The Adventures of Foster Care Part 2

The evening before our foster care information meeting Steve suggested we we watch a sermon on adoption to get us pumped up. He was right It did pump us up. (If you're interested in watching it you can find the link here) We also spent time praying over what the next semester would look like as we began this process.

Tuesday night could not come fast enough as I began my day of going through the normal tasks of class, lunch, picking up the kids I babysit for and shuffling them to activities. As time ticked off the clock I realized my boss was going to come home late and I started to panic. We had already waited 3 months to go to a meeting that would work for us. I didn't want to wait another 3! Finally my boss came home and I rushed out the door with a pack of fruit gummies for dinner. Next stop was picking up Steve from work. With about 15 minutes to spare we found ourselves pulling up to what looked like a low income neighborhood in San Rafael. The reality of what was about to happen started to hit. This night would mark the turning point of our family growing from 2 to 3. I'm not sure if I was outwardly smiling but my heart sure was.

We quickly found the meeting room and were greeted by a sweet lady named Cindy. Cindy is a social worker in our county that helps potential foster parents become certified and then helps to place children in their homes. Three other ladies were in our meeting. After introductions we learned that one was married and also looking into the fost-adopt program while the other two were single and looking to get certified to provide foster care. The presentation informed us that even here in one of the wealthiest counties in America there are on average 70-90 children in foster care. They come from all different backgrounds but most of them have undergone some type of abuse.

Cindy explained in detail the fost-adopt program for us. Children are assessed when they come into the system on their probability of being reunited with their family. Since that is the ultimate goal of foster care. If their prospects are not likely then they give the next of kin an opportunity to pursue adoption. If the next of kin is unable then that is where we come in. They place a child with us and when they come up for adoption we get the opportunity to pursue that adoption first. There is some risk involved with the child being able to reunite with their family. The great thing about this program, however, is that the state will pay for all court fees. We are also given the chance to apply for financial assistance to be given to the child until they turn 18.

After Cindy told us what we could expect as foster parents and how to apply we were blessed to hear from a current foster parent. Claudia has fostered over 90 children in 15 years of her family foster parenting. She told us of the trials but overwhelming joys of the opportunity. It was such a great encouragement.

We ended the meeting with filling out some paperwork to take the next step. Because Steve and I are interested in the fost-adopt program our journey will look a little different than the normal foster care process. We will also be working with a man named Rolph. He does the northern California adoptions and will help us match with a child.

We are looking at an age range of 0-12. I know this may seam strange to you but that is where we feel God leading us. We have no preference on girls boys or race. We are shooting for a child to be with us in January or February of next year after I graduate.

So that's kind of where we're at right now. We will keep you all posted as we go through the process. Please be praying for us, Cindy, Rolph and of course the child God is leading us to. We know that this is all in his hands.