Intro
Mar 6, 2017 14:54:31 GMT -5
Post by lobster on Mar 6, 2017 14:54:31 GMT -5
Hi All,
I've been a long time lurker on GBCN and I came across a thread recommending this place. My H and I are nearing the end (I hope) of the Foster Care licensing process. We started last October. We started our training classes last Thursday and have our 2nd Home Study visit this week. All of our background check and paperwork are complete.
We have been married for a little over 5 years. We don't have any children of our own. Though we have been TTC for over 2 years. My H is adopted and we've always talked about being foster/adoptive parents as well as trying for biological children. Before we went to any information sessions, we discussed fostering younger children, like 0-10. But when we went to a session and talked to some of the licensing/case workers, we heard about how the greatest need in our area is for older children and sibling groups with older children. So, we decided to leave our range wide open and accept any child, any age. We are starting out to be able to take in 2 children, but we have have space to expand that in the future. Being the planner that I am, that is a little terrifying. So, for the last few months I have been trying to collect a couple outfits, pajamas, underwear, etc. for each age range. Which has led me to take over an entired walk-in closet to store all my Foster supplies. I don't have much for the teenagers, because I figure they won't be too impressed with my styling.
The training classes have been a little intense. We have 3 more to go before we are finished. The instructor is a Social Worker/Foster Mom. She has 14 (!) kids in her house right now and has fostered over 100 kids over the years. She has adopted 10 of them and is about to adopt 5 more. So, needless to say, she has some stories. Some of them are pretty terrifying. She fosters kids with severe behavioral or medical issues, so I have to keep reminding myself that they are the extreme end of the spectrum. I'm equal parts excited and terrified to get our first placement.
I'm trying to figure out what else I can get in order now like schools, doctors, daycare, etc.
Anyways, I'm excited to join this community if you'll have me! Reading through old posts here has been helpful already!
I've been a long time lurker on GBCN and I came across a thread recommending this place. My H and I are nearing the end (I hope) of the Foster Care licensing process. We started last October. We started our training classes last Thursday and have our 2nd Home Study visit this week. All of our background check and paperwork are complete.
We have been married for a little over 5 years. We don't have any children of our own. Though we have been TTC for over 2 years. My H is adopted and we've always talked about being foster/adoptive parents as well as trying for biological children. Before we went to any information sessions, we discussed fostering younger children, like 0-10. But when we went to a session and talked to some of the licensing/case workers, we heard about how the greatest need in our area is for older children and sibling groups with older children. So, we decided to leave our range wide open and accept any child, any age. We are starting out to be able to take in 2 children, but we have have space to expand that in the future. Being the planner that I am, that is a little terrifying. So, for the last few months I have been trying to collect a couple outfits, pajamas, underwear, etc. for each age range. Which has led me to take over an entired walk-in closet to store all my Foster supplies. I don't have much for the teenagers, because I figure they won't be too impressed with my styling.
The training classes have been a little intense. We have 3 more to go before we are finished. The instructor is a Social Worker/Foster Mom. She has 14 (!) kids in her house right now and has fostered over 100 kids over the years. She has adopted 10 of them and is about to adopt 5 more. So, needless to say, she has some stories. Some of them are pretty terrifying. She fosters kids with severe behavioral or medical issues, so I have to keep reminding myself that they are the extreme end of the spectrum. I'm equal parts excited and terrified to get our first placement.
I'm trying to figure out what else I can get in order now like schools, doctors, daycare, etc.
Anyways, I'm excited to join this community if you'll have me! Reading through old posts here has been helpful already!