Oh boy, we're never getting licensed.

I can't tell where you are located, but I would say *someone* isn't telling the whole story. Anyway.... not sure how it works in your state, I'm in Missouri and we JUST went through our classes / home assessment and licensing. We are "pending signature" or whatever...... the assessors have signed off and recommended us and that packet goes to CPS for signatures. Then the licensing worker comes out and we all sign and then we get on lists so caseworkers can call us with placements. Our Assessment worker did look around our house. But she didn't dig in closets. She wanted to make sure our house was safe and would accommodate children. I can't IMAGINE that anyone would deny you a foster parent license due to dust. They wouldn't ever be able to license anyone, if that's the case. So - I would say either your hubby embellished to get a rise out of you (either playfully or maliciously), the family embellished or they were denied for some other reason and they want to "blame the system". Now - if it was *dirty* not dusty that actually might be a problem. But a little bit of dust on a closet shelf being a problem? I don't buy it. I found our assessor and our licensing worker to be on OUR side.... they WANT to clarify questions, give you tips and HELP you get licensed. It's in their best interest. Good luck

A friend of ours had been certified as foster for a kinship placement and offered to do a pre-walkthrough with us before our home inspection. He also said the inspector with them was massively strict and pointed out so many things for us to fix that we were just overwhelmed. We decided there were two options for us. First, we could fix every single thing the friend noticed and hope the inspector didn't find any more. Or second, we could just leave everything as is and then fix anything the inspector decided needed fixed. We went with option 2. The things the inspector cared about were not even close to the ones the friend noticed. Much more expensive to fix but not so many of them. I have never seen people outright deny a license, just give things you have to fix.

We were super worried about that, but when it came down to it the inspectors did not care about things I thought would be an issue. We had to buy a few more smoke detectors, turn some kitchen knives around to restrict access, and cover a few missed plugs. There was no mention of dust or clutter. :)

When I had my first homestudy (private adoption) I was totally freaked out and apologized because the basement wasn't swept (basement is unfinished and contains storage, chest freezers, and the furnace, so not a place kids would go). When I had my foster/ adopt homestudy recently I did a quick run-through with the vacuum the night before, made sure the counters were wiped down and the kitchen swept, and cleaned up some of the clutter in my office. I had a pile of clean clothes in midst of folding on one livingroom chair, dust on the stairs, and hadn't mowed the lawn. My house is never spotless; I have a two-year-old, so I think it would be a bit creepy if it was. In fact, I have had one social worker in the past tell me that if a home is too spotless they get suspicious, especially if you have kids. They want to see that it is safe. The only thing I got dinged on is that I have a hook latch on the outside of the bathroom door; the door doesn't close completely, so it is to keep the toddler OUT of the bathroom. However, it's not allowed because a child could be locked in, so I need to plane the door so it will close, then I can put one of those doorknob covers on the outside so he can't open the door to get in. She also asked about a gate around the woodstove, because it's not up. I showed her the one I have, explained that I take it down in the summer to make more space, and she was good. The fire inspector just wanted to make sure my fuse box is labeled, all the outlets and light switches have covers, that my smoke detectors are interconnected, and I think 2 or 3 other things, I can't remember what. I can't imagine being denied because a closet shelf is dusty; I'd say either that's not the whole truth or the social worker is having a very hard time in her life (i.e. losing it) and may need to get some help. :)

I freaked out initially, and I heard horror stories. I still freak out each and every visit. I don't know why. I always expect to be picked apart over something. I never am. I haven't been. I think one time I was advised we were missing a safety plug. I don't remember where, but I had more in a drawer and that was an easy fix. The little buggers sometimes disappear when someone takes them out for vacuuming. I can't think of anything else.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone! DH doesn't have a malicious bone in his body, but he is a world-class worrier. ;) We talked with our case worker yesterday and she said the inspector who used to work our area was very, very strict but she thought maybe we had a new one. We can only hope! Rumor has it that our area has a severe shortage of foster homes right now so maybe that will work in our favor. Our case worker loves us for some reason and had nothing major to say about our home at her walk-through last night, other than we need to add handrails to our outside stairs which we already knew. Actually so far things are going pretty smoothly. Everyone we've talked to at our agency seems to expect we'll have a kiddo in our house sooner than we think!

Glad to hear it's going well for you. I think freaking out in the beginning is normal, at least I hope as my husband and I have just begun the process. There just seems to be so much to do and reading about all the bad experiences does not help. I can't wait to get farther along in the process to feel a little more secure with the outcome. We have our second class tonight. They also told us placement was likely same day we receive our license.

Thanks! How are you liking your classes so far?