What a busy fall this has been for us! Here's a little bit of what's been going on:
In September we attended a 3 hour orientation meeting.
In October we completed a 27 hour training course.
Also in October we completed a First Aid/CPR course.
Any ideas yet on what's happening? I'll keep going...
In November we will be filling out a lot of paperwork. We will also be very busy cleaning and organizing our second bedroom and putting all the things in there that we don't need into storage. We will be purchasing outlet covers, untangling the cords on the blinds, locking up all our vitamins and medicine, and placing all cleaning supplies safely out-of-reach.
After all that we will have a special visit from a WA State employee. Of course before that visit we still have to purchase two fire-escape ladders, age-appropriate toys for ages 0-17, a water proof mattress cover, and a crib that converts into a toddler bed complete with bedding.
Have you figured it out yet?
We're going to be foster parents!!!! We have decided to do foster to adopt knowing that the majority of the children that come into our home will not be able to be adopted, but will return to their birth families. We will be open to inviting children of all ages into our home (hence the twin sized bed plus the crib that converts into a toddler bed) but we feel that the best fit for us at this time would be elementary school-aged kids (6-11, give or take a couple of years!)
Can you see how excited we are? A little nervous, a little apprehensive, but a LOT excited. We have both been waiting a long time for this!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nice. Are you licensing through an agency, or directly with the state? An agency can be nice for the additional support, but not all will do foster-to-adopt, so it's important to be clear about your intentions. And narrowing your licensing age-range isn't a bad idea either -- there are plenty of kids floating around the system of any ages, so you don't have to do 0-17 to keep your bed full.
ReplyDeleteAnd it might not be bad to just do respites and emergency placements for a while -- give you some experiences with a variety of kids with a variety of issues, so you can get a feel for what kinds of kids you can be most effective with, as well as working on your style and game-plan before getting your heart wrapped around a kid that you're going to want to keep. Many of them are adorable, but that doesn't mean that they'd be a good fit with you.
And if anybody talks about "therapeutic foster" and talks about way higher reimbursement rates, give me a call -- it's a bit trickier than it might sound.
But good luck and welcome to the system. I hope you can find what you want in it.
I am very excited for you guys, let me know if you need any help! Just remember those older and younger may have some emotional problems that may make it hard, just remember what they have been through and you guys will be a perfect place for them to see how much they are loved. If you have any questions or need any help with behaviors or anything feel free to call, or play dates!! :):):)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited and happy for you! I know you guys will be great parents! Keep us updated. I love and miss you lots!
ReplyDeleteThat is such great news! You will be so awesome. It takes a really special family to do foster parenting and you guys will be great. Looking forward to hearing more about it!
ReplyDeleteThat is very exciting! I'm so happy for you. Wishing you the best of luck. You guys will do great. The kids you foster will be very lucky.
ReplyDelete