Final Training: Invite Only

There is one training that you get invited to when you're near the end of the verification process, its by invite only and they give you a handbook + review all regulatory and compliance info.  I haven't been overwhelmed too much during this process.  Only random points here and there when they tell me something completely new and I then feel the need to go review and learn anything and everything I can on that topic.  Most training classes have been behavior type classes, therapeutic parenting, cultural trainings, medication trainings, CPR/First Aid training.  Most of that I've heard before and my degree if family studies/child development so it wasn't completely new info.  This last class was quite different. 

Some of the classes, the instructors say we'll give you all the details of this later in a handbook and that was this class.  Info overload.  I mainly got nervous because there are so many timelines.  And it can change based on each child. 

In general:

• All kids have to be enrolled into school within the first 3 days of placement.  This doesn't sound too hard unless, like me, you've never enrolled a kid before... I plan to go talk to the school soon to get all the paperwork and review it before I get a placement. Also, if I get a child on Friday, they would have to be enrolled Monday so just the time crunch of that along with dealing with my work and the quick turnaround time for her to get into school.
• Appointment with PCP within 30 days.  So hopefully the handful I've selected are taking new patients and they can get me in within 30 days. 
• appointment with Dentist within 60 days.  Again, hopefully they can get us in but I would imagine most can work something out in that time.
• Psych eval, just to gauge where the child is mentally and emotionally. This also plays into their level of care which determines quite a few things.
• Family visits (parents + siblings) are usually weekly.
• Sibling visits are monthly and the family visit above doesn't count.  Must be outside that time for siblings to meet and hangout.
• Paperwork (mileage logs, parenting forms, child progress notes) have to be turned in by the 10th of each month.
• Major events should be reported with 24 hours (ER visits, child gets sick/hurt, medical/dental appointments).
• Any time we will not be staying at home overnight, case manager must know and approve
• Any time we will be leaving the state, case manager, CPS worker, treatment team (all doctors seeing the child) must approve. 
• Case managers will then be coming by once a month to check in and see how things are going. 
• CPS will come by once a year, typically unannounced.

At this point, I'm trying not to get overwhelmed with all the dates/timelines and to take the to-do list day by day.  I plan to have a binder with all the info that each of these places would need so when the time comes, I've got it all together or at least know what each place will expect, but I only know what I've been told thus far.  I'm sure I'll have a new post down the road with stuff I wish I knew, but at this time, this is all I got.