We’ve been foster parents since the first darling baby passed through our front door on November 2, 2007. We had been subjected to the rules, regulations, and classes for months prior so we should have been prepared for the mountains of paperwork that accompanied the bouncing baby girl.
The Placement Authorization shows that a particular child has officially been given into our care. The Designation of Medical Consenter of Non-DFPS Employee allows us to make medical decisions on behalf of the foster child. We can’t take the child to the doctor or dentist without either of these forms. Just when you think that those are the end of the forms, there are the forms that the people overseeing the file need to keep things organized. The caseworker and attorney each request copies of specific forms each time a child is seen by a doctor or dentist. Sometimes the doctor has his own form to cover the information.
That is a lot to keep tabs on. You’d think I’d be used to it by now. You’d be wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself without a form I must have at one time or another. I just keep forgetting to bring the child’s folder with me. It’s not so bad once I’ve built a relationship with a practice because the placement authorization and medical consent forms are on file with them.
I used to keep copies of the placement authorization and medical consent forms in the diaper bag because I was never sure when I’d have to prove that I was legally supposed to be with the child. I should keep copies of the Medical and Dental Visit Documentation and Physical Examination forms that the CPS office I work with now requires from me in my diaper bag now.
How would you organize paperwork to always have it on hand?