Foster Adoption tips & experiences!

[Diva of Dragons]

Hi!

DH and I have been discussing adoption for a little while and have finally taken a step toward actually doing it! We went to the orientation and application workshops to adopt through the Foster care system in our county!

I'm excited and a bit nervous about how in depth they get with knowing EVERYTHING about your life. Any hint tips etc... would be greatly appreciated!

THANKS!!

 

[JESW]

Congratulations - hope all goes well! My db & sil are currently fostering an almost 2-year old boy from the state that they hope to adopt.

Jill

 

[dannyh23]

Congrats for your decision!

We just completed the process through our county as well for foster to adopt. While I know they look very, very deep, just keep in mind it's for a very good reason -- to make sure kids are safe. The homestudy isn't near as bad as I thought it would be.

If I was a battered mom and could not take care of my child until I got back up on my feet, I would 100% want to know that the foster family was checked out in every possible detail.

You may get frustrated with the delays, but remember it's a system with not enough money and not enough people.

Not sure what ages you are lookng at, but our county suggested we make up a little scrapbook about our us, our house, our pets, other family members, etc. They can show this to the child before they are placed so help them overcome fears of going to a "strange" house...

Best of luck and keep us in the loop!

 

[Diva of Dragons]

Thank you JESW & dannyh23!!

dannyh23: I knew that they would probed pretty deeply in to our lives. I was just taken aback when she said, "I know you won't be getting to us really well and this all takes place in such a short amout of time but we will be asking really personal questions." She then started telling us some of the questions they ask about your "intimate" life! Did they do that with you?

Also, how long did they want your autobigraphy to be? Ours said about 2 pages. That doesn't seem like a lot of space.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions!! Thanks in advance!

 

[dannyh23]

Thank you JESW & dannyh23!!

dannyh23: I knew that they would probed pretty deeply in to our lives. I was just taken aback when she said, "I know you won't be getting to us really well and this all takes place in such a short amout of time but we will be asking really personal questions." She then started telling us some of the questions they ask about your "intimate" life! Did they do that with you?

Also, how long did they want your autobigraphy to be? Ours said about 2 pages. That doesn't seem like a lot of space.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions!! Thanks in advance!

I think our autobiography by the time we were all said and done was about five or six typewritten pages. I imagine each county and state is a little bit different.

Yes, the questions were about as intimate as you could imagine -- covered all sorts of things like how you were raised, how I met my wife, why we want to be a part of the program, etc. They asked a ton of questions and we used that as a guide for the autobiography. Ohio requires 40 hours of class work, as well as CPR and First Aid training. They do a safety audit of your home, an FBI background check, go over all of your financial stuff, needed a physical by a doctor for the both of us, asked us for about 5 non-family references, a fire inspection by the fire marshall (with a written fire & emergency evacuation plan), we had two meetings with the home study person, and I'm sure there are a few other things I've forgotten. We also are asking for a child 0-3 years, so we had to have a room ready, crib, etc. It's a whirlwind process that they said would take about six months from the time we started until the time we are complete.

We passed everything and are now just waiting for a final nationwide check to come back... Our process went quicker than most she said... Overall, it's been a great experience for us, and we know we can provide a safe place for a child and someday welcome one into our home forever.

You can probably ask someone in your county for all of the requirements if you haven't already, and you will probably meet other foster families in your area during the whole process. In our classes, we met several other families that lives close to us, and they encourage us to help each other in a "support network"...

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[mmcguire]

A friend of mine used an agency in Florida and besides the usual background checks, etc., they had to make a book about themselves for the potential birth mothers to look at. Luckily my friend is a graphic designer, so the book was absolutely gorgeous. It was a short little book about their attempts at having a baby (two ectopic pregnancies, unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization, etc.), plus it had pictures of them, their house, their dog, their parents, etc. They got matched for their first adoption pretty quickly, and the mother said it was partially because my friend's wife looked similar to her.

 

[Diva of Dragons]

Thanks again for the input! Congratulations on finishing your HS!!

It sounds like our counties are similar even though I'm in CA. We had a 3 hour orientation and 3 hour "Application Workshop". The next step is the 9 session PRIDE class. We are doing the accelerated one, so it is 2X/week instead of once. It starts 6/26, I think, so we have a month to start getting things together. I know, at some point we, have to get our foster license and take another 5 session class. We haven't settles on age yet. We really would like an infant but are open to a sib set (1 infant/toddler & 1 up to about 6). We are holding out on making a decision until we have learned more.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I have concerns regarding how our finances will look, who we should use for references etc... I just need to relax and take it one step at a time! LOL!

 

[Diva of Dragons]

I usually feel funny bumping my own posts but I'm hopping that, in the vast array of the DIS population, there are more people who have been through Foster Adoption!

 

[Diva of Dragons]

trying again