We went to Jumpland for my mom's big birthday celebration in early July, days before we adopted Cassia and Edison and six weeks before we adopted Tobias and Soren. We had an absolute blast, but Cassia hurt her ankle a wee bit right away. I spent the rest of the time chanting in my head, "please don't get hurt. Please don't get hurt. Please don't get hurt."
Here's what could happen if someone got hurt enough to need an ER trip as a foster child:
1. Call Medicaid so they can tell you whether or not they really want you taking the child to the ER
2. Take the foster child to the ER
3. Call your family social worker
4. Call the child's social worker
5. Here's the big one: Call the ABUSE HOTLINE!!! Report yourself for needing to take the child to the ER. Answer all their questions. Undergo the necessary investigations, which could be simple or complicated, depending on their opinions of your story as to how they got hurt, who witnessed it, and who knows what other factors. Here are some possible scenarios:
1. They all agree it was an accident and close the case after all necessary reports are filed.
2. They take that child and any or all other foster children out of your home pending an investigation if they think there was foul play or not proper supervision that led the the accident. Someone else decides whether to return any of the kids if you are eventually found to be without fault. They don't have to return anyone no matter the findings.
3. Certainly adoptions could be put on hold.
See why fostering kids can be scary, especially kids you have had for long periods of time and love as your own and have no legal rights to? Chances are, even if one of them was injured, everything would be OK after the necessary reports and investigation. I have seen it go the other way, though. Our Sir Smiles was placed with us because of an accident in his previous foster home where they were just not fully sure it was an accident. The foster home was later cleared of suspicion, but Sir Smiles remained with us.
This time at Jumpland, there was a major feeling of peace. I truly did not wish for one of my kids to get injured. If one had been injured, this is what could have transpired:
1. We would have taken the child to the ER and sent the gory pictures via text to grandparents.
Yes, that's it. That's a whole different level of peace in life. Wow!
Now, in case you worry that our life will get too easy and peaceful, let me tell you about the last ten minutes of our Jumpland adventure yesterday. Someone saw Tobias sitting against the wall in time out. Her eyes got huge, she stopped in her tracks, and she pointed him out to her friend. They walked on, texting furiously. A few moments later they got drinks at the concession stand very near to us and sat at the very next table from ours. Did they recognize Tobias and text one of his biological parents? Were they trying to be near us to see if it was really him? I'll never know, but it has happened before. Luckily our jumping time was over, and we were ready to leave. They were nice. We were nice. We were quite happy to be on our way. There was peace in the land once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment