Ever bring a foster child along with your family? ?? documents needed

[hilltopfamily]

We've invited my DD13's best friend along on Western itinerary cruise w/us this summer. She's been in foster care for at least 8 years (the last 7 of which have been in the same foster home). Foster family & bio mom have all agreed to her joining us, and she has no dad in the picture. Do I get notarized letter from the State, since she's evidently a "ward of the state" and/or from bio mom (who doesn't have legal custody) or even from foster family? Anyone know?

 

I'll call her case worker next week and find out more, but I just wondered if anyone here had any ideas/knowledge about this? Thanks for any input you can give!!!

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[adoptmom]

Penny,

 

I can only speak from experience in Indiana which may have different laws but we were required to have a court order to take our foster kids across a state line and I don't believe we were allowed to take them out of the country at all. Not sure if that's an Indiana or federal law. Sorry.

 

I do know that approval will have to come from a caseworker and a judge though. The foster mom and bio mom have no legal right in this case to grant permission. It may help the judge to approve the trip but it's solely within his or her descretion.

 

I see that you're going in August so do call her social worker first thing Monday morning. That person should be able to tell you whether or not it's even a possibility and if so what documents you'll need.

 

I'm sure Carnival could also tell you if there's anything special they will need in this case. They've been very helpful with us since I didn't have time to get passports for the kids. One of mine has an Indiana birth cert but a place of birth in India so I have to also supply proof of citizenship. Next time I'll just get the passport before we make a last minute decision to go!

 

Well, I'm off. We leave in the morning! Good luck and I hope your daughter's friend can go. Foster kids kind of get left out of some of the cool things in life and I'd hate for her to miss out on this too.

 

Tami

[CabinForFour]

Obviously, the laws in your state may be a bit different, but I'll offer what I can from my own experience as a former DSS case manager and current psychotherapist working with children in foster care. The foster family and bio mom have no legal rights to release the child to go on the cruise with you unless the child has been adoptively or pre-adoptively placed with the foster family (not just a foster care placement). You must secure written permission from the child's foster care case manager (and perhaps even a judge, depending on your laws) in order to take her along or you could be charged with kidnapping.

 

Be aware that certain laws may not allow the case manager to approve the child's participation. A child in foster care in many states technically cannot even spend the night at a friend's home without completion of a home study for that home. In my experience, this is more strictly enforced by some case managers than others although it is part of CPS/DSS/DYS policy in most areas. Leaving the country with a child in foster care may be prohibited by your state's laws, as foster parents technically are not even allowed to cross state lines for vacation with their foster child without written approval from the case manager.

 

If you do get the approval for her to go, definitely be sure to ask for the birth certificate very early. I have seen many files with only a photocopy of the BC in the case file, so the case manager would have to contact the appropriate office in order to obtain a certified copy of the BC for you to take on the trip. This may take a while, so be sure to check on it early to avoid any disappointments at cruise time.

 

That being said, I personally hope that you can get the approval and give your child and her friend a wonderful vacation! Although I understand the rationale behind the above-mentioned policies, I think it's unfortunate that children in foster care are sometimes deprived of even the simplest normal childhood pleasures such as visiting/vacationing with friends. Good luck!

 

10th Anniversary Cruise -- Paradise, March 2004

 

Two Little Sailors: Victoria's First and Benjamin's Fourth cruise -- Carnival Victory, October 2003

 

Benjamin Sails to Bermuda-- Carnival Triumph, May 2002

 

Benjamin's Birthday Cruise -- Carnival Destiny, Jan. 2002

 

Benjamin's First Cruise -- Carnival Victory 2000

 

 

Paradise 3/04 - Exotic W. Caribbean

Carnival Victory 10/03 - Bahamas

Carnival Triumph 5/02 - Bermuda

Carnival Destiny 1/02 - S. Caribbean

Carnival Victory 10/00 - Nassau

Inspiration 7/99 - S. Caribbean

Tropicale 1/99 - W. Caribbean

Carnival Destiny 7/97 - W. Caribbean

Fantasy 4/96 - Bahamas

Fantasy 7/94 - Bahamas

[hilltopfamily]

Wow! Thank you both so much for your in depth information!! Sounds like I better get on this right away, and not waste any time since there may be a bit more involved here than I originally thought! The foster mom did tell me that she had already asked the case manager for permission (just verbal) and got it, but I better start lining up things in writing. She also indicated it would be "no problem" to get a birth certificate copy (I made sure & told her a raised-seal copy) but I better not run the risk of her putting this off and then running into a problem.

 

Just so happens that the friend is here right now~~~has been here all day, as she often does. She has stayed as much as 36 hours at a time with us on many different weekends. She has really had a tough go of things in her short life and enjoys spending a lot of her time at our place, with our family. In many ways she is like another family member to us, so we REALLY hope we can give her this opportunity. Seeing her enjoyment will be very gratifying for us.

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[hilltopfamily]

Oh, and I meant to say "bon voyage" and happy sailing to you, adoptmom!

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[Cruzbw]

The information given above is very good. I don't have any facts to add other than I know when we had foster kids, going to Canada from Washington State did require court action. So, the process can be involved and the advice is good. The one thing I wanted to mention to you is: I applaud you for establishing a home where she wants to come to visit. It is not just the "luck of the draw" that you have a home with that welcoming atmosphere. It is through your efforts and God knows that. So, keep it up!

Bill

[CabinForFour]

Hilltopfamily,

 

Please let us know how this turns out.

 

10th Anniversary Cruise -- Paradise, March 2004

 

Two Little Sailors: Victoria's First and Benjamin's Fourth cruise -- Carnival Victory, October 2003

 

Benjamin Sails to Bermuda-- Carnival Triumph, May 2002

 

Benjamin's Birthday Cruise -- Carnival Destiny, Jan. 2002

 

Benjamin's First Cruise -- Carnival Victory 2000

 

 

Paradise 3/04 - Exotic W. Caribbean

Carnival Victory 10/03 - Bahamas

Carnival Triumph 5/02 - Bermuda

Carnival Destiny 1/02 - S. Caribbean

Carnival Victory 10/00 - Nassau

Inspiration 7/99 - S. Caribbean

Tropicale 1/99 - W. Caribbean

Carnival Destiny 7/97 - W. Caribbean

Fantasy 4/96 - Bahamas

Fantasy 7/94 - Bahamas

[kitty9]

There are other things that you will probably have to do, via a court order. You will need lots of signed and notorized documents giving you permission to take the child out of the country. Just getting the foster parent's permission isn't enough and getting the case worker's permission isn't enough---you will have to go through the courts and if the courts are as backed up as they are here, you could be looking at more than a 6 month wait. Vacations aren't considered an emergency situation and you won't be able to get a court date bumped up. You will also need a court order giving your permission to make emergency and medical decisions for the child. If your cruise is going into Mexico, you will need to make sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted because the Mexican officials are real sticklers for the legal issues.

 

I wish you the best and hope this child can go with you on the cruise.

 

Darcie

[hilltopfamily]

thanks so much guys! All your comments have been really helpful and now I feel like I know better what I need to do to make this cruise a done deal!

Cruzbw: thanks for the many kind words!! Though I'm not sure how much we deserve them. I just know we're very happy she likes our family, we sure do like her and want to do something nice for her. She's just a good kid who's been handed a crummy situation.

Cabin for 4: You bet---I'll try to let you guys know how it works out in the end.

 

I called today and spoke again with foster mom. Got a lot of things smoothed out, and now have the name & # for the case manager so I can speak directly with her tomorrow & get going on the court order. Foster mom is already working on the certified copy of birth certificate, and she assures me "no worries" about the whole thing, though I'll be much happier once I know the court order is a done deal!

And to kittyb: good comments about the potential for courts being backed up and vacations not being a priority~~~hope we don't run into this! Yes, our cruise goes to Mexico, so we'll really need to have all required documents. thanks again everyone and any further comments or recommendations are certainly welcomed!

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[m00k3y]

Heya Hilltopmom,

 

You from Kearney?

 

Good luck on getting everything worked out. Hope it is all *Smooth Sailing* !!!!!

 

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[hilltopfamily]

hi mook3y~~~nope, not from Kearney. Lincoln like you! Small world

 

thanks for the well wishes.

 

Got a message on answering machine tonight to return call to the case manager tomorrow, hope to find out positives when I call her back.

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[hilltopfamily]

Here's an update, for those who were wondering and nicely asking me to keep them updated on our progress.

 

Talked with the case manager as well as foster mom this week. The case manager is obtaining a court order and is getting the certified copy of the BC. She is getting me a medicaid card to bring for health care concerns, should they arise (hadn't thought about this one!). I think they have already done some type of background check on me & DH (at least it was implied early on that they would likely do this). She stated it would be very unlikely that we'd have problems getting both of these (court order & BC) in time for the cruise (sure hope she's right!). She also indicated there was nothing further on my end that I needed to do at this time. So, it all sounds positive so far.

 

Penny

Disney Magic~~Eastern 7/03

Carnival Celebration~~Western 3/04

Aug 1, 2004 Carnival Elation--Yippee, Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[kitty9]

Happy things are going smoothly. But I cannot stress enough that you must have, in addition to the BC and court order, the notorized letter giving you permission to make any emergency decisions for the child, including medical decisions. It might also be a good idea to make absolutely certain that Medicaid is accepted outside the US (from my experience in working with such things, I'm not so sure it is). If, heaven forbid, the child needs medical attention, it could cost you a lot of money if you find out after the fact that Medicaid won't pay for out of US charges.

 

Darcie

[bravemom]

You've gotten alot of great information so far-as a former Foster Care Supervisor I would suggest that in addition to the suggestions already made the following:

 

Take along with you: the original notorized copies of any court docs. that give you permission, the social workers buisness card, and if possible the presiding judge's buisness card as well as a letter from DSS with a short synopsis of the circumstances and the related verifications,

 

Get a notorized permission for medical care (check with the social worker in your state to determine if this needs to be supplied by DSS officials),

 

Get travel insurance-it is unlikely that the child's medical coverage will carry outside their home state let alone out of the country-for a relativly low fee you can ensure that medical expenses will be covered (I've had to use it twice for ear infections on my kids while out of state:our HMO did not cover),

 

Make sure that both the child's Social Worker and Eligibilty Worker know of the circumstances (the EW is in some states the person who handles the cash/medical issues) this could prevent major headaches for the Foster Parents-you never know if some well meaning individual will report the child as missing from the home (and therby throw a hitch into the Foster Parent's receipt of the child's cash and medical benefits).

 

Hope you have a wonderful time-take loads of photos for both the foster family and birth mom (who it sounds from your postings in positivly participating in her daughter's life).

[hilltopfamily]

thank you both, Darcy & Bravemom, for the helpful additional info. I think I'm going to print out this whole thread so when I speak to the caseworker again I can make sure I don't forget something!! There is so much good info you guys have all shared with me. :) But this is a lot to remember! And you're probably right, I have no idea if Medicaid is of any use outside of the US, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. (for that matter, wouldn't be surprised if my DH's companys' new insurance is worthless also---note to self: call our own insurance tomorrow & check on this!!!) I did go ahead and get the travel insurance recently. I only hope we haven't "bitten off more than we can chew" with this adventure! :D

 

thanks again to everyone who has helped me with this. You've been great!