Maury asked how this process works, so let me explain if I can.
I get to tell Maury something that he doesn't know!! Ok, this is a first, so let me just take a minute to bask in the glory of being able to impart my wealth of knowledge to one who is lacking in understanding.
Ok, so this is the way this thing works. Phillip and I are going through classes to become licensed foster parents. As licensed foster parents, we will be taking into our home "wards of the State." We could take any age, gender child we wanted to take. We could probably have as many as 4 other kids in the house if we wanted to...which we don't. We are specifically requesting an infant whose legal status is "termination" or "adoption." Some kids are put into foster care so their parents can get their acts together and be reunited with their kiddos. This means that the baby we get will either be on it's way to having the parental rights terminated or they will already be terminated. We have to have the baby in our home for 6 months before we can start the adoption proceedings. That time starts the minute the baby is placed with us even if rights are not already terminated. So, until the adoption is final, it is still possible that the baby could be reunited with birth family, not necessarily the parents, but extended family. But the relatives cannot have any history with C.P.S. whatsoever. And unfortunately, there aren't usually any people who qualify within the family. So, once we've had the baby for six months, we can move to consummate the adoption and the child will be legally ours.
Any questions? I gotta go to work!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
Of course, I may have just been asking that because I know others don't know what the process is, and I wanted to make sure you explained it. Social Engineering is a wonderful thing. =)
But seriously, thanks for the info. If I'm understanding correctly, you could have her for 5 months an 28 days and then someone (birth parents of extended family) could still take her? Holy crap, that would suck — I'd be on pins and needles for all 6 months!
Am I totally misunderstanding?
No, that's pretty much it. Now, we will be informed about what's going on with the bio. parents. They won't just swoop in and take her without warning. The lady in our class last night said, "Until the ink is dry on the paper, that is not your child." Or something like that. But, the reality is, most of these babies are never reunited with their bio. families and C.P.S. doesn't ususally take kids out of foster homes unless they have a really good reason. They are too busy with the kids that need to be rescued. But it is very scary. They will keep us informed about her status and what they are expecting to happen....atleast they claim that they'll keep us informed. But when you're dealing with Government agencies, things don't always make sense.
Ugh. I can't imagine the stress! Regardless, I'm sure having her will FAAAAAAR outweigh any of the scaries, and I'm sure the 6 months will blow by.
Did you guys ever find out what her age will be for sure (if you can share that)? I told my sister I thought she was going to be a really young baby, but I wasn't sure if those details were (or could be) nailed-down.
We requested a biracial girl between the age of 0-4 months. Foster parents can be as specific as they want. They just may have to wait longer if they're too specific.
We'll be able to share lots of general information about the baby, like what she looks like, what age, race, etc. We'll be able to post about funny things that happen and stuff like that. We just can't write about stuff that's her personal business. Mostly stuff about bio. family is off limits.
The six months from the day you bring her home will be the worst! I'll be praying that this all works out for you. You are a wonderful mom!
And thanks for explaining how it all works. I, personally, had no idea.
Post a Comment