Fostering to Adopt

Fostering

Matt and I are updating our license to continue to foster to adopt. It can be a long process with much to do. We believe it is what God has called us to , so we are going through it . Some of our stuff can just be updated and some "requirements " have expired and we have to go back and do them over again.

I thought I would take a minute and in case someone knows someone who wants to go this route , I would share an overview of most of what it takes.

Fostering children is NOT for everyone ! I know people who stopped after the first child left and they were not able to do it anymore. It was too painful and emotionally so draining.
Here are the facts:
In order to foster or foster to adopt you must do these things:

Complete training

There will be some classes that will bore you out of your mind.However, you might be surprised and get some training that is interesting and educational. One of the classes we were required to take was infant CPR. We were glad to have had this training when I was holding a 5 pound 3 month old who turned blue on me and stopped breathing. Thankfully Matt was home and he started CPR, I called 911 and the baby started breathing again . The baby lived and was fine. This was a medically fragile baby and most people will not get a baby with these issues. You never know when something you learn in a training will apply.

Your House in order

Cleaning supplies
It is good to have all cleaning and chemicals locked up somewhere. We bought a Rubbermaid storage piece that is in the garage and we attached a lock with a key. That means they do not want any cleaning stuff out on counters or under sinks.

Plug covers on all plugs.We already had locks on cabinet's in the kitchen which is great because we knew we wanted little ones.

Your agency or CPS is not looking for a perfect house,but , everything must be working. Toilets, hot water from sinks, etc.They are also looking for anything that could be dangerous, an area with many cords sticking out, for example.

Fire inspection- needs to be done and you need a carbon monoxide detector as well as smoke alarms on each level and fire extinguisher's on each floor.

Firearms-reported and secured. They just want to make sure your house is clean and safe for children.

Background checks

They will check to see your criminal history to make sure you are not on the most wanted list or anything serious.

Driving record

They will want a copy of your driving record. No big deal !


Getting to know you

They will interview you and get to know all about your childhood up to the present day. They will probably interview you and your spouse separately. They are looking for anything weird in your history that might not qualify you to foster kids.

Paperwork

All of these things will require paperwork and there will be times that you think, it is too much , I cannot finish all this. You can persevere and press on because it will be worth it !

My Church is putting together an entire booklet together on Adoption. If anyone wants a very in-depth version of what you need to do to adopt a child please email me .

I will write about the plus side of fostering to adopt another time. There are certainly many great reasons to going this route.