Can child be placed in a foster home before licensing is completed?

[V Henley]

I live in north Mississippi and my husband and I are starting the process to become licensed foster parents. We already have two adopted children, who we adopted from overseas. We have had our 8 year old daughter for 7 years and our 6 year old son has been with us for 3 years.

 We were approached a family in our church about fostering their niece or nephew when it is born in a few months. The two older children, a 9 year old girl and a 5 year old boy, have already been removed from the birth parent's home because of drugs. The grandmother has the two older children, but she is unable to care for the newborn and there is no one else in the family that can take the newborn either. They have expressed an interest in my husband and myself fostering the baby since they know us very well and would know they baby is being well cared for and safe. We are not sure if our foster license will be completed before the baby is born. Our foster parenting classes start on Saturday, September 8. I am not sure when the baby is due. I do know she is far enough along to try to find out the gender of the baby, which they could not find out because the baby was turned the wrong way. I am not sure how far along after that she is. Is it possible that if the family requests us that we could have the baby placed with us while we are completing the fostering process? If it is possible, what does this family need to do? Any experience and knowledge of how this works would be greatly appreciated.

Vickie

[marsupial-mom]

Short answer: no you can't foster until your license requirements are met.

But in a situation where someone asks you to care for their baby, you may be able to get temporary custody of that child without a foster parent license. Most likely It wouldn't technically be fostering though; you wouldn't receive compensation from the state, for example. Best to ask a lawyer. And your licensing worker.

However, please think long and hard about this. Taking that baby could strain your relationships at church and put you in a complicated situation. Just think about it.

[zombie]

Where I live, all that has to happen is the parents say that you are a godparent, and then you are considered family, and you can take the kid without your license.  My neighbors were not foster parents.  One day they suddenly became the "godparents" of a 16 year old foster child that they knew and she moved in with them.  A few months later, the state made them take a few classes.  Not sure about the reimbursement money.  In my previous state, they would have been considered "fictive kin" rather than "godparents".

[heatherdeg]

A number of states still do "fictive kinship" placements where you have to pass some basic checks, but yes--they'd place a child with you.  Not sure if your state has moved away from this.  It's true that you would bear every cost for the child (not sure how Medicaid would work or IF it would work in this kind of placement).  I would ask your licensing worker if your state does these kind of placements.

[christophersmom]

Our baby's nephew was living with a friend of a friend of the family and he stayed there through her licensing process. She is now licensed and still has the little boy.