Advice needed quickly please, foster child has stolen money....

[Gymbob]

My husband noticed that £80 had been taken from a wad of £500 we had stashed. This morning I noticed that FD was holding on to her purse rather a lot, and carrying it all around the house with her, so while she was in the shower tonight I looked in it, and there was £75 and a couple of pounds in change. I know she had no money.

I've left it in her purse for now and not said anything while I figure out the best course of action.

Do I take the money, and leave an IOU, do I just take the money, do I leave it. Do I confront her? Trouble is she is going out tomorrow afternoon with friends. It's our money and we want it back, if we leave it there it will be gone by tomorrow evening.

Obviously this will be dealt with through the proper channels come Monday, but until I talk to the SW what would you do?

Any advice at all would really be appreciated.

[Inneedofbrandy]

Hmm I was in care but the places where I lived no money would have been left out ie it would be in the fp locked bedroom or another house was a locked safe. I did use to steal off my mum and nan but that was fag or cider money not big amounts ( and I never got caught thank god) am not a thief now.

I know everyone has said how nice it is you never mentioned it but I actually think that was quite cruel. I expect she was sweating about it since it went missing and torturing herself why she did it. Better if you had said I've took my money back I'm not happy about it but this time we'l let it slide. It's really hard being a looked after kid in someone else's home I will never forget turning up at strangers houses with my blackbags of stuff and after the paperwork social worker goes and your stuck there wondering if you can have a drink. Urgh horrible no matter how nice the people were ( or not in all but 2 of the foster placements I was in)

[bonnieslilsister]

Sorry gymbob did fc say your dd had been doing it for yrs and never been caught or was it fd?

[bonnieslilsister]

Inneedofbrandy I can't begin to think how hard that must have been

[Inneedofbrandy]

Yes it was but I was a right brat back then so feel quite sorry for what I put the nice ones through. The feeling of not belonging/ being part of the family is the worst, you watch everyone laughing and chatting but know you don't belong. The first fh I went to we weren't even allowed in the living room, but I dont want to hijack thread!

Do you give her a clothing allowance OP? Maybe she needs bras or something personal she doesn't feel she can ask for?

[Gymbob]

Hi all thanks for your comments, it seems one or two of us did the same when we were children. I can't acutally remember stealing from my parents, although i'm sure i probably did - I was a horrid teenager with a strict father trying but failing to control me.

We still haven't been able to talk to the girls, as the sleepover children are still here, but we will do so later on. FD is happy this morning.

Inneedofbrandy - sorry if you think I have been cruel. It was so unfortunate that she noticed the money had been taken back on her birthday. I couldn't risk her spending the £75, and I didn't know how else to do it, as i said it would have been dealt with straight away if it wasn't for the fact it was her birthday. Of course I make mistakes and maybe that was one of them, but I did have honourable intentions. FD gets pocket money and the opportunity to earn extra if she wants to. She earned herself over £80 during the summer holidays doing jobs for me, but she isn't interested in doing anything just lately as she can't be bothered. She does ask for innappropriate clothing that I refust to buy, so once or twice she has been out herself and bought it with her own money. I'm sorry too that you had such a rough time yourself.

Bonnie - yes I'm surprised about my DD, and it has possibly been going on for years, rather stupidly in hindsight we trusted them with lots of cash hanging about. FD told me a couple of things last night about DD taking money
that will be true, but she will get chance to explain. We work with cash, so have a lot in the house at any one time. We maybe should have had a safe all along, but hubby has been out this morning and bought a cash box and a couple of locks for our bedside tables.

They won't be asked to pay anything back, but I'm sure we will never find out how much they took between them anyway. It will probably run into the hundreds I should think.

The friends are leaving soon, so we will be sitting down with them for a chat. I'm sure there will be some revelations as they try to drop each other in it like they usually do, but I'll come back later and update.

[Inneedofbrandy]

Oh see I always had a clothing allowance of £1 a day and any extras I needed like name brand trainers were out of my £100 Christmas and birthday money allowance. It was always up to me what clothing I had to.

I do think it was horrible to let her sweat but I do see you were doing it not to ruin her birthday. I think the cash box is a really good idea although any money that went missing if you don't have one would surely be replaced by SW?

[NanaNina]

Inneedofbrandy It's so rare that we get to hear from an adult who was fostered. How about starting a thread of your own about your experiences. Just a thought.......

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

Inneedofbrandy - I'll never forget that either. I still have that feeling of not belonging, and I second everything you said. It's odd to have someone who knows how that feels - I don't think its imaginable unless you've been through it yourself.

Gymbob - I hope your chat goes well. I think FD will understand why you didn't mention it to her, and hopefully she'll have learnt from this. You sound like a good FM - I wish I'd had someone as caring as you.

[NanaNina]

Come on Inneedofbrandy and CajaDeLaMemoria there are 2 of you now, so it would be so good if you could start a thread and maybe that will draw in other adults who were fostered and it's not often we get to hear from people who went through the fostering system when they were children.

[Fosterangel]

Inneedofbrandy - you have given me something to think about. Thanks for waking me up to how

Eerm...... have to 'fess up about the safe thing. It is actually not to keep money safe from foster or birth children (but we do keep cash in it). We bought a safe to keep important docs like passports, driving licences, birth certificates (ours and the foster teens) in one safe place. My filing system is rubbish and we could never find anything. Everyone uses it and it has been invaluable

[Fosterangel]

Oops. Posted too soon. Meant to say thanks for waking me up to how even when you as a foster carer believe your foster children feel "at home" we do need to check in with them sometimes. Thanks. I will be doing that this half-term!

[Inneedofbrandy]

I will when I get chance to get on the computer not iPod, my fingers are to fat for long posts!

Caja it was the worst feeling ever right, I found it much easier to be horrible and keep myself from belonging then try to fit in.

[Inneedofbrandy]

Did it Nina!

[KnickersOnOnesHead]

I don't think the op was intentionally cruel.

Hope you managed to have your chat with the girls today op. And I am so glad to see you reassure her that she wouldn't be going to live somewhere else. The threat of that as a fc is always the worst feeling.

[bonnieslilsister]

How did it go Gymbob? Have been thinking of you today.

Have some to cheer you up

[Gymbob]

Hi Bonnie, thanks for the flowers.

Well we have had stern words, listened to them, and cleared the air. We have said that is the end of the matter, and as it has been put to bed it will not be dragged up again. We all know where we stand, and we all know what is expected of us.

There were tears of course (lots of mine too). FD was more upfront that DD, although she didn't have much choice as she was more or less caught red-handed. DD on the other hand, would only admit to helping herself once, she gave a reason (that I had asked them both to pay for something they thought was unfair, and instead of saying so, DD took the money back herself from my stash). We suspect DD is not telling the truth and that she has taken much more than the £10 she admitted to.

We told them we now have a cashbox, and FD was relieved saying that knowing there was money around was a temptation so the cashbox would remove it, and could we please keep it after trust has been restored.

FD was offering punishments for herself to us, which we have declined. She has been clucking round me all evening trying to make it right. She knows full well I will have to share with her SW, and is devastated knowing she will lose face.

Inneedofbrandy and caja - i hope she feels like she belongs, i think she does but you have made me want to reinforce that with her.

Oh, one more thing I hardly dare tell you all.... I am horrified that last night with all the shenanigans i left my computer for a few mins mid post, and FD slipped into the empty room and read this thread. I am always so careful, with passwords, and a screensaver that cuts in after seconds, but the events of the night obviously caught me out

[NanaNina]

InneedofBrandy well done you! I will watch it with interest

[bonnieslilsister]

Whoops Gymbob, well just shows you shouldn't read other peoples messages! She has learned a few lessons this weekend

[Inneedofbrandy]

No don;t watch join in.

Big whoops OP I expect it made her feel awful (in a good way) how upset you were and I don't think you will have any more of these type problems from her.