Our licensing worker, Frances', plan was two-fold. I would text the case-manager at the shelter where Marcus had been placed (I still had her contact information in my phone) and she would e-mail Victoria, the DCS congregate care liaison to inquire as to whether any children in a shelter or group home were ready to… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Call
Our Foster Parenting Journey: A Good Foster Parent
After my difficult conversation with our placement worker, I wasn't looking forward to my meeting with our licensing worker, Frances. My husband would be at work and Frances (like most people) prefers my husband over me. If we had realized the conversation would be difficult, we would have scheduled a time where he could be… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: A Good Foster Parent
Love isn’t enough.
Spoiler alert. As of today, two years after I almost quit foster parenting, I am writing this while sitting next to my nine year old son - who lived with us as a foster placement for 18 months before we adopted him. He is the love of our lives. But two years ago this week,… Continue reading Love isn’t enough.
Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Price of Competence.
After a two week break, we went back on "the list." But it didn't take long for us to notice something was different this time around. We repeatedly received referral calls for children with "high needs case management" - whether or not they fit our profile. One inquiry was from Ivette, the child behavior specialist who… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Price of Competence.
Our Foster Parenting Journey: High Needs Case Management
It was Tuesday evening before we were able to get the appropriate security clearance to visit Marcus at the Children's Hospital. And we didn't really know what to expect when we got there. It was less than 10 days before halloween and one of my good friends made and decorated adorable skeleton cookies that… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: High Needs Case Management
Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Breakdown
The Monday after our rough weekend with Marcus, I worked from home. We had a pre-scheduled meeting that afternoon with Ivette, the counselor that attempted to work with Marcus in his first foster home. She had asked to meet with us to discuss strategies to work with Marcus when he ultimately moved into our home.… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Breakdown
Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Morning After
When we woke the next morning, my first call was to the shelter to check on how Marcus was doing after we dropped him off the night before. His shelter case manager, we'll call her "Kathy," picked up the phone immediately. "What happened?" I could hear the concern in her voice. For all of the… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Morning After
New Site Page: Foster Parent Resources!
I am so excited to announce the addition of a new "Foster Parent Resources" page to my site! Since we became foster parents, I learned that so many other people I know have also considered becoming foster parents or adopting through foster care. So I've compiled all of my recommended reading, watching, and listening into one… Continue reading New Site Page: Foster Parent Resources!
Our Foster Parenting Journey: So we’re no longer welcome at Barnes and Noble…
If you read my last post, you know it had already been a rough morning with Marcus. So when he jumped out of our moving vehicle, tried to board a city bus, then ran into the Barnes and Noble, I had a feeling we were in for it. In the nearly two hours that we… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: So we’re no longer welcome at Barnes and Noble…
Our Foster Parenting Journey: The one where we leave a path of destruction…
So this is a long one, but I promise it's an entertaining read. It's got everything: suspense; a police chase; a child jumping out of a moving vehicle (okay a slowly moving vehicle but still...keep those child locks on folks). Grab some wine and pull up a chair. We learned in our foster parenting classes… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The one where we leave a path of destruction…