1st inquiry for a placement !

Today I had my first interview for a placement of a teen girl! I am looking forward to having a teen in the home; but I also know she is coming with 4-5 years of tough times, being separated from parents and siblings. I hope to keep my 'looking forward'-ness in check as I put her needs ahead of my own.
I've never been a full time mother and I'm 49 years old. The only parenting experience I've had is when I was married and we had his four (awesome) kids on Wednesdays and every other weekend. I also get the regular experience of taking my best friends 5yo son, Will, with me when I need a fix of youthfulness and energy!

Now, this is the normal routine for placing a child in a foster home in the Western Region of Utah. (There are 5 regions, most run the same): usually, Resource Family Consultants (RFC's) who are social workers employed by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) go over all possible families in a meeting, twice a week, as a team. They talk about the kids who have recently come into care, or maybe those that are not having success in their current placement and need to be moved. They discuss foster families that have openings, what city they live in, what life experience they have, if there is a stay-at-home parent or not, if there are other kids in the home and what their gender/ages are. THEN, they pick the three best homes for each child(or sibling group), and make their final decision from those three. However, sometimes there is not always 'three best homes' to choose from....sometimes there's only one family who fits the needs of the child and has the family strengths that would help the child/children best.

Then they make the phone call to that "chosen family" to see if they'd be willing to take the child/children and if so, when can they make it happen. It could be a nice, smooth transition that takes 1-2 weeks, or it could be a 'see you in 30 minutes!' type of placement. DCFS OFFICE HOURS are Mon - Thur 7a - 6p (as of August 2008; part of the governor's initiative to save the state money)

But, the type of placement (slow or immediate) also depends on which day it is (a workday, a weekend day or a holiday?) and what time of day (afterhours is from 6pm - 7am and Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays)....but DCFS in Utah has an 'after hours' phone for emergency placements, or to assist a foster parent who feels they are in an emergency situation with a child in custody. I beleive all 5 regions have that after hours access; if you know differently, let me know.