(Mission: Adoption) The Meeting
The other day, I was considering moving all of our adoption-related stuff to a new blog. I thought it would be nice to keep things separate and for those people that might find the information useful, it would all be in one easy place.
But then I reconsidered.
This blog is about me, and about my life. Somedays I may ramble on about the time I peed my pants, my struggles with impending Alzheimers, the day my husband went to lunch with a dwarf, or how my dog gets revenge on me by pooping in my shoes. Bottom line, the blog is real. The stories are real, and if this adoption is going to be a major part of my life over the next couple years (or more), this is the right place for it to be. I have worries, fears, and expectations and excitement regarding everything that will be happening soon. It is overwhelming and its my life. So rather than sticking it over in another blog and leaving this site for my daily ramblings, its going to stay here.
All of it.
Feel free to read along with me. We’d love to have all of you join us in this journey, because I think we will need all of the prayers and support we can get.
On Saturday, we went to the first of many meetings and classes on our path to adoption. This was merely an informational meeting, meant to not only give people a quickie run-down of what is involved in the process, but also to collect paperwork, fingerprint cards, and probably to make sure people were seriously interested.
The meeting was scheduled to start at 10:00 am, and we walked in the door just a couple minutes early. By the time we got there, the small room was almost full. There was one couple that came in after us, and if I counted correctly, there were 16 couples in the room. All of them with the intention of either becoming foster parents, fostering to adopt, or direct adoption. At the beginning of the meeting, we went around the room and had to introduce ourselves. Paula, our moderator, also asked us to say what our current living situation was (# of kids and their relationship to us) and what we were at the meeting for.
Out of the 16 couples, I think there were 3 of us that were there for adoption. The rest of the couples were there to become foster parents, some with the intention of adopting eventually. Some of the couples had kids living at home, some had no kids. There were people there of all ages and backgrounds. There was an African-American couple, a lesbian couple, and an Hispanic couple. All of us there for one reason.
To change the life of a child.
Did you know that at any given time, there are approximately 4,000 children in the state of Iowa in “out of home” placements. Four THOUSAND kids. I was amazed.
These children range in age from newborn to age 18, and most of them have experienced some form of abuse or neglect. And all of them have experience the loss of their family. Of those children, 72% of them are school-aged (age 6 &up) children.
Now here’s maybe some more information you don’t already know. Did you know it costs virtually nothing to adopt a child from the foster care system? Virtually everything will be reimbursed to us. They even collected our receipts from our fingerprinting and will be mailing us a reimbursement check. Also, because the children are classified as “special needs” the adoptive parents can be eligible for an adoption subsidy to help pay for the costs of medical treatment, therapists and psychologicists? I will stress that this is NOT a money-making opportunity, and it’s sad that there are people out there that are in it for the money. But for those people that are considering adoption or foster care, it’s worth your time to get more information about it. We learned a lot, and are excited for the next step.
What is the next step for us? Well, they collected our paperwork and said it takes anywhere from 2-14 days to get our fingerprints cards processed and background checks completed. After that, we will receive a phone call from someone about scheduling our series of 10 PS-MAPP classes. These classes are 3 hours long, once a week for 10 weeks. They are held at a local community college. We will have the opportunity to learn about the emotional needs of foster and adoptive children, discipline methods, working as a team, the impact this will have on our family, and the legal system. During the 10 weeks, we will also have 3 meetings with our case worker in our home. Everyone in our household will meet with the caseworker, and during those 3 visits, our home study will be completed. After the classes and the home study are done, assuming everything goes well, we are eligible to begin looking for a child.
Now we just sit and wait.
Tags: adoption, foster care, Iowa, meeting
7 Comments
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Sincerely Jenni — February 2, 2010 @ 1:44 PM
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By Jo, February 2, 2010 @ 8:48 AM
Good Luck Jenni (and family!)
As a teacher, I’ve had several foster children and special needs adopted children come through my life. The families that take them in are special people and I know you’ll be great at it!
By Jenni, February 2, 2010 @ 9:09 AM
Thank you! I appreciate it!
By tamara b, February 2, 2010 @ 12:55 PM
very cool my dear. My friend Michelle and her husband will be attending their info meeting tonight. I’m so excited for them. Some other friends of mine finished their training a few months back. Both couples live in my town (okay, I’m really a country girl but I claim this town) and go to my church. I’ll pass your blog along.
Keep sharing so more people will know
tamara b´s last blog ..Why I’m exhausted today…
By Shelby, February 3, 2010 @ 4:48 PM
I’m with you every step of the way. I think it’s an amazing thing you are doing. So completely unselfish and giving. I’m here for you. Can’t wait to celebrate with you, too.
Shelby´s last blog ..There’s No Place Like Home
By Belinda, February 3, 2010 @ 7:24 PM
I remember having a foster sister with cerebral palsy who lived with us for a while when I was about 5 or 6. Her name was Jodi. It took alot of work but my parents did it and survived. I’m not sure if you are fostering to adopt or straight adoption but whichever it is, I think you are a wonderful person! And whatever child you are blessed with will be equally blessed.
By Holly, February 4, 2010 @ 3:39 PM
Well since you were ever so nice to leave a comment on my blog I had to hop over to check out your blog. Congrats on the adoption plans. We started with international then were going to do fostering but in the end went with a semi private domestic adoption. Please feel free to ask any questions during your rollercoaster wait. My ulitimate dream would be to start a mentoring blog for those in the process of waiting. Many blessings to you in this new adventure!!!