November - "I'm Adopting!" and "I'm Fostering!"

britters314

“I’m adopting!” and "I'm fostering"

Are you thinking about adopting/fostering or are you in the process of adopting/fostering? If so, please tell us more about yourself and your experiences so far. 

-What route (Foster Care adoption, domestic, international)?

-Where are you in the process right now (just thinking, home study, waiting for match, etc.)

-How are you feeling about the process right now?

-Any questions?

-Any tips for the steps you’ve passed?

-Anything else to add?

-GTKY: What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

britters314

-What route (Foster Care adoption, domestic, international)? We'll consider domestic adoption, but right now we're looking into foster care

-Where are you in the process right now (just thinking, home study, waiting for match, etc.) Just started contact. Apparently in my state all foster care is not through DCFS - there are a bunch of private agencies that do foster care. So today I've been talking with someone to help figure out the best agency to go with (it seems different agencies have different specialties - bilingual, special needs, etc.). Once we've got that figured out, I'll get more info, possibly by H and I going to an informational presentation.

-How are you feeling about the process right now? I'm not sure. H definitely seems more on board, which is great, but I'm getting nervous. I'm also worried we're going to seem too picky. The first agency suggested to me turned out to be one that only works with children with high level disabilities, which we are not comfortable with for first-time parenting. So I asked for an agency without that focus (I'm waiting to hear back). H and I both feel that it's one thing if we get a placement for a child with a disability, but it's another to pick an agency that guarantees that. Hopefully that doesn't make us seem too picky.

-Any questions? I have a ton, but they are state-specific, so I'll just have to ask once I get hooked up with an agency.

-Any tips for the steps you’ve passed? For anyone else in a state with multiple agencies, start thinking about your preferences right away. I didn't think we would have to discuss our comfort level with disabilities this soon and H and I hadn't discussed it before it came up. Luckily we were already on the same page, so we were able to move on, but it would have sucked to have to wait longer to get started in order to think about it.

-Anything else to add? I think I covered everything so far. I'll give an update if anything exciting happens.

-GTKY: What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Rolls, with stuffing as a close second. Basically I just like bread

KristoKekerooni

@britters314 - My state has the same, except they aren't different "focus groups," it's more like the agencies sort of support DFS. It's mostly different churches. 

britters314

@KristoKekerooni  Yeah that's what it is here, too - nonprofits supporting DCFS, but some of the nonprofits are specifically for people with disabilities and so their foster care program has that focus, too. Some of the agencies have both traditional and "specialized" foster care, too, so I don't know how soon we would have to make a decision on that.

oneslybookworm

-What route (Foster Care adoption, domestic, international)? - We are in the middle of our wait for a domestic, infant adoption.

-Where are you in the process right now (just thinking, home study, waiting for match, etc.) - 6.5 months into our wait for a match.

-How are you feeling about the process right now? - Honestly, lately I've been feeling like it's never going to happen and we're never going to get matched.

-Any questions? - Anyone else in Indiana?

-Any tips for the steps you’ve passed? -  Don't stress the home study.  It really wasn't nearly as big of a deal as I made it out in my head.

-Anything else to add? - Not much.

-GTKY: What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? - HAM!!!!  And we always have brussel sprouts...LOVE those!

KristoKekerooni

@oneslybookworm - Wow, that's exciting. I hope it happens quickly for you. FX!!

oneslybookworm

KristoKekerooni said:

@oneslybookworm - Wow, that's exciting. I hope it happens quickly for you. FX!!

Thanks so much!  I hope so too, but it appears that this all works on it's own timeline, not mine.  LOL

britters314

@oneslybookworm  Does your agency have any sort of statistics on how long it tends to take to get a match?

ETA: I just saw your post on another thread where you said it's 18-24 months. That's a long time - hopefully you don't have to wait that long!

oneslybookworm

@britters314...Yes, that's their average.  It's a small agency.  We are considering signing with a second, larger, agency that has faster wait times, but it opens us up to a lot more financial uncertainty, compared to our agency we're working with now.