We were told that this week or next our homestudy will be signed by the judge and we can start looking. We are going through the state to adopt. hopefully a sib group. This is our fist time. We have 5 bio kids total the youngest 17bio daughter is the only one left at home.
I was wondering if most people get there foster care licenses, we have taken the classes, got the CPR cards and all the other stuff but just haven't had there homestudy yet. What is the differnce if you don't get your license. IT just seems like one more person you have to report too. I would like to know what others have done. Our sw told us it was up to us.
THanks,
Pat E

[Cricket8351]

I would imagine that it depends on what types of children you are interested in. If you were to be interested in a fost-adopt or legal risk situation where one or both of the parents rights are still intact then you may need to have a current foster care license.

If you are only wanting legally-free children then a foster care license may not be necessary. In some states, you can accept a foster care or fost-adopt placement with just the approved adoptive homestudy including the completion of State & National fingerprint results but in other states you can't.

In my experience, each state has different laws and rules to follow regarding the placement of custody children or may be just different ways of implementing the laws through agency policy.

Many times it gets really sticky if you are a Social Worker placing children who still have the goal of reunification in an approved "Adoptive" home. A child whose parent(s) parental rights have not been severed would technically still have the goal of reunification until a court decides otherwise.

The Adoptions & Safe Families Act and Concurrent goal planning has helped in those circumstances but any decent attorney will argue that placing a child in an adoptive home indicates that the state has already determined that the child will be adopted out and therefore will not really work or help the family of origin toward reunification.

Your Social Worker should be able to give you a recommendation as to which would be the best way to proceed. I know you said that the SW told you it is up to you...it is...but he/she should still be able to give you some direction or at least the pros/cons of each.

I am curious though...you said that a judge is signing off on the homestudy? I have never heard of that. What state do you live in if you don't mind me asking? I just wondered what the purpose of a judge signing off on a homestudy would be. Interesting though.

I hope this information helps. I am sorry I cant give you more specific information but it really does depend on the state you are in.

Good luck to you. Keep us posted will you?

T

Thanks for the reply, we live in Washington state. Our sw said that after he is all done with it, it then goes to his supervisor, then to a judge to be signed. He said then we can have children places with us. I don't know, I hope he is right. But this is his first homestudy, he just moved to this department from another area of foster care. I have to get the copy of this years income tax and then it is to be sent to the judge. Pat E

[jessica_e]

I think it depends. My husband and I are foster/adopt parents. We do not have any bio children. We do want to adopt, but decided to become foster parents first because we though we could help some children in crisis while we wait for God to bring the right one into our home that would stay with us forever. (Long story on how we got to that place, but that is for another time!)

I gotta tell you though-- this has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But, also the most rewarding. I knew that fostering would be difficult. I knew I would get attached and have a hard time letting go, but I never imagined....

Our first placement came to us at 5 days old. We had him for 3 months in which time we fell totally in love with him. Placing him into his father's arms was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But, at the same time, I was so proud of what we had done. They gave us a skinny, sick, drug addicted newborn and we gave them back a happy, chubby, developmentally advanced 3 month old.

Our second and third placements came to us on the same day, but they are not siblings. One was a 13 month old little boy who we still have, but it looks like he will be going home in March. He is 19 months old today. Will it be hard to let him go? I don't even want to think about it. After 6 months with him, it is hard to imagine our home without him. But, we have been there for him when he needed someone. We have taught him things and showed him what love is.

Our third placment will be 6 months old on Saturday. She was 6 days old when she came to live with us. Again, she was a drug baby. All relatives have abandoned her and we should be able to finalize the adoption this summer. She is the light of our lives!

So, ask yourself what your goals are and what you can handle (and believe me you CAN handle more than you think you can!!) If you want a child, and think you can love and let go of a few while you are waiting, then fostering might be for you. I once said I could never do this. Somedays when I think about these babies that I love and have mothered for X months leaving, I still don't think I can do it. But, for me, helping a child in need has been worth the pain. After all, these children who have all claimed a piece of my heart for their own were going to have to go somewhere. Aren't I lucky that I got to be the one to love and help them, even for just a while. And now, God has given me my little girl! I am truly blessed.

Jessica

[lela]

oh Jessica, what a blessing you are! Thank you for putting a child's pain and need in front of your own. I hope you continue on and become a loving mom to many.
lela

[MelissaSD]

I agree with Jessica, what situations do you think you can handle? My husband and I went through 3 failed IVF attempts. I researched adoption for at least a year. It is so hard to make the right decision and not think you should have done something else. We decided to go with foster care to adopt, knowing that there would probably be situations where we would have to give the children back to the parents because the goal of foster care is REUNIFICATION. We signed up with them March 1st, certified by August 15th area, and received our first child (12 days old) the day before Thanksgiving. We had him for a month, he went back to his parents for 10 days and the we got him back again. We hope to be adopting him soon, both parents have signed off their parental rights. But the day that he went back to his mom, I literally hyperventilated dropping him off at daycare, I swear it was the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. It has worked out well for us, but you have to be a very STRONG person to let situations like this happen. You are not the one in control. Good Luck to you and I know you will make the best decision for you.

I talked with our SW last week and he said we didn't have too ,the only differents it would make is the amount of money we would get untill the adoption is final and that we could only take children that there TPR, that is fine with us, I don't thinks I could bear to give them back to there parents if it came to that. We are looking for older children, nothing younger than 4 would be great. He has 2 sets of sister he is looking into us and will give us more info on them next week. Iam trying to be patient, but plan on calling him on Monday, (it is neck week) HA HA, thanks all for the info.
Patty