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I thought I would post to this thread in hopes to get a response from a social worker. I realize we may be putting the cart before the horse, so to speak, but my husband and I have been checking photolistings regularly since we began our homestudy process (which should be completed any day now). Our caseworker said we are at the point where we should be actively looking to see which children interest us. There is a sibling group to which we are particularly drawn. This is a group of children from out of state (which is what we are looking for due to the even more crazy that usual process in our state). These children were in the photolistings in the fall but disappeared sometime in November or December. They reappeared on Valentine's Day, but now their profile says that the workers are looking for a family in the state where these children currently reside due to extended family relationships they wish to continue. We are wondering if there is even a remote chance we could be considered anway. Here is what we think we might have in our favor: my husband grew up in the state and even specific county where these children reside and although his family lived here, they were able to visit often (the drive is only 6 hours) AND we love to travel and would commit to frequent visits there. I would like to know if you think we would even have a chance at being considered for these children. Would it be worth a shot to have our homestudy submitted when it is completed, and if so, do you think a personal letter from us would help our chances? I welcome any comments or advice anyone has to offer. Thanks in advance!
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As a CPS worker I say go for it. You never know who might respond. Some may not want to have that level of contact and if it is stated in a letter all the info you provided here I would think it would be taken into consideration. When I sent in my homestudy for my middle son they were not looking for a single parent because he had just disrupted from a single parent home. Oddly enough all homestudies that they received on him that time were from single parents. SO they picked one!You never know.
(Not a social worker!) If you don't submit, you have an automatic "no" answer. If you do -- you have the *possibility* of a "yes". Such a good point someone else made, be sure to put in all the info about frequent contact with the area in your life already. You could even say, "Our next visit to family will be on xyz date, would it be possible to meet with someone at that time?" Sort of make the fact that you travel there more real.
(not a social worker either)What you may do is have your SW contact the children's CW. That is what a couple in our class did. They couldn't get a ton of information because they didn't have all their ducks in a row yet; but they were able to share enough information to feel good about it.Anyway, so maybe when your sw contacts the cw, she can simply ask, "would you consider a family who lives a few hours away but who has ties in the county the children live in?" Also, you might think of other ways you'd be willing to maintain contact. For example, my hubby worked in KY for 4 months and we used Skype to communicate (in fact, we used Skype for a job interview once!). Letters, calls, emails, pictures, a family website/blog, etc would all be other options to help keep up a relationship. My mom lives about 4 ݽ hours from us but between visits and other communication options, we have a very close relationship and my children have been able to keep up a relationship with her also.I would definitely TRY.
Thanks. I'm a pretty decent writer, so I compiled a very heartfelt letter to submit when we are qualified to even go that far...can't wait! I am hoping this will at least help us. I have been told I can be quite compelling. ;) I am just afraid that these kids seem so great that I can't imagine that everyone who sees them would not want them! LOL! One of the children has a birth defect (I HATE that it is referred to as a defect, as if that makes the child defective...ugh!) but that doesn't scare us at all. It seems managable, but maybe that is what has kept these precious kids from being "snatched" up already. In any case, we are going to give them a shot! Perhaps we will at least be considered as a match for them. Like alys1 said, if we don't try, our answer is automatically no.
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