Forum Archive Homepage | Previous Post | Next Post

Questions to Ask Facility

Philippians 4v4|Questions to Ask Facility|65.172.9.211|yes||1052148519|

Greetings all. We are prayerfully considering becoming houseparents. We are considering basic care (dorm parents at boarding school, etc.) and maternity care. We have been married for almost 8 years and have 3 young children (5, 3 and 8 months). From your experience, what are the questions you would ask the home/facility.
Thank you for your input. It is greatly appreciated.

In His Service,
The Burkes

Gracecountry62|Questions to Ask Facility|66.54.1.38|yes|yes|1052189889|

First of all i salute you for stepping out as to becoming House parents with 3 children of your own. We have 4 and it has been very beneficial and rewarding for our own Children to share in the Ministry that the Lord has bestowed upon us .

First of all i would ask if the facility welcomes a couple with 3 children it will save you a lot of time and expense before pursuing your adventure in the direction of certain Facilities. There are a great deal of those who will not allow but only 2 or less but there are some that will welcome you with 3 or even 4 children of your own. I would ask them how large is the House parents living quarters we have found that there are those places that has 3 to 4 bedrooms and will go out of their way in helping you out by being flexable in your schedule especially when there is training to be done they either have that many children of their own or there are house parents who has 3 or more children and the leadership knows what it takes for those house parents to be able to care for their children as well as those children given to them to look after.

And there are those who will flat out tell you it can not be done with 3 or more children but we know different for we have attempted and with Christs help have accoplished such tasks. DO NOT DISAPOINTED when you hear such foolishness they apparently have never seen or had anyone with that many children do child care. It is also very beneficial if they allow you to stay in your own apartment when you have time off so that you will not have to drag your family to a staff house , this helps a great deal. God does and is calling even ones with large families in the Ministry of Child care .

We will keep you in our prayers as you allow God to lead you to that perfect place to meet the needs of you and your family.

webmaster|Questions to Ask Facility|24.116.176.5|yes|yes|1052227411|

My biggest suggestion is to spend as much time at the facility as you can during the interview, 2 or 3 days if possible. An hour or two at a facility will not give your a very good feel for the workings of the facility and you won't get a very good idea of what houseparenting is all about. Also visit with as many different staff members as you are allowed to. Ask them about the good and bad parts of their position, what they enjoy and what frustrates them.

Remember that even in Basic Care (boarding school, maternity home, residential care home) there is a great deal of therapy that takes place. Just the situations that lead up to being in a facility, will bring with it baggage that will lead to behaviors that need to be dealt with. It is not like raising your own children and requires training that hopefully the facility will provide.

I agree with Gracecountry about accommodations, the more space that you have and the less moving that you have to do the better. I have two children in our first home we had 110 square feet for all of us and had to move every other week. Very difficult. We now have three bedrooms and move once a month. The moving is still difficult.

I have been in childcare for almost 8 years; my children were fairly young when I started (5 & 2). In our case this is true; It is a whole lot easier doing childcare when your children are young. As they get older and they wish to become more involved with school and church activities it becomes more difficult for them. Trying to balance time between your birth children and home children becomes more difficult.

Also the number of children you are required to care for makes a big difference in your ability to do it with birth children. Two people can effectively care for only so many people and state regulations many times only allow you to care for so many children. A home that has 6 kids in the cottage and you have 3 of your own you have 9 kids, very manageable. A home that has 10 or 12 kids in the cottage and you have 3 of your own you have 13 or 15 kids, not so manageable. Each situation is different. In a boarding school situation you will be responsible for more children than you will in a maternity home situation.

One thing I have learned since I started in childcare is that each and every facility is different and it is very hard to make generalized statements about childcare and the situations you will face. You need to look at each facility you consider and if possible look at several facilities before you accept a position. Especially never having been houseparents. By looking at several facilities you will be able to compare situations and find the one that has the positives and negatives that fit you best, for their will surely be positives AND negatives with each situation. Be Blessed and I pray that God will lead you in this search, and you will sense His direction.


Gracecountry62|Questions to Ask Facility|66.54.1.38|yes|yes|1052242305|

Yes so true as the Webmaster has mention, it is very important to visit a facility and stay there for a few days. This will let you have a great opportunity to get to know the folks as well as the facilities opportunities.
Please take your time and allow God to lead you to the right place for this is a position that will be asking for a long term commitment.

God speed to you and yours

Grace and Peace|Questions to Ask Facility|67.1.57.214|yes|yes|1052284126|

Hi,
I would definately stay as long as they would let you. And ask the kids that are there how they like it. And I know they don't want to be there, so they might not say anything positive.
Ask the Administrators, how long they have been doing this and their experience.
We had the bookkeeper take over, and it was horrible for us. He would band-aid problems, didn't take the State requests/requirements seriously.
Pray about it and then pray some more.
We had a teen boy in with other teen boys and it was O.K. he became a mentor. And was able to reach them in a way we couldn't. He could go worship in Church and it meant something else for the others to see. Some facilities require one to push 'religion' down the kids throats, and I believe to life it in front of them.
One staff had CD's that weren't allowed for the boys and he'd tell them 'NO, you can't listen to that.' But it was O.K. for him to listen to them.
I will remember you in prayer.

Forum Archive Homepage | Previous Post | Next Post