Foster to Adopt in Washington State

October 1, 2011

Tony253, after 6 years as FP, going to many foster/ foster-adopt support groups, I'd say absolutely, you will get a child right away. As a bi-racial couple, you'll be seen as culturally congruent for AA or bi-racial children. Also being willing to take older children, less people are competing for those children.

Fear and anxiety? Very reasonable. My friends just didn't understand, I finally said, "OK, I'm pregnant with twins, but I don't know what ages they'll be, or when they'll arrive." Then they would say, OMG. ...Exactly.

I'd be concerned about someone who wasn't worried about making it all work!

Have you read up on "attachment parenting", parenting children who've been in care and have problems trusting (who wouldn't?) I highly recommend Daniel Hughes' "PLACE" model, and his books. [url=http://www.danielhughes.org/html/PLACE.html]PLACE[/url]

[url=http://www.attachmentdisorder.net/parenting.htm]Attachment Disorder Site - providing hope and support.[/url]

Even if your children have just a bit of this, it's great to have some idea of the playing field in advance.

Separately, someone asked about foster/ fos-adopt support groups in the area. Here's a link:

[url=http://www.fosteringtogether.org/content/support-groups]Support Groups | Fostering Together[/url]

Via "Olive Crest" and "Fostering Together". There are many more than there were years ago, and they are *great*. Great places to meet people who do respite only, people who've adopted, perhaps multiple times, people just starting, etc. Some of the trainings are good also, and help keep your license current as you get credit for attending.

Finally, here's a list of questions to ask about the children. Do insist on meeting them first, if it's an adoptive placement. There's no fire big enough to transfer children to your home without you meeting them and getting a feel for them. (I met 2 boys I didn't even want to babysit, said no, and still have had multiple adoptive/non-adoptive placements.) This thread, Carmen90's lists: [url]http://forums.adoption.com/adopting-older-child/386680-weve-been-matched-now-what.html[/url]

Hope this helps!