First of all, I’ve noticed that we missed writing about something. We are part of a program through UCLA Medical Center called Ties for Families. We went through nine hours of training between July 20th and August 3rd to be part of the program. What is Ties for Families? I’ll let them tell you themselves:
“TIES for Families is an interdisciplinary, university-based program established in 1995 to promote the successful adoption, growth, and development of children with special needs, especially those with prenatal substance exposure who are in foster care. The program is located on the UCLA campus and works in close collaboration with the public child welfare and mental health systems. The program employs an innovative model of intervention to reduce barriers to the adoption of these children and support their successful transition into permanent homes with stable, nurturing families.
Services are available free of charge to adoptive families of children who are placed and referred by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. TIES offers an innovative intervention model involving a nine hour program of preparation for adoptive parents, assessment of individual children’s development, and pre-placement consultation with prospective adoptive parents by a multi-disciplinary team regarding the child’s mental health, medical, and educational needs. There is a comprehensive array of intervention services available to children and families, including adoption counseling for new families in transition, individual and family therapy, home-visiting, psychological testing, monthly parental and child support groups, short-term weekly therapy groups for children and teens, parenting skills training, infant mental health, and new parent peer mentoring.
TIES for Families provides training at the local, state, and national level on the adoption of children with special needs and on the lessons learned from this innovative model of intervention. Training is offered to prospective and current adoptive parents, child social workers in public welfare, and professionals in the legal and mental health systems. Longitudinal research is being conducted on the effectiveness of the project and the developmental outcome of the children and their families” UCLA Ties for Families www.tiesforadoption.ucla.edu
Since being officially licensed in June, Jen and I have been called about four different matches. The county has not wasted any time in trying to get us placed!
As was written about in the post before this, the first match was August 13th. We were called about two brothers, ages one and three. Being our very first call, we were obviously ecstatic. Unfortunately, a few days later, we were informed that the birth mother had named two family members that she wanted the children to be placed with. Jen and I were crushed.
That same day we were offered a 4-year-old little boy, but he was attached to a 16-year-old brother, who did not want to be adopted. We are only twenty-three, making only a seven year difference in ages between us and the brother. We decided that that match just wasn’t for us.
About two weeks later we received our next match call. We were offered a 6-year-old boy. We decided against this match because our age range for what we want to adopt is between birth and six years. If we were to be placed with a 6-year-old, we would like it to be the oldest of a sibling group. We ultimately decided that this too would not be a good match for us.
On September 14th, we were called about a little 3-year-old boy. Based on what little background our social worker was able to give us, we decided to pursue this placement! Now we are learning how this process works.
First, after we accepted the match, our social worker had to meet with his adoptions social worker to compare notes and decide if this is a good match. About the same time we were contacted by Ties and told that they had been informed about the possible match, and had ordered all of his records. After that, then we had a “presentation meeting”. This included us, our social worker, his social worker, and his adoptions social worker. We were presented with all of his medical history, and everything about him that the social workers knew. We were told to go home, study all his records, and make a decision on if we still wanted to pursue placement. We looked over all the paperwork that night, did some research on what we found, and knew by the next morning that we definitely wanted this little guy! We let our social worker know that we were interested in pursing placement, but we absolutely needed Ties to do their evaluation of him beforehand.
As of today, Ties is working on their evaluation. Hopefully they will be able to complete their work in two to three weeks. We will have a meeting with them were they will fill us in on all of their findings. That’s when we have to decide yet again if we still want to pursue placement. Personally, I’m glad that they do all this checking and double-checking. That way hopefully there are fewer disrupted placements. After Ties, we can start our visits with him, and if that goes well, then we can bring him home and into our lives!
Showing posts with label fost-adopt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fost-adopt. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Sedberry Foster Family Home
Jen and I are officially home study approved and licensed by the state of California to be foster parents! Enter applause here. As with any bureaucracy, there is a story behind it.
As you know, we had our walk-through by the state on Saturday, June 13th. When the social worker left, he told us that everything looked good and that he would file the paperwork on Monday, once he received the pictures of the crib that we had to buy. After the paperwork was filed, we would receive our license in the mail in two weeks. Jen and I were ecstatic.
Two weeks came and went. Since the license was coming via snail-mail, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and waited a few more days. When nearly three weeks had passed, I called the social worker. He seemed surprised that we hadn’t received it yet. Call back if it hasn’t arrived in the next week or so, he told me.
We waited. Another week passed, with nothing. I called the social worker back. I listened as he looked up our license on his computer. He read off that we had been licensed by the state since June 18th. I glanced at the calendar: July 13th. It had been a full month since our walk-through! Our county social worker was waiting on this one last document before we were officially put into the recruitment center’s computers to find a match. Now nearly a month had been wasted. The state social worker told me that he would “have them regenerate a copy and send it to us”.
I called Jen at work and relayed the message. Jen was not happy with this vague outcome. So she took matters into her own hands. She is a bit of a Google wiz, and somehow found the number for the head office of Social Services Licensing in Sacramento, and got a hold of a director there. She was completely mystified by this: “How on Earth did you get this number?” It was a good thing that Jen found that number, though. Turns out that the state social worker was responsible for sending us the copy of our license! He had been sitting on it for all this time, doing nothing, assuming that we would just magically get our copy! The director was not happy. She called him and had him not only mail us our license, but fax a copy to us ASAP.
Coincidently, our county social worker called Jen the same day to congratulate us on being licensed. The county had received a copy of our license before we did!
On July 16th, two days shy of being licensed a month, we received the mailed copy of our foster license. It is proudly posted on our wall next to our telephone, naming us the “Sedberry Foster Family Home”. We also received a congratulations letter from the county, telling us that we are officially in the recruitment system, and can now literally be called any minute!
As you know, we had our walk-through by the state on Saturday, June 13th. When the social worker left, he told us that everything looked good and that he would file the paperwork on Monday, once he received the pictures of the crib that we had to buy. After the paperwork was filed, we would receive our license in the mail in two weeks. Jen and I were ecstatic.
Two weeks came and went. Since the license was coming via snail-mail, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and waited a few more days. When nearly three weeks had passed, I called the social worker. He seemed surprised that we hadn’t received it yet. Call back if it hasn’t arrived in the next week or so, he told me.
We waited. Another week passed, with nothing. I called the social worker back. I listened as he looked up our license on his computer. He read off that we had been licensed by the state since June 18th. I glanced at the calendar: July 13th. It had been a full month since our walk-through! Our county social worker was waiting on this one last document before we were officially put into the recruitment center’s computers to find a match. Now nearly a month had been wasted. The state social worker told me that he would “have them regenerate a copy and send it to us”.
I called Jen at work and relayed the message. Jen was not happy with this vague outcome. So she took matters into her own hands. She is a bit of a Google wiz, and somehow found the number for the head office of Social Services Licensing in Sacramento, and got a hold of a director there. She was completely mystified by this: “How on Earth did you get this number?” It was a good thing that Jen found that number, though. Turns out that the state social worker was responsible for sending us the copy of our license! He had been sitting on it for all this time, doing nothing, assuming that we would just magically get our copy! The director was not happy. She called him and had him not only mail us our license, but fax a copy to us ASAP.
Coincidently, our county social worker called Jen the same day to congratulate us on being licensed. The county had received a copy of our license before we did!
On July 16th, two days shy of being licensed a month, we received the mailed copy of our foster license. It is proudly posted on our wall next to our telephone, naming us the “Sedberry Foster Family Home”. We also received a congratulations letter from the county, telling us that we are officially in the recruitment system, and can now literally be called any minute!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Preparing the House
We have finished preparing the house for the Fost-Adopt home studies. We will have two: one for DCFS (LA County), and one for the state of California. Here is the general breakdown of what we have done to our condo to prepare:
Installed baby-proof latches on all our drawers and cabinets
Installed safety device on the mini blind cords
Installed 3 baby gates (hooray for 2 flights of stairs!)
Bought/Installed a fire extinguisher in the kitchen
Found all the utility/emergency numbers and posted them by the telephone
Bought a locking box to store all of our medications
3-Story emergency ladder
Two convertible car seats
We also renovated our “spare room” into a full fledged bedroom:
Bunk beds & bedding
Dresser & Lamp
9-Cubby “cubicle storage unit” with 4 baskets (the other 5 cubbies work as a bookcase)
Multi-colored plastic bin toy storage unit
“Twilight Turtle” constellation night light
Elegant Baby piggy bank
We're pretty sure that we've been a little over-zealous with the preparations, but our theory is that it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared!
For the State we've set up the fingerprinting for the 30th (which is also Jen's 23rd birthday!). It's going to cost $50/person, which is totally exciting.
For the County we've set up the first part of the home study process, which is 3 interviews: one with both of us, and one for each privately with the social worker.
Installed baby-proof latches on all our drawers and cabinets
Installed safety device on the mini blind cords
Installed 3 baby gates (hooray for 2 flights of stairs!)
Bought/Installed a fire extinguisher in the kitchen
Found all the utility/emergency numbers and posted them by the telephone
Bought a locking box to store all of our medications
3-Story emergency ladder
Two convertible car seats
We also renovated our “spare room” into a full fledged bedroom:
Bunk beds & bedding
Dresser & Lamp
9-Cubby “cubicle storage unit” with 4 baskets (the other 5 cubbies work as a bookcase)
Multi-colored plastic bin toy storage unit
“Twilight Turtle” constellation night light
Elegant Baby piggy bank
We're pretty sure that we've been a little over-zealous with the preparations, but our theory is that it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared!
For the State we've set up the fingerprinting for the 30th (which is also Jen's 23rd birthday!). It's going to cost $50/person, which is totally exciting.
For the County we've set up the first part of the home study process, which is 3 interviews: one with both of us, and one for each privately with the social worker.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Orientation
On Thursday, March 26th, Jen and I went to Cerritos College to attend the Fost-Adopt orientation. We arrived about forty minutes early, so we had lunch in the cafeteria. We went into the classroom about fifteen minutes early, and were surprised to see that most of the chairs had already been filled. We were lucky to find the last two chairs sitting together at a table.
Once seated, the LA County Department of Family & Children Services worker greeted us and had us sign in. This was important because they used the sign-in sheets to generate the certificate that signified the completion of the orientation, which in turn is needed to attend the PS-MAPP classes (more on that later). When 12:00 hit, there were approximately thirty people that had come for orientation, which, according to the social worker, was a large class. The first half of the orientation was by LA County Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS), and the second half was by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Community Care Licensing division (CCL).
German (pronounced Her-mahn) was the social worker for LA County, and was extremely professional, informative, and friendly. He talked us through and hour and a half’s worth of exactly how the LA County DFCS works, how and when children are taken from their homes and placed in foster care, how they work with families to make the child’s home safe so that they can return to their family, and how they know that it’s time to terminate the parental rights, making the child eligible for adoption. He gave us statistics, such as last month (February 2009), DFCS worked with 33,000 children. This is all just in LA County only! At any given time, there are 500-800 children eligible for adoption. That just shows how well the county works with the families to get them into shape and equipped for raising their own children correctly. German also gave us the steps for how to become a “Resource Family” to foster these kids. The fastest he’s ever seen someone become licensed and ready to foster was two months. Jen and I hope to fall into the 2-4 month range.
The first step in the Resource Family process is the orientation. Check. The second step, countywise, is to take the county-run PS-MAPP classes. PS-MAPP stands for Permanence and Safety – Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting, which in plain English, is parenting classes. It’s a 33-hour, 6-week course that deals with the basics of parenting and how to deal with behavior/emotional/medical/adjustment problems that foster parents face when taking in a child. We are excited to take these classes and absorb everything they teach us. The trick is getting into a class. In order for the class to commence, a minimum of twenty people need to be signed up, but no more than twenty-five can be admitted. It’s on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we must make sure that we’re super early to the first meeting, and not to forget our orientation completion certificate! Jen and I signed up for the Monday/Wednesday 6-9pm classes at El Camino College in Torrance, which start on April 6th. Hopefully enough people will sign up so that class can start. German told us that that’s not usually a problem.
Congruent to the PS-MAPP classes there are things that we must do for the state in order to get our license. First, we have to fill out the foster family application, which in actuality are several applications in one. The second half of the orientation was run by LaSherrie from the CDSS. She went through what the application looks like, how to fill it out correctly, and where to send it in. All this information is also available on their website: www.ccld.ca.gov. Along with filling out and sending in our application, we have to get a Live Scan background check done, get certified in first aid and CPR, have a physical done, and ready our home for the home study. This includes baby-proofing, setting up the bedroom to accommodate a child (or children), and making sure that everything is up to their safety standards. We must find out all the emergency shut-off for the gas, water & electricity, and get the numbers for the utilities and police. It sounds like a lot when they’re listing all this off, but it’s really not. Plus it’s stuff that should be done anyway.
Tonight we start filling out our application. We will attend CPR and first aid training at the YMCA in late April. The ball has begun rolling!
Once seated, the LA County Department of Family & Children Services worker greeted us and had us sign in. This was important because they used the sign-in sheets to generate the certificate that signified the completion of the orientation, which in turn is needed to attend the PS-MAPP classes (more on that later). When 12:00 hit, there were approximately thirty people that had come for orientation, which, according to the social worker, was a large class. The first half of the orientation was by LA County Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS), and the second half was by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Community Care Licensing division (CCL).
German (pronounced Her-mahn) was the social worker for LA County, and was extremely professional, informative, and friendly. He talked us through and hour and a half’s worth of exactly how the LA County DFCS works, how and when children are taken from their homes and placed in foster care, how they work with families to make the child’s home safe so that they can return to their family, and how they know that it’s time to terminate the parental rights, making the child eligible for adoption. He gave us statistics, such as last month (February 2009), DFCS worked with 33,000 children. This is all just in LA County only! At any given time, there are 500-800 children eligible for adoption. That just shows how well the county works with the families to get them into shape and equipped for raising their own children correctly. German also gave us the steps for how to become a “Resource Family” to foster these kids. The fastest he’s ever seen someone become licensed and ready to foster was two months. Jen and I hope to fall into the 2-4 month range.
The first step in the Resource Family process is the orientation. Check. The second step, countywise, is to take the county-run PS-MAPP classes. PS-MAPP stands for Permanence and Safety – Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting, which in plain English, is parenting classes. It’s a 33-hour, 6-week course that deals with the basics of parenting and how to deal with behavior/emotional/medical/adjustment problems that foster parents face when taking in a child. We are excited to take these classes and absorb everything they teach us. The trick is getting into a class. In order for the class to commence, a minimum of twenty people need to be signed up, but no more than twenty-five can be admitted. It’s on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we must make sure that we’re super early to the first meeting, and not to forget our orientation completion certificate! Jen and I signed up for the Monday/Wednesday 6-9pm classes at El Camino College in Torrance, which start on April 6th. Hopefully enough people will sign up so that class can start. German told us that that’s not usually a problem.
Congruent to the PS-MAPP classes there are things that we must do for the state in order to get our license. First, we have to fill out the foster family application, which in actuality are several applications in one. The second half of the orientation was run by LaSherrie from the CDSS. She went through what the application looks like, how to fill it out correctly, and where to send it in. All this information is also available on their website: www.ccld.ca.gov. Along with filling out and sending in our application, we have to get a Live Scan background check done, get certified in first aid and CPR, have a physical done, and ready our home for the home study. This includes baby-proofing, setting up the bedroom to accommodate a child (or children), and making sure that everything is up to their safety standards. We must find out all the emergency shut-off for the gas, water & electricity, and get the numbers for the utilities and police. It sounds like a lot when they’re listing all this off, but it’s really not. Plus it’s stuff that should be done anyway.
Tonight we start filling out our application. We will attend CPR and first aid training at the YMCA in late April. The ball has begun rolling!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
It begins!... The amazing journey we are embarking on.
Hello all and welcome to our blog. Jessie and I had this idea a few months ago to start a blog about out lives together. Very quickly however, we realized that as much as we love each other... our life is VERY boring. Well, all of this is about to change. You see, Jessie and I have decided that we are ready to expand our family beyond the current status of two kooky women and three overly pampered felines. Now I'm sure you're wondering exactly how we are going to achieve this goal since unlike hetero couples, there are no "pleasant surprises". Jess and I have discussed this at length, and length... and length. We have considered using a donor, both known and unknown, and have discussed adoption of every kind. Recently, through conversations and independent soul searching we have come to a mutual agreement that adoption is where our hearts truly are. Biological children are a blessing, and neither of us are nixing that option all together (we have YEARS before we're no longer able to biologically parent), but with this world already having so many wonderful children who are in need of homes and loving families, this is our perfect fit.
Adoption in itself can be a very daunting process, filled with an entire spectrum of emotion, along with mountains of paperwork and interviews. Luckily, together Jessie and I can conquer anything and we are both committed to do whatever it takes to fulfill our dream of parenthood. We have been in the extensive research phase for about a week now, and today we took our first leap. We have officially registered with the Department of Children and Family Services, with the intent to enter the Fost-Adopt program. On March 26th we will attend a three hour orientation with other hopeful applicants where we will learn the step-by-step process of fostering and adoption and submit our application.
Adoption in itself can be a very daunting process, filled with an entire spectrum of emotion, along with mountains of paperwork and interviews. Luckily, together Jessie and I can conquer anything and we are both committed to do whatever it takes to fulfill our dream of parenthood. We have been in the extensive research phase for about a week now, and today we took our first leap. We have officially registered with the Department of Children and Family Services, with the intent to enter the Fost-Adopt program. On March 26th we will attend a three hour orientation with other hopeful applicants where we will learn the step-by-step process of fostering and adoption and submit our application.
Now, the internet is an endless wealth of information, both factual and confusing. Jessie and I have found that all the research in the world still lead us down a muddled road with dead-ends abound. Fost-Adopt, though a wonderful program, is not that easy to find on the web. Luck however is in our favor. In June of '07 Jess and I were married by a man named George who has traveled the Fost-Adopt road successfully twice and is now, along with his partner, the proud father of two beautiful children. We sent him an e-mail a few days ago and he was more than happy to share in his knowledge of the beginning steps. Furthermore, this man is so warm-hearted that he has volunteered to meet with us at any time to discuss our next steps if we ever feel lost in our journey. Since Jessie and I are new to this, and are finding quickly that this helping hand is welcome, we are extending the same to anyone out there who has also decided to take this route. The following links are those that George gave us, both of which have been very helpful in answering some starting questions and guiding us toward the right numbers to call and people to talk to. We'll blog again as soon as we have reached the next step. Thanks for reading.
LA County Adoption FAQ's
Adoption Handbook: Very Useful Source of Information
The phone number for LA County to register for an orientation is 888-811-1121.
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