Kendall
Third time's a charm, hopefully! I've been called twice before for kids, but both times something happened at the last minute and the kids went to another home. The last time it was because the county social worker didn't want to drive the 30 minutes to my house so she found one closer to her office. But, I got a call for a placement yesterday afternoon. There are three kids (2 boys and a girl) who need a foster home. The oldest is a 9 year old boy who has a court order that says he has to stay in his current school. I am in that school district so it looks good! They were going to be placed with me today, but the county didn't have a social worker available that could process them today. Since Monday is a holiday, no one will be working. So, I am supposed to get them on Tuesday. It is a 9 yr old boy, a 4 yr old boy and a 2 yr old girl. I have been told they don't have any behavioral issues other than just normal kid stuff so that is good.
So finally, after being certified for 6 months, I will have kids in my house.
I am in the process of actually switching from Foster/Adopt to the straight Adoption program. But, if it turns out that these kids fit in my family and become adoptable that will make the adoption process go faster. And if they end up going back to their biological family, I will be looking for kids that are already available for adoption.
I don't have much information about these kids so I will have to just play it by ear and see what happens. I won't be allowed to post names or pictures but I will update as much as I can once I have them.
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Sorry I haven't posted for so long. There hasn't really been anything new to share. I have been certified with my agency since July, but I wasn't available for placements until September because of the vacation I already had scheduled. I've gotten a couple of calls with available children, but nothing has actually come through. I'm hoping something will happen soon, but for now I'm still waiting.
On a different note, my trip to Alaska was awesome! I am really glad I was able to get on last vacation in!
I'll post again as soon as I hear anything.
Things are moving pretty quickly with the certification process. I took the second training class last weekend. I actually didn't need to take it yet, but I wanted to get it out of the way. This class was training for adopting (as opposed to foster care). I didn't need to take it until I actually have children in my home that I was ready to adopt. Since they were offering it now I went ahead and took it. It was another 8 hour day, but now its done and I don't need to worry about later.
I am all done with the paperwork and most of the classes. The only thing I need is to take the water safety class. They don't know exactly when they will be having the next one, but it will be sometime in the next few weeks. After that, I just need the social worker to come back and check my house for all the safety items. I should be certified by the end of July. Yea!!
Then comes vacation and when I get back I will be ready for kids! I'm not sure how long I will have to wait for a match, but I'm pretty sure I will have one before the end of the year.
This whole process has gone so smoothly and quickly, I can't believe it! I hope this doesn't mean that there will be a lot of hassles later in the adoption process. We'll have to wait and see, but for now it looks really good!
I took my first class on Saturday for the fost/adopt program. It was a long day 8 - 5, but it was interesting. Some of the people in the class have already been foster parents and were just there to keep up their hours (you have to continually take classes while fostering and need a certain amount of hours a year). I learned a lot about the process, about parenting and about myself. Although it was really long, it was a good class. I think everyone who wants to become a parent should take this sort of a class.
I got my dossier back from Ukraine on Friday. I think the foster agency will accept my medical form, which helps alot, but they still need to do their own home study. I still should be certified in August.
I am taking one last vacation at the end of August - first week of September. I am going to Alaska. That's someplace I've always wanted to go. We are staying in Anchorage and doing some day tours. I am excited about going, I think its going to be an awesome trip! Then, when I get back I will be all ready to welcome kids into my house.
I am getting the house ready. I had to get beds in the kids room. That is something I wasn't ready to do when I was adopting from Ukraine. First, since I didn't know if I would be bringing home a boy or a girl or both or their ages I didn't want to decorate yet. Also, in my mind, decorating the room would make everything very real. I knew the process could be very difficult and a lot of families come home without children. I didn't want to get too excited about something that may not happen. It was just one way for me to limit the heartbreak if it didn't work out. I guess I was right to do that. Although it was a HUGE disappointment when I found out that I couldn't adopt from Ukraine, I had no tangible reminders of my lost children in the house. It made it just a little bit easier to move on.
I feel really good about this agency and my decision to fost/adopt. I put beds in their room and decorated it. I have a few sets of clothes, pajamas, toothbrushes and things that might be needed for the first day or so until I know what ages/sexes I will have and can actually go get something specific.
Right now, my house is all ready. I just need to get the paperwork finished.
Well, sort of. I still haven't heard anything from the SDA or my facilitator. I did hear from Cathy Harris. She said that this new law is still a big fight in the Ukrainian Government and one group is trying very hard to reverse it, but it looks like Parliament is going to win this one. She also said that the SDA has started to refuse dossiers from single and older parents. I don't understand why the SDA hasn't said anything one way or the other about my dossier that has already been submitted. I am frustrated at the lack of communication, but I think that is typical for Ukraine.
Although it still isn't official from the SDA, I have requested that my facilitator return my dossier. I'm done. I have moved on and I'm happy with my decision.
So, I am getting certified to foster/adopt. A year ago, this didn't feel right to me. Now it does. I'm not going to look at other countries, I think a domestic adoption is best for me. I will be getting a lot more support financially by adopting out of the foster system. Since I am planning on adopting and not just fostering I will be a little more picky about what children are placed in my home. Because of the financial benefits, it will be easier for me to take siblings which is what I have been hoping for.
I have a few things I need to do to my house before I am certified, but they are minor. Just things like cabinet locks and a lock for my spa cover. I also had to get a bed in the kids room. I didn't do that before because I wasn't sure what I was going to come home from Ukraine with. And I still don't know, but I can't get certified without a bed in that room! I had the day off work yesterday so I went and bought bunk beds.I bought a nice set that can either be bunk beds or just two regular twin beds. I will also have to get a car seat in case I get real young kids. But all of that is easy to do. I should be certified by the end of August. My agency has said that after being certified it takes 3 to 4 weeks to get a child. It might take me a little longer since I want to wait for ones that I can adopt. But, there are so many kids that need good homes, I don't think it will take too long.