Hurry Up and Wait

Well, we're in the "hurry-up-and-wait" phase of this process. On June 14th, we attended our informational session. It was a good experience overall, but left us with more questions than answers. Most of those questions are not things we'll be able to answer until we're working directly with a social worker through the process, so for now we have decided to continue until we feel we shouldn't anymore.

The informational session was about an hour and a half presentation with time to answer questions. Many people in the room were there because they already have a child in their home, or know of a child who needs a foster parent, and they want to be that person. A few of us were there because we wanted to take youth who needed a place to stay. The questions were different based on each situation, but ultimately we came away with the feelings that:

1) Foster parents are needed in our state, and specifically our county.

2) Fostering can be a difficult journey (no big surprise), and the youth who are in the program can be very damaged.

3) It's unlikely that the first placement we get will be our 'forever' baby.

4) We are going to have to be VERY picky, for our sake and the child's sake, with who comes in to our home.

After the presentation, it was time to submit our paperwork. We were fingerprinted- proudly, I can say that was my first time. My husband, unfortunately, can't say the same thing. Once fingerprinting was over, we met with one of the volunteers, who looked over our paperwork, put everything together and took it from us.

We knew that we would have an extra step, in comparison to some applicants. Since Dan had been arrested in college, we knew we would have to answer some extra questions. So on July 2nd, we received a packet with paperwork for Dan to fill out based on the 'who/what/why' of his arrests, and a chance to explain what he had learned and why he should still be approved as a foster parent. He filled those out and attached some documents to help explain things, and that was all submitted yesterday (July 12).

So now we wait (again). A panel convenes monthly to go over all of the situations similar to ours, and determine who is still eligible to foster/adopt. While this isn't the most difficult part of the foster-to-adopt journey, it is the first 'make-or-break' point we have reached. If they say no, this leg of our family-building journey is over. If they say yes, it's only just begun! We should hear within 30 days, and if we are approved, it's on to PS-MAPP classes (10 weeks of classes to prepare us for The System).

We'll keep you updated!

-Jenn