Trying to decide about getting involved in foster care....

[mcmom4]

This is something I have wanted to do for years and always waited until my own children were older. It was real interesting today that, out of the blue, my dc began asking about us being a foster family and telling how much they would love to do this.
My question is, do they allow you to homeschool the children or must they be put in public school? I am assuming they wouldn't let us homeschool. We live in GA.
Are there any foster parent here that can give your thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks so much!

[Melora in NC]

I suspect this may vary by state, but we are also looking into this and dh was told by Social Services yesterday that foster children can not be homeschooled (in NC). We just started looking into this, so I could be wrong on this!

[Tracey in TX]

IL does not allow homeschooling for foster children either.
Good luck, it's a calling to be a foster family!

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

I fostered back in 1999-2001 we were not allowed to HS foster children (MI).

[Kris]

As far as I know, foster kids aren't allowed to be homeschooled here, either. I would imagine that would be because the placements are intended to be temporary and they wouldn't want to have gaps in public school attendance.

[Ottakee]

We were foster parents for 10 years to over 100 kids. Generally , no they must go to public school.

Really though, often this is best as it gives YOU and YOUR KIDS a break from the heavy demands of having foster children. It is WAY more work than having your friend's kids stay with you.

I would also HIGHLY STRONGLY, etc. suggest that you ONLY take children 2-3 years or more YOUNGER than your youngest child. It works out so much better to have the foster child, who is very likely immature (but could be very street wise) to be the youngest. Otherwise you run into having your younger child being able to handle things that the older foster child can't and then there is a lot of resentment, etc.

Fostering is HARD work but the rewards can be great.

[strider]

You can school your children in whatever manner is legal in your state--including home school. It does not affect your ability to foster.

There is no state that allows foster children to be homeschooled. They must attend public school, or you can pay out of your own pocket for a private school.

I agree with Ottakee about taking kids younger than your own.

It is very, very challenging, but also very rewarding. People often think that love will get you over the obstacles--in foster care you learn, all too quickly, that all the love in the world will not prevent some kids from making terrible choices. On the flip side, there are so many kids for whom just a little love and compassion goes such a long way, and they are so very, very grateful.

[Testimony]

So, I use to place children in foster care. In the state of New Jersey, there is something that was hit around about no foster child being homeschooled. I don't know if that passed.

I know that the issue with foster children is they are not your children. You are a temporary care taker. If the parents consented to the child being homeschooled then it could be done. There have been cases (rare) where the parents did consent to the homeschooling and it was done.

I agree with the other post that you should take them much younger than your last child. You want your children to influence them not the other way around.

Thumbs up to you for doing it!

Blessings,
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Cathy in IL]

I was a foster parent from 2000 until about a year ago. I still have my foster care license and am working with a program very similar to foster care. As a foster parent I could not homeschool the children without special permission. This really wasn't a problem because most of the children I had were infants or toddlers and the two teens I had would not have thrived with homeschooling. Before I adopted my ds, I got a doctors note stating that homeschooling was in my his best interest, so I did not have to enroll him in school. IL actually has a rule stating that foster children 3 and older must be enrolled in an accredited school 5 days a week.

[Tia in Wa]

HSing fosterchildren is legal in WA if you get special permission from child protective services. a friend sent me this link when
I asked her.
http://www.infogem.ca/virtual-homeschool.php
hope it helps.