That's right - we are D.O.N.E. with our part of the foster licensing part! Home study - check. Fingerprints - check. Medical physicals - check. Dogs updated on all shots - check. Five letters of references - check. Nine weeks of training classes - check!
It seems like a lot, but really - it's been an easy process. Maybe that's because our licensing specialist was great?! She answered so many questions for us, and we feel as prepared as we can be for this new adventure. Our paperwork will be sent off to Springfield, and hopefully our license will be issued in May! Then we tie our phones to ourselves and wait for the first call. It could come right away, or we could wait for several months.
It's all in God's hands.... :)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Home Stretch
It's finally here - ONE more DCFS class left! Wow, I can't believe that it has almost been 9 weeks. We really have learned a lot through these classes and adjusted our expectations and perceptions. Are we fully prepared? Probably not! But that's what will make it interesting, right?!
We did finally get our finger prints done. The lady doing the finger prints obviously hates her job, but we were in and out in 45 minutes. :) We took the dogs to the vet today to get updated on all of their shots. It's so funny that they get a shot in the bum that freaks them out every time we go there, yet they are SO excited to go every time. They must have a short memory...or else we don't get them out much and anything will excite them!
This week we have the final piece of our home study. They will come take a tour of our house, make sure all the cleaning supplies are out of reach, water isn't too hot, no mysterious plants growing in the basement, etc. :) They will also measure and then tell us how many kids we can get licensed for. Most likely we will get licensed for 6, but we are pretty firm on just getting one at a time.
When we started the DCFS classes in January, I told myself that spring will be here when the classes are almost done to cheer myself up. :) And I was right - spring is here! I have a lot of respect for those people that work all day and then attend class at night - KUDOS to you, it's tough.
We did finally get our finger prints done. The lady doing the finger prints obviously hates her job, but we were in and out in 45 minutes. :) We took the dogs to the vet today to get updated on all of their shots. It's so funny that they get a shot in the bum that freaks them out every time we go there, yet they are SO excited to go every time. They must have a short memory...or else we don't get them out much and anything will excite them!
This week we have the final piece of our home study. They will come take a tour of our house, make sure all the cleaning supplies are out of reach, water isn't too hot, no mysterious plants growing in the basement, etc. :) They will also measure and then tell us how many kids we can get licensed for. Most likely we will get licensed for 6, but we are pretty firm on just getting one at a time.
When we started the DCFS classes in January, I told myself that spring will be here when the classes are almost done to cheer myself up. :) And I was right - spring is here! I have a lot of respect for those people that work all day and then attend class at night - KUDOS to you, it's tough.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
3 more weeks...
...and then we are done with our foster training classes! We've completed 6 classes...whew! The class this week was about disciplining foster kids. Basically - no spanking, no withholding food, no verbal abuse, etc. The material had good advice on how to address various issues with foster children and appropriate methods that will work. You may think "there's nothing wrong with spanking!" and "I was spanked and look how great I turned out!" I would probably agree, except for when it comes to a foster child. Spanking may be a way to discipline a child that has had a somewhat normal childhood and feels continually loved by his/her parents, however that all changes when you're dealing with a foster child that has been through a not-so-great situation in their home.
These classes are tough to sit through on a Monday evening after working all day...however, the material the past few weeks has been really good and thought provoking. I can say we have definitely learned a lot!
A few things we still need to get taken care of before our classes are over: fingerprinting (tomorrow, hopefully!), a vet visit for the dogs (get up to date with their shots), and part two of the home study (March 18th!). Sean and I both got our medical physicals in February, and we got the stamp of approval from our docs!
These classes are tough to sit through on a Monday evening after working all day...however, the material the past few weeks has been really good and thought provoking. I can say we have definitely learned a lot!
A few things we still need to get taken care of before our classes are over: fingerprinting (tomorrow, hopefully!), a vet visit for the dogs (get up to date with their shots), and part two of the home study (March 18th!). Sean and I both got our medical physicals in February, and we got the stamp of approval from our docs!
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