Is Foster Parenting possible while house-sharing?

[Grace and Granola]

I'm planning to ask our licensing worker this question, but just in case it is a total off the wall idea, I thought I would try it out here first!

My dh and I became licensed foster parents in February and we have yet to receive a placement.  We recently found out that the house we have been renting may be put on the market for sale.  If this happens, it is going to happen soon and fast.  If this happens, I will want to vacate the house asap, as I homeschool and it would be very chaotic to be in the home while the landlord if painting and fixing, etc.  I will admit that I'm panicking a bit.  A friend of mine has offered for us to come and live with her for a period of time until we figure out where we want to live.  We would like to buy a house, but are just not ready quite yet.  So, it would be a great blessing to us to stay with her for a while (6 mos-1 year) so we don't have to make a rush decision.  The only thing is that I'm worried about our foster licensing.  I don't want to give up on our dreams of being foster parents!  Do you think it's a possibility that we could foster kiddos while living with my friend?

Some clarifying points:  My friend, I have known since we were children and we currently attend the same church, so I know her well and trust her.  We stayed with her once before when we first moved in to town and were looking for a house and she is wonderful with my own children.  She is a christian, which I mention because we are going through a christian agency.  Her house has plenty of bedrooms for us and future kiddos.  She is single and leads a very calm and quiet lifestyle, ie. no boyfriends in and out, not a lot of people coming over, etc.

What do you all think... absurd?  possible? 

[-Resque-]

In our state, and our agency anyway, your friend would have to go through the classes to become a foster parent as well.

[queenjane]

In my state, unless they have changed things in the past year or two, a roommate would NOT have to be a licensed foster parent, however there are a few simple hoops to jump through. They would need to background checked, maybe fingerprinted, and probably some paperwork filled out. But not to the extent as a foster parent. I cant remember if they have to take the classes or not. It wouldnt be a bad idea for your friend to actually get her license, if she's willing but it might not be necessary. Its not that uncommon for foster parents to have roommates, relatives, adult children etc in their home.

[Grace and Granola]

Thanks for the replies.  My friend may be willing and interested in getting licensed, but it would take a few months and may not benefit us while living with her if she can't get started right away.  I would hate to put her through all of that if she's not up for fostering herself if we're only there a short time.  I guess it's worth contacting our worker.  I just hate that we may stall out right at the beginning of the process, but at least we don't have a placement right now to put into the mix. 
 

[Mandi9041]

Another thing to keep in mind is that when a foster home is licensed, it is only valid for that particular home (physical address).  To keep your license valid, you would have to have the state come in to your new residence at your friend's house and do a home safety inspection on that location. You would have to do this anyway even if you just moved to a new home without roommates.
 

[marsupial-mom]

In my state, any adult living in the home would have to meet some minimum requirements and in most cases all adults would have to be licensed foster parents.

That said, I've seen firsthand the lengths to wich they will write up "waivers" to let someone slide on this or that legal requirement. It just depends how much they like the person or how well that person fits their vision of how a family should "look" or act.

[mamarhu]

In my area, the bigger obstacle would be the temporary nature of the living arrangements. They are looking for stability, even if the placements are expected to be short-term. Even emergency, "shelter" placements sometimes become long-term, and they try to avoid moving children if possible.

[Polliwog]

I was thinking along the same lines as mamarhu.