I've barely started and already annoyed

HopingforChange

We went to our county's orientation for foster/adopt...and there was no one there.  No one.  No sign either.  We, and 15 other people, saw a worker in the office, who ignored us.  We eventually went home with no training.  I called and found out the worker who runs these orientations was at another training, so they canceled the session...with no notification.  I talked to this worker's supervisor and asked why we weren't told.  She told me that calling the session participants would waste too much time, so she just let us show up.  Yes, she truly did say that.  The next session is in September.  Who does that?  DH and I are reevaluating our decision to work with the state as we were really disappointed by how little they appear to value their program.

beaureve

Wow. I am really sorry you are having such a bad experience. I am not sure how your state works, but we actually received our training & homestudy in a neighboring county. You may want to check if that option is available  

HopingforChange

Thanks, Beaureve.  I think that's a great idea and will definitely check it out.  DH does not really want to go back to this county anyway.  He is concerned about what will happen if we have an emergency during a placement, etc...  I can see his point.  We will try nearby counties, for sure.  Thanks again!

beaureve

You are quite welcome. I hope it works out for you!

silliestbunny

Oh, my!!!  What a terrible first impression. And making you and fifteen others wait until September... crazy!

HopingforChange

silliestbunny:

Oh, my!!!  What a terrible first impression. And making you and fifteen others wait until September... crazy!

Yeah.  This city has some pretty terrible service standards.  I feel badly for the people who were there to adopt family members/specific children as, for them, the wait is going to be a lot more intense.

ForbesH

I am so sorry for your horrible experience.  I am not sure how things work in your state, but in AZ orientations and classes are also held by individual agencies so we were able to find an agency in our area that we really liked and who's class schedule worked with our schedules.  We had many families in our classes who came from far away to get away from places that did things like what happened to you.  Just don't give up!  It is well worth it in the end!

HopingforChange

ForbesH:

I am so sorry for your horrible experience.  I am not sure how things work in your state, but in AZ orientations and classes are also held by individual agencies so we were able to find an agency in our area that we really liked and who's class schedule worked with our schedules.  We had many families in our classes who came from far away to get away from places that did things like what happened to you.  Just don't give up!  It is well worth it in the end!

Thanks, Forbes!  I am not sure how this works in GA, but I will look into it!  We are planning to meet with an agency soon, just for an information session and to evaluate our options, so we'll put this on our list of questions.  I appreciate the support and encouragement!

Julesag

Not sure where you live in GA, but if you live in metro Atlanta, I do know that the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur does periodic (maybe even monthly) Foster parent training (not sure if it includes Foster-adopt or straight foster). Denise Peacock is a contact, although I don't have her info. I've heard her speak before and actually went to a panel discussion she lead about foster parenting in general. Good luck!

Julie

HopingforChange

Julesag:

Not sure where you live in GA, but if you live in metro Atlanta, I do know that the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur does periodic (maybe even monthly) Foster parent training (not sure if it includes Foster-adopt or straight foster). Denise Peacock is a contact, although I don't have her info. I've heard her speak before and actually went to a panel discussion she lead about foster parenting in general. Good luck!

Julie

Thanks, Julie.  Sadly, I live in southern GA, near the FL border.  We wish we lived in Atlanta though (we're city people...this is craziness down here)!  Though, being close to the beach never killed anyone.    Thank you for the lead, though! 

 

lilmufish

In our state, there is an option to do foster parenting through the local DFS or a nonprofit private agency. Our private agencies get a percentage of kids coming into foster care.  They are just like DFS, except they are funded differently. As you notice in other posts - sounds like this might be an option for you.

Dear husband and I tried going through DFS (we didn't know the private agency option) and we had a negative experience, that left us with the inability to get a social worker out to our home to start the process.   A few weeks later, in church we learned of the private agency -- which we inquired about and the whole process went so much more smoothly than those we knew that have gone through the state.

Something about state social workers...I'm not sure if yours are like our state....but our state is cutting funding dramatically,therefore not hiring new social workers, or laying them off, or not replacing when some leave.  So what's happening, is that before the number of cases that were split between 2-3 workers are now under one worker.  Or, before there might be a separate person for training, licensing, etc; now the duties are all spread out.  Not an excuse for what happened...but possibly an explanation?

So, I guess, what I'm saying...is that foster parenting, some areas, will be frustrating due to lack of staff and organization...that's just part of the big beast we call the Division of Family Services.   If you really want to foster...don't let that stop you. Keep moving forward