Where are Foster kids housed prior to being placed in a private home? Is it like a nursing home for kids?

We are in Knoxville, Tn.
My wife & I are considering fostering and also wanted to know if anyone knows of a good local agency.
Thanks in advance!
M&G

My husband and I live near Knoxville, Tn and we do foster care. We have been doing it for 3 years. Most of the time the kids get taken straight out the their biological homes and put into foster care and a foster family gets them on emergency placement until a more permanent placement can be made. I would love to talk to you more about this.

With their families.

Children will be placed with Foster Parents who take children on an emergency basis for 3 to 10 days when they have been removed from their home. Then they are put in more permanent housing ( not that it is permanent cause it sure isnt and kids are moved around a lot).

They are with their families before going into foster care. In between being with their families and going to a private home, they occasionally go to a very short term "shelter" style facility. This is just a place to briefly stay if a foster family hasn't been found yet. If they have emotional or other health issues, they may go to a hospital setting first. Most of the time, however, they go straight to a foster home.

Children are not placed in foster care only in cases of being removed from their homes. Some children go to temporary foster care because they have been relinquished, but no adoptive family has been found yet. This was the case with me. In cases of failed adoptions, children also go in to foster care.

There are many different answers to this.

- In the best case scenario, they are placed in temporary foster care. I.e. in a foster home, but with the knowledge that they will only be there for a week or so. My wife and I did several temporary fosters while waiting for a long term (foster to adopt) placement.

- There are some temporary or emergency housing institutions. These are similar to the idea of an orphanage, but meant only as a place the child can stay for a day or two while a more permanent solution is sought.

- In the worst case scenario, these kids end up sleeping on couches at police stations, CPS offices, or other similar places. This is usually only for one night, but, in rare cases it can last longer.

Call your local CPS office and they should be able to suggest any agencies that work with them. We live in Texas and worked with a non-profit agency that contract through the state to train foster/adoptive parents and help with the process.

Edit - Yes, the video is horrible. But, I it clearly the extreme. We live in Texas and when we were licensed as a foster facility we were regularly inspected by licensing and had monthly visits from the CPS case worker for the kids. We were never cited for any problems, but received 'verbal warnings' for 'minor' problems like, such as having our laundry detergent too low (within reach of a child) or for not having the garden shed locked (shut and latched, but not locked). I cannot imagine such a facility could exist without bribes or political influence.

In places like this some worse some better:
It's disturbing to watch... these people are still open for business.

Oh my Lord .... that video is so disturbing...
God will someone please listen to the advocates. LOOK AT THE VIDEO!!!
I would not even let my animals live like that... I am so disgusted at these Pro-foster care and adoption phycopaths. Kids stored like cattle.....

EEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR......

bizzi, that video is fu%king pathetic! it breaks my heart that we spend more on the ethical treatment of animals then on our nation's children.

this is my contention with adoption. when i read stories of people b!tching and moaning about not being able to get a baby, fresh out the oven--i think about these kids...

Where I live, kids are placed with families designated as emergency foster families. These families don't get long term placements, the kids are there for just a few days while they are arranging longer term placement.

As far as a good local agency for fostering, that's got me stumped. In my state, it's all handled through the state's dept of family services.

They are housed in Juvenile Hall or a very temporary Foster Group Home untill a permenant Foster Family is found! You're about to give a child a true gift..as most have been through hell & back..and only want a Home & Love. Good Luck to You!!!!!! & God Bless

Generally foster kids stay in foster homes. These are regular family homes where the parents take care of the children until a permanent placement is found (sometimes the kids go back home; sometimes to another foster home; sometimes to an adoptive placement; sometimes the kids stay with their foster parents until they "age out", or are adopted by the foster parents). Call the local DHS for more information.