Medicals for fostering or adoption

When I worked as a foster child caseworker in the early 90's, it was mandatory that once a child was placed, he/she underwent a full physical and psychological examination, regardless of age. I have no idea what it's like now.

@maletist that is what I would have expected to happen at that time. It was the case in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s that examinations were carried out. No idea if that is still the case.

I adopted my step daughter a few years ago. She was required to have a letter from her pediatrician affirming that she was in apparent good health. It was a normal well child checkup for her, nothing more. I had to get a similar letter, and the doctor I went to was a bit of an odd ball, in that he seemed to find the use of a tiny camera in my ear canal to be the most interesting and amusing thing known to man. Ear scope aside, his check was basically on par with “well, he isn't dead yet”. Money paid, letter written and off I went to fumble with the court system for another 8 months.

@maletist that is what I would have expected to happen at that time. It was the case in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s that examinations were carried out. No idea if that is still the case.

I do believe that this is still the case to some extent as I remember reading about this in some information pack’s about fostering from our local fostering team not to long ago

Hey there! I'm not a hundred percent sure about the specifics of this, but as far as I know, before the 1980s, there wasn't a strict mandate for medical exams during adoptions or fostering. It would really depend on the agency involved and their specific requirements. Today, of course, there are more robust protections in place to ensure the well-being of the kids involved. I don't have personal experience with it, but I know someone who started fostering in Oregon a few years ago, and they mentioned that medical exams were pretty much standard now for both the parents and kids. Hope that helps a bit!

Not only have children/adolescents been required to have physicals but prospective adults are as well and it is a complete examination. The exam forms are then completed by the doctor and passed onto the State per legal requirement. Let's just say that the form contains all relevant information relating to one's history, record of vaccinations and examination results including genital and rectal exam.

A friend of mine in college was one of the first people I opened up to about my fetish for physical exams. He had been in the foster system very briefly (2 homes in a span of about 2 years) from age 12-14 and he told he had been given a very complete physical upon entering the system, a smaller check up after a year, and another very complete one at the end. He said he was taken to a state health clinic for it.