get that 107 and say "lets go shopping, your clothing money is here!"...i buy what my kids need, when they need it, and hope it all works out in the end. (Obviously, i likely spend way more on them than that throughout the year.) Children also can qualify for an "initial" clothing amount, which i think is around $200 (my agency only ever offered 100 for some reason) which you are then supposed to provide receipts for. This money is usually reserved for kids coming into care for the first time and have no clothes. If they come with clothes, they dont usually give you the initial stipend. I was told that if you pick up a baby from the hospital (a newborn) then the county will pay for the carseat but otherwise its on you to purchase one.

I waited 16 months to get any clothing money at all for my foster son, for some reason. I just got my fd's spring allowance, but again, nothing for my son. In the 11 months my first son was a foster child, i got a total of 107 dollars for him for clothing (i spent about 300 dollars on clothes and supplies and a carseat when he was placed with me, in the first week alone!) I'm not really sure what the purpose of this would be....the PP has it right in saying, if you cant trust the foster parent to buy clothes, why trust them with the child at all?

[sapphire_chan]

I've heard people who don't have foster kids talking about how they're considering becoming foster parents so they can make money.

Now, a sensible person (and I daresay especially a person who has done any fostering) will laugh their ass off at the idea, but I could see an ivory tower politician hearing something similar and freaking out at how wasteful all FPs must be.

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by annettemarie 

Besides the whole "only thrift store clothing for foster kids" thing, there's also the " we don't trust foster parents to do the right thing and buy clothing with the clothing stipend" angle. This is insulting from lots of different viewpoints.

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan 

I've heard people who don't have foster kids talking about how they're considering becoming foster parents so they can make money.

Now, a sensible person (and I daresay especially a person who has done any fostering) will laugh their ass off at the idea, but I could see an ivory tower politician hearing something similar and freaking out at how wasteful all FPs must be.

 

Even the YMCA where I lived wouldn't give ANY discounts for foster kids under the assumption that the foster parents were making WELL enough to afford it.  >:(  THE Y!!!!!  

[Polliwog]

That's really sad. We had a YMCA scholarship last summer for both of my kids. They are the BEST place for foster kids (and other kids) around here because they are so supportive of individual needs. We have a great Parks and Rec department here, too, and both of my kids attended clases and lessons for free/$5 when they were in foster care.

[marsupial-mom]

I think it's absurd. If the state can trust a child's life to a foster parent, they should be able to trust that the foster parent will use funds wisely to feed, clothe, and care for the child. If they can't trust the foster parent, then that's a big problem and it's not something that can be fixed with vouchers!!! That problem requires a rethinking about how to license foster parents, how to recruit them, and how to supervise them.

Aside from that, thrift store shopping is great for some kids but impractical for others. The children who are atypical sizes cannot be expected to use thrist stores exclusively. That's just ridiculous. I shop at thrift stores plenty but I've never in my life been able to find quality shoes in my size at a thrift store. What can I say? I have large feet. So... what about the foster kids who can't find clothes at thrift stores? Are they just out of luck?

And how about foster parents on a tight schedule? Thrift store shopping requires more time and patience than many other kinds of shopping. Why deny foster parents the option to shop where it's most convenient for them?

Moreover, some foster parents might not want to support some thrift stores since many are charities for specific religious organizations. I know some Jewish foster parents who don't want to shop at Salvation Army. I think they have a right to choose to avoid that thrift store.

And how about other places where you can find inexpensive barely used clothing - like Craigslist or yard sales? Why deny foster parents the opportunity to shop through those options?

Clearly, the proposal has not been thought-through. It's simple-mindedness like this that harms children and families.

[treegardner]

Ridiculous!