Organize Your Life

As foster parents, you are given the responsibility of knowing which child needs to be at the doctor’s office this week and which child has football playoffs in two weeks. At any given time you need to be able to tell a counselor or judge when a child came to your home, how they are doing in school, and whether they have any behaviors or needs.

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With overcrowding in our foster homes, this sometimes means that you could be caring for 5, 10, or even 15 or more children at once. Most people have trouble remembering their own doctor appointments, let alone those of 10 others! Follow these simple rules to make your life more organized and hopefully more enjoyable:

1. Take a deep breath and smile each time a child walks through the door.
   
2. No counselor should leave your doorstep until you have in hand the counselor’s name, number and some kind of folder with the child’s social security number, birth date, and medical records. (Not to mention the child’s name!)
   
3. If the placement happens at an odd hour and they do not have that information, make an appointment for them to return the next day with all the information.
   
4. Keep a Polaroid on hand and take a happy picture. If a Lifebook has not been created, start one immediately. Include family, school and foster family pictures. Let the child take pictures of things that are special to them or glue in a special item they would like to remember. This is their memory, help make it a positive one. Let the child help decorate a Special Box that their Lifebook and case information can be stored in.
   
5. Document everything in a child’s case. Keep a spiral notebook on each child and document every visit by the counselor, family or therapist. Record behavior and any calls made or received regarding the child. Make sure this log is included in the child’s Special Box when they leave your home.
   
6. Invest in a locking, fireproof filing cabinet and organize alphabetically by the children’s first names. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to remember 10 different last names. Keep all school, medical, and psychological records current on each child. Keep a current picture on hand. Also include the number of the most current foster care worker, their supervisor and their emergency numbers if possible.
   
7. Keep a large calendar in the kitchen and write all appointments down on this calendar. In every home there are children that are self-appointed reminders who love to read the calendar and remind you of appointments you have written.
   
8. Amazingly, mothers have discovered that at any given time, the number of chores in the home just happens to correspond with the number of children in the home! Keep a large poster board and assign every child daily or weekly chores. Place stars next to each child’s name when they complete their chore. Reward children for good work.. The reward could be as large as an allowance or as small as a day or two without chores.
   
9. Reward the whole family with a special outing every week if everyone completes their chores. This helps the children motivate each other to finish their chores. You might even see them helping each other!
   
10. Assign dish duty and meal planning. Let the children choose meals for the week and depending on their ages, let them prepare the meals. Make sure the cook does not have to clean! This will motivate others to help you cook.
    
11. Give each child their own basket or bucket to keep their toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrush and other incidentals in their own rooms. This keeps your bathroom clean and everyone is responsible for his or her own items.
    
12. Try to provide each child with their own suitcase that they store under their bed. Use marker to write their name on it so when they move, the suitcase it sure to go along. This makes a big difference in the self-esteem of a child. You can obtain these at second hand stores or ask local organizations to donate them. These children are not trash and their possessions do not belong in trash bags.
    
13. Keep large buckets or baskets throughout the house for toys. This makes clean up easy and assures that everyone can find a toy without fighting around one toy box.
    
14. Know your community resources. Create a list of resource numbers to include counseling centers, hotlines and emergency numbers. Keep this posted on the refrigerator for quick access.
    
15. Create a "Sitter’s Cheat Sheet" that stays on the refrigerator. Keep this sheet current and include each child’s full name, date of birth and social security number. Any allergies or medications should also be on this list. Your home phone and address should be on this list incase they need to page you or call for emergency assistance.
    
16. And perhaps your best organizing tool yet: take respite time !! You and your spouse need some time every month to experience peace and quiet, and create a new strategy to keep them on their toes next month! This could be a day trip to another town or an overnight trip to the beach or mountains. Organized foster parents like to call this a "Scheduling and Planning Conference" so the kids will not want to go!