Cha-ching! How Much Does It Cost To Get Ready For Foster Care?

Howdy.  I thought it might be informative to explain to y'all the various costs involved with getting ready for foster care or foster-to-adopt.   It is by no means free and the costs below are in no way reimbursed by CPS, but we figure soon-to-be parents spend boatloads of money getting ready for their kids all the time, so this is no different...except most parents don't have to lock up medicines and pay for a stream of inspectors to come through their house...though maybe some should!

Anyway, below is a list of our out-of-pocket costs in this licensing process.  If you were to jump into this yourself, some of these may not apply to you, like you may either have no firearms in the house or already have a gun safe, and you may not have carpet that needed cleaning, etc.   But unless your reaction is "I already have that", you would be required to pay for and take care of the things below.

Fire extinguisher  $62
Tuberculosis tests $46 ($23 each)
Health Department inspection fee  $30
Fire Department inspection fee  $36
Outlet safety covers  $9

Lock that Trent installed on bathroom cabinet to store medications  $5

Lock box for psychotropic meds (ADD, depression, etc) to store inside locked cabinet (have to be double locked)  $12

HVAC inspection (part of FD inspection, we used Capstone Mechanical)  $130
Gas appliances inspection (part of FD inspection, we used Bukowski Brothers Plumbing) $80
Smoke detectors in every bedroom, hallway and living space (we bought all new/better) $56

Carbon monoxide detector  $20
CPR and First Aid training $100 ($50 each)
Fingerprinting  $82 ($41 each)
Fireplace screen (has to be unmovable/attached so we found one online with doors that Trent is going to bolt to the brick on the sides and add a good door latch to)  $139

Gun safe  $130
Trigger/bolt locks  $9
Separate ammunition safe and lock  $15
Whole house deep clean $276
Carpet cleaning $119

A couple of those things haven't actually happened yet (FD inspection and CPR/First Aid training), but we know what our cost will be.  We don't foresee any more costs directly related to our licensing and approval process.

So that leaves us with a grand total of $1,356.  Whew.  Now on to basic furniture, clothing, toys and supplies...