I’ve had lots of questions and comments as of late regarding confidentiality. Lines, gray areas, etc. How does your agency define it? What guidelines do you follow?
I posted some of my thoughts on confidentiality here a while back. We went to a foster parent support meeting at our agency that discussed confidentiality, and Brian asked about our blog and any limits we should be keenly aware of. We were told that our blog as it is now is fine, just not to give case specifics, names, you know, social security numbers, that kind of thing.
Confidentiality limits with close family members is another difficult area to navigate. “Yeah, Mom? We’re coming to visit this weekend with three new kids, but can’t tell you a single thing about them.” Could be challenging. Thoughts?
Feel free to leave any tips or thoughts for new or prospective foster parents in the comments, and I also started a new discussion over at Fosterhood’s forum.
P.S. I will try to get caught up on the questions people have sent me about fostering! Since we’ve been a little out of the loop, I let it fall through the cracks – but I’m working on it! If I haven’t answered your question and it’s been a while, please resend it and I’ll answer it this time!
If you have questions about fostering or adopting then you can either e-mail them to me (my e-mail is over there on the right) or you can ask them in the “ask me anything” box over there on the right. See it? Yeah? Ask.
Confidentiality...almost every birth family we have met have had one, some, or all of the following...substance abuse, domestic violence, uneducated, low income, homelessness, physical abuse, neglect...we just speak to the situation in general. ie: Most families deal with the following... I will explain an expected behaviour (ie: Joey is a bit delayed in impulse control so if you sense that he is getting out of hand let me know right away)...we keep it simple. Regarding specific questions we are asked...the usual (honest) answer is simply..."We don't know." - MommyMary2Many
ReplyDeleteDo you post pics of foster kids on facebook?
ReplyDeleteI do post pictures on facebook - only because I make sure that my privacy settings are such that only my friends can see them - people who have already seen and probably know the kids in our home.
ReplyDeleteCan you email me the name of the agency through which you do your fostering? From what I have determined there are three or four main ones in Kansas as the foster care is privatized. Just hoping for a few thoughts on the pros and cons of the options.
ReplyDeleteThanks... sarahguild@yahoo.com