[JJemail1]

I just completed the "Safe Questionaire" for Trenton and, while I'm no psych major and can only speculate that the info. they seek to collect will be masterfully pieced together to determine whether or not we're fit parents, I'm still blushing. Some of the questions I thought were particularly personal:

Check the boxes that describe your early sexual experiences (options: Limited, Traumatic, Awkward, Exciting, Unremarkable, Unusual, Romantic, Regretful, Frightening, Confusing, Shameful, Amusing, Pleasurable, Abusive, Pressured, Other:____________).

How in the world does one answer that "correctly" and how in the world do any of those answer options adequately summarize one's choices. Yikes.

I also thought it a little vague to ask for extended relatives' criminal history without also providing an opportunity to describe the context of one's relationship (or complete lack thereof) with such relative. If you have a second cousin who your family tells you was in jail for 2 months and who you have seen once in your life, how is that relevant? Yet, if you say you don't have a relative who has commited a crime, you're technically lying if you know about that second cousin.

Oh, the things we go through to be parents. (Insert people jumping through hoops here.)

Jennifer

[Longing2bMom]

I'm in California and I was wondering the same thing about the questionnaire they use here. It's like, "why in the world do they need to know THAT?".

My great-grandfather was a mafia hitman, so I'm just thankful they aren't asking about relatives that far back!

[CaddoRose]

It may seem that some of the questions are strange, but taken in context with all of your answers, they are able to compile a picture of who you are. The questions were not designed to keep you forom being a foster parent, but instead to be used to help place children with you. If you had a traumatic experience as a child, that experience could effect how well you are able to parent other children who have been through similar circumstances.

The best bet is to answer the questions as truthfully as possible. We had about 40 pages of questions to fill out. It was crazy. I had to answer some questions with, "I don't know". Later when the CW sits down with you and asks questions, they will have some idea of who you are. There aren't any right or wrong answers either.

[JJemail1]

Great insight, CaddoRose--thanks! Maybe I'm paranoid! My job requires Caliper tests, which kind of assess one's personality and intellect, upon hiring. While the tests are possibly insightful, they're flawed in that the cadidates aren't typically 100% honest (becuase they're so afraid of marking the "wrong" answer) and/or because personality analyis paradigms aren't terribly definitive--they change all of the time. Anyway, I think you're right and of course honesty is the only way to go.

Longing2bMom, your post made me laugh out loud.

[RandomReality]

I THINK what they are getting at is, are you going to answer: "I think it is okay to have sex with your dad like McKenzie Phillips did!"

I am glad she feels ready to share that and all but GEEZ! I can never listen to "California Dreamin'" again!