As most of you know we had a second visit this week from our social worker. We have some more items on our to do list! Thankfully all our home study documents from October are still valid as they must have been completed within one year of the date of the home study. We need to get TB tests done, submit our paycheck stubs and all bills for April and May, and submit our Tax Return information from 2015. Also we had to complete training on foster parent expectations, independent living, Child abuse/Neglect investigations, Community and Social Services, Reimbursement and Forms, Crisis and On call situations, and Agency Requirements. For all of this we have to fill out training forms with our names, race, what we wanted to learn, what we learned and comments so we can get our hours for it. The stack of information is pretty hefty! We also had to signed that we received MEPA policy (more on MEPA later), privacy policy, agency rules and regulations, and a release of information for the agency that is good for 180 days.
Reading all of it is very daunting, juuuust because you realize there are a LOT of requirements and regulations placed on foster parents. You must complete daily logs, keep all receipts for mileage, log all medications, transport to doctor appointments and therapy appointments, and spend a certain amount on clothing a month. We also are expected to attend a training/meeting at TVN office every other Thursday night. Sometimes I think, where am I going to find the time! On top of that, everything in our lives is about to change.
Julie also wanted to talk with us a little about the two children, a girl age 6 and a boy age 4, that were referred to us for ADOPTIVE placement. They are half siblings and of course need to stay together and are very close. They are at the top of the ages we wanted to accept and we know they have had some serious trauma in the past and of course have behavior concerns due to that. We had asked for more information on these children and are prayerfully considering welcoming them into our home as adoptive placements. Their mother's parental rights have been terminated, so they are up for adoption. Children are placed in an adoptive home for a minimum of 6 months before they may be legally adopted. Unfortunately, their current foster home cannot adopt them and feel badly about this. We learned that this past weekend, the little girl had a "meltdown". Unfortunately, the meltdown must have been bad enough to send her to respite care for the weekend to indefinitely. I know that the caseworker feels badly about this and is really interested in meeting us if we are interested in taking these kiddos. Obviously we have some really big concerns and want to make sure that we can meet their needs. We have asked for a meeting with the caseworker to tell them about us, learn about these children, and discuss the option of pre-placement visits if we are willing to move forward. Will you join me in praying for these kids? The little girl probably feels bad that she got sent away to respite care and the little boy probably misses his sister.
Also, my parents are almost licensed foster parents through our county! I am so excited about this! It makes us feel so incredibly proud and supported. Support is the most important thing to us right now. This is so scary but we know it's going to be worth it.
I spent all day yesterday painting furniture that will go in the kids' rooms! I have two old dressers that I am painting white and I'm pretty excited with how they are turning out. I am really glad that each child will be able to have their own dresser and their own closet to themselves! I am having a lot of fun cleaning and planning how to decorate the rooms.
Also, thanks to those who have donated so far!! We can't believe the support and generosity we have already received! We are so fortunate and blessed to have such a community of support. We know we will need it. Thanks to the donations we have received so far, we were able to order our bunk beds last week and they will be delivered on Tuesday! They are able to be separated into two twins beds so we have some functionality based on the age and gender of children we receive! We also have a crib set up that can be transformed into a toddler then full size bed! Now we have to get sheets and bedding sets for all the beds and crib and make sure we have everything we need on hand to welcome any range of kiddos 6 and under into our home! Ah!
If you feel led to donate to help us prepare our home, you can click here.
If everything continues to go smoothly, we will most likely be licensed by May 30th! We are so excited that things are moving along!
Love,
Bethany
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