When I decided to go through the foster care system, I didn’t realize just how long of a journey it would be. I’m not saying I didn’t do my research. I did about ten years worth of playing around with the idea of being an adoptive parent, and during that time I learned quite a bit about the process. I knew I would need to go through parenting classes for sure, but it turns out there’s so much more than that. Along with those sessions, I’ve now completed training on how to care for children who have been through trauma, how to de-escalate high-stress situations, CPR, First Aid, AED, medication administration, bloodborne pathogens, safety precautions for sleeping babies, and I’m sure more that I can’t even remember now.
More nerve-wracking than all of these have been preparations for the home study, where an agency worker comes into your home to interview you, go over policies, and then tell you all of the things that will need to be fixed in order for you to be certified. These typically happen over the course of four visits, each lasting a few hours. My preparation for these has consisted mostly of a slow trickle of panic in the weeks before the visit, a complete meltdown the day before, and then being anxious the entire day of the actual visit.
Today was my second visit, where we went over policies, and I signed all sorts of paperwork. For the past month leading up to this, I have been organizing, cleaning, and preparing my home for the off chance that the safety check would happen. Today as we finished up the policies, my social worker asked if I was up for going through the safety check now since it has to be done twice, and there was time. And so we did.
After it was all said and done, the two-page checklist I was given at the beginning of this process was completed, with each item checked off. The one thing I missed? Those little plastic outlet protectors that you plug in. So close…
I feel very lucky to be working with Children’s Home Society, and have nothing but nice things to say about how this process has gone for me. My social worker said a lot of kind things to me during her visit today, things that helped me to breathe a sigh of relief. Things that helped me to realize that everything was fine and that I was doing a good job of preparing. However, one of the kindest and most meaningful things that happened today was when we walked into the kid’s room and the expression of joy that came over her face. It’s the same feeling that I get every time I walk in there myself.
Though there’s still a bit more to finish before certification, I am down to what I believe will be my final home study in the coming months. It’s hard to believe that after months of preparation, I’m nearing the end of the first chapter in this book.