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Well, after praying and studying and soul-searching for the past year, I feel ready to begin the process to become a foster parent.It took quite a bit of coulsearching since I'm single and 32 years old and my childcare experience is limited to babysitting kids, being an 'English' teacher overseas for pre-schoolers, and being a Big Sister in BBBS.
Still it's something I feel called to do and I'm at a good and stable part of my life for this. My job is kinda perfect for this kinda lifestyle since I work from home 80% of the time and my work schedule is really flexible. My supervisor is a mother of young children and really understanding of my fellow employees with little ones. So I moved from my awesome little apartment to an even more awesome little house(it's a 2 bedroom with a large storage shed.)
So I attended a few orientations and narrowed it down to a couple and then asked former-SW friend who she would recommend. I guess my instincts worked out since she suggested both the ones I was interested in. It feels nice to continue my journey.
I received my application packet from the agency I plan to foster with and this forum has been so helpful in preparing my for all the questions in the application :)
I do have a couple of questions myself, one of the questions on the agency's questionnaire is asking whether or not you or anyone in your family has ever been suspected or investigated for child abuse. I seem to recall going to the local CPS office once as a kid and them asking some questions about my dad. Nothing ever came of it and there was nothing to it and I've always assumed it was because he fired someone at work who had a history of problems with CPS and it was retaliation, still my parents are one of my primary babysitting resources and are very support of my decision to foster. An unsubstantiated allegation 20 years ago shouldn't impact whether or not I can leave foster kids with my parents for short periods, right?
So those of you with cats, what do you do with the litter box? I just moved from my apartment to my house and there was space in the bathroom in the apartment for the litter box, but unfortunately, there just isn't space in my new little place for it. I suppose I could put it into my closet? The problem is that the litter box is kinda big, it's also kinda awesome because it's the self cleaning kind so I don't want to replace it with a smaller one. I just use grocery bags and take them out ever day and replace the litter every 2 weeks so it never has a scent(also only have one cat to clean up after), but I'm sort of weirded out by the idea of keeping it in my closet with my clothes.
Oh, and another question for those of you that are also getting started. What do you do with the space you intend to use for the kids prior to getting a placement? I've only been in the house for a week now and am currently using it as an office since the time table to intake worker gave me shows that I wont be licensed until March at the earliest and that seems a long time to leave a room vacant in a two bedroom house.
I hope all goes well for everyone else interested in becoming a foster parent!
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Hi, Lunalily! Are you a Harry Potter fan, or is it just a coincidence?
Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you. I'm sorry that I can't be helpful! However, I want to wish you the best of luck. My husband and I just started the process. We chose our agency and sent the interest form in on Monday. I had a 15-minute phone interview yesterday and the next step is to schedule our training classes and set up our home interview. The training starts on December 16, and the home interview will be sometime in November! I know that this is just the beginning, but it's moving faster than I expected at this point! Honestly, I expected to be waiting a few weeks before we heard from anybody, and another few weeks to schedule the phone interview, and a few months before training started, so I am (pleasantly) surprised by the swiftness we've experienced so far.
We have a cat, but it is our son's job to keep her fed and the litter box clean. The litter box is in his room, where the cat spends most of her time. Our son is eight, so it's a great way to help him remember to be responsible and learn how to care for others.
As for the room we'll be using, it's been a catch-all for a while now. We actually just emptied it out today to start painting it. I think that using it for an office for now would be fine! Just be prepared to set it up as a bedroom before March, so there's no last-minute scramble. At least, that's how I would handle it. Our has been a spare room for a while now, so we'll keep a bed in there until it's time to get the furniture we need for any kids who are placed here.
Good luck with everything! Is the packet overwhelming? So far, I have no idea what the paperwork will be like!
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You're the best erinshadle! Yes, Lunalily is a HP reference. I've been re-listening to the books lately and its got me in an HP mood.
The paperwork they gave isn't overwhelming, but it's only the first step at the agency. I could easily have it submitted already, but I missed the cutoff for the submitting it for the October class(October 1), so I'm waiting for the next class which begins in January so the paperwork deadline isn't until January 1. I'll probably complete the paperwork next week after speaking to my references.
The application packet they gave is a lot of checklists for the house and some questionnaires, but they don't ask for you to elaborate on your answers like the applications for some of the agencies, Maybe that's more of a home study thing?
It's great that they'll start the home study process before you complete the classes! My agency says they will start it after the classes finish and that it'l probably take 6 weeks to be processed. I think that's where they are getting the March-April 2015 ballpark from :)
In any case, the agency I work with also mentioned that you can always do respite before being licensed as long as you get the background check done. I'm thinking respite care would be a great way to get the feet wet, but I welcome a perspective from anyone who's done respite.
I think (unfortunately) that each area is different, sometimes wildly different. Here the only offer two classes per year, so although I filled out an application the first of July - it took till October before the classes started.
Now we're through classes and waiting on a homestudy. I doubt we'll be licensed before the end of the year.
Good luck!
The Jim Dale books, or Stephen Fry? I'm a Stephen Fry devotee, and since his are the books I've listened to a few dozen times, listening to Jim Dale just doesn't work for me. I love Jim Dale's voice, but not for Harry Potter. Not compared to Stephen Fry! Last December, I got a tattoo of the sound wave of the line, read by Stephen Fry, "After all this time?" It's amazing. I absolutely love it.
They're not starting the home study process before the classes. They do a home interview beforehand, rather than us going to their offices. They do the actual home study after the classes. Right now, I have no idea what the process entails, the people we'll be working with, etc. So far, the only person I've talked to is the one from the agency. From what I understand, though, she will not be the one performing our home study. She is the intake specialist and gets us set up with classes and initial interviews, but nothing beyond that. At least, that's what I THINK is the case. It's all so much information, and at the moment we're moving ahead without much information at all! It's very overwhelming, but very exciting, too!
Hi Luna,
Congratulations on taking the first step to becoming a foster parent! My husband and I began our process in May when we attended an information session. We filed all of our paperwork in July and our classes started in September. Each state has different requirements. Our paperwork was long and tedious, but necessary. The training in our state (New York) is long but informational. We just finished our home study and we may have a placement before Christmas.
In terms of preparing your home don't go over board and stress yourself out. I know I did and felt foolish after all the hard work I put into making sure my home was ready for a child. Our caseworker just wanted to see that we had a room that would be for the child and we had the ability to get a bed, furniture, car seat, stroller, and other items that are needed the moment a child arrives. The hardest part was answering all of the questions about ourselves and our family. Our home study took approximately 5 hours to complete and was completed over two days.
We have two dogs and a cat. The cat is indoors and we keep his litterbox in the basement in a closet that does not have clothes in it. She was perfectly fine with that.
This is my first time going through this process and it will be my first time becoming a parent. I am happy to share my experience and offer advice anytime! Best wishes and good luck on this incredible journey. Don't let the stress give you doubt.
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Welcome!
I have 2 cats and I keep the kitty litter in the laundry room. When my AD was smaller I kept a baby gate up so she could not get into the laundry room and the cats were able to jump over the gate.
I am a bit OCD and set-up the room while attending classes. I am happy I did as I got the call on a Thursday for my AD and she came home on Tuesday.
My father got into trouble as a teenager and he was not allowed to watch my daughter since his case is sealed. They could not verify the charges (underage drinking) since the records have been sealed since 1977. He could have hired a lawyer and tried to get the records unsealed but we decided against it as it was supposed to be a short period of time before the adoption was finalized.
Lunalily
I do have a couple of questions myself, one of the questions on the agency's questionnaire is asking whether or not you or anyone in your family has ever been suspected or investigated for child abuse. I seem to recall going to the local CPS office once as a kid and them asking some questions about my dad. Nothing ever came of it and there was nothing to it and I've always assumed it was because he fired someone at work who had a history of problems with CPS and it was retaliation, still my parents are one of my primary babysitting resources and are very support of my decision to foster. An unsubstantiated allegation 20 years ago shouldn't impact whether or not I can leave foster kids with my parents for short periods, right?
[...]
Oh, and another question for those of you that are also getting started. What do you do with the space you intend to use for the kids prior to getting a placement? I've only been in the house for a week now and am currently using it as an office since the time table to intake worker gave me shows that I wont be licensed until March at the earliest and that seems a long time to leave a room vacant in a two bedroom house.
I hope all goes well for everyone else interested in becoming a foster parent!
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