Frustrated Please Help

Amber,I'm so sorry you had such a terrible time during your home study. It's unfortunate that your social worker seemed to give no support to you. A good social worker is someone that's not looking for ways to fail you. If you are worried, perhaps you could work with a private foster agency in your area?As far as the pets go, check your state's laws on foster parents having pets. If it's legal, and the animals are cared for properly and they won't harm the children (I'm assuming both of these statements about your pets are true), there's no reason for the social worker to turn you away for that. Do your research on what's allowed and what's not so you can defend your pet choices if necessary.A social worker should also be okay with your limitations for being a foster parent. If you don't feel comfortable taking in older children at this time, that's okay. You should only do what you feel comfortable. You could share some specific reasons with your next social worker if it comes up again. Then maybe they could better see your point of view or help explain some misconceptions you may have.As far as I know, having a mental and physical health evaluation is pretty normal for a home study. You have to meet with a qualified health provider, so it's not something your social worker does. Because of that, that may be good thing to get done, partly because you have to and partly because your doctor could be a big advocate for clearing you on your home study. I hope this is somewhat helpful and that you and your spouse will find or make the confidence to try the home study process again. Good luck! Please let us know how it goes!