Wow! What a month it has been. We not only made it through, but enjoyed, eight nights of class, three hours each. In addition to the paperwork previously listed, there were five more packets of Q&A, several additional forms, state rules and regs to read word-for-word, and more. We have one more class - a Friday evening / all day Saturday class. We will also begin our family interviews and home study this month. If all goes well, we will be licensed as a family foster care home by early or mid October.
There is so much to share from our wonderful classes, but it may need to sink in a while longer. If you've been to a professional continuing education course or a retreat of some sort, you know the feeling - so many amazing things to share with everyone at home, but you somehow don't even know where to start. It will come in pieces, I'm sure.
One of the beautiful things about the classes is that our own children were able to attend with us, and spend the hours with other children and great staff playing and building their own friendships. They are now very at home in our agency's building and really enjoy being there. In our state, there is privatization of foster care, meaning that the state contracts not just directly with individuals, but with private agencies, who then contract with the foster families. The wonderful thing about this is that our agency also employs our home supervisors, and provides significant support to the foster families in the form of training, support groups, family activities, and more. This makes for better families and better homes for the kids. Our agency also has a factory that makes it's own currency and items which can be purchased with this currency. The names, the store, and everything about it are wacky and fun. Kids earn this currency when in the building for any activities, for helping out in a myriad of ways, or through incentive programs. They can then purchase items at the store. The original kids of foster families are also included, which is fabulous. These children may or may not be as excited as their parents to welcome new children to their home, give up half of their room or closet, or deal with the anxiety of the unknown. A little prize always increases the fun factor.
This weekend, we'll be preparing our home for the home study - a bit more cleaning and organizing (although I know it won't be completely done ... does anyone else's spice cabinet, refrigerator, or coat closet just explode into complete disorder on a regular basis? Second law of thermodynamics, anyone?) Among other things, Hubby will be adding the infamous child safety locks to all kitchen and bath cabinetry, while I'll be working on making the grandparent guest bed *not* look like it's four feet off the ground after we added risers underneath in efforts to find more storage space. (Suggestions?) The goal is to be at least comfortable with where things are (figuratively and literally) by the end of the weekend. I'll have to make a list of everything we did to prepare the home once we're done. (I like lists. Did you notice?) Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend, and don't forget to show thanks for the opportunity to labor for our families and for the kingdom.
There is so much to share from our wonderful classes, but it may need to sink in a while longer. If you've been to a professional continuing education course or a retreat of some sort, you know the feeling - so many amazing things to share with everyone at home, but you somehow don't even know where to start. It will come in pieces, I'm sure.
One of the beautiful things about the classes is that our own children were able to attend with us, and spend the hours with other children and great staff playing and building their own friendships. They are now very at home in our agency's building and really enjoy being there. In our state, there is privatization of foster care, meaning that the state contracts not just directly with individuals, but with private agencies, who then contract with the foster families. The wonderful thing about this is that our agency also employs our home supervisors, and provides significant support to the foster families in the form of training, support groups, family activities, and more. This makes for better families and better homes for the kids. Our agency also has a factory that makes it's own currency and items which can be purchased with this currency. The names, the store, and everything about it are wacky and fun. Kids earn this currency when in the building for any activities, for helping out in a myriad of ways, or through incentive programs. They can then purchase items at the store. The original kids of foster families are also included, which is fabulous. These children may or may not be as excited as their parents to welcome new children to their home, give up half of their room or closet, or deal with the anxiety of the unknown. A little prize always increases the fun factor.
This weekend, we'll be preparing our home for the home study - a bit more cleaning and organizing (although I know it won't be completely done ... does anyone else's spice cabinet, refrigerator, or coat closet just explode into complete disorder on a regular basis? Second law of thermodynamics, anyone?) Among other things, Hubby will be adding the infamous child safety locks to all kitchen and bath cabinetry, while I'll be working on making the grandparent guest bed *not* look like it's four feet off the ground after we added risers underneath in efforts to find more storage space. (Suggestions?) The goal is to be at least comfortable with where things are (figuratively and literally) by the end of the weekend. I'll have to make a list of everything we did to prepare the home once we're done. (I like lists. Did you notice?) Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend, and don't forget to show thanks for the opportunity to labor for our families and for the kingdom.
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