Crash Course in Adoption

When adoption did not pan out, we decided to wait.  In this time, we move to Florida.  We were looking for better opportunities.  Luckily we found jobs with ATT.  After my initial test, I was told that once I got on, I would have a job for life.  Eventually, I talked Angie into this great situation.  

At this time, Florida's Department of Children and Families was running commercials and new stories about needing parents for foster and adoptive programs.  This was it.  We jumped in and made the call.  A week or two later, we were still seeing the commercials, but had not received a call.  Angie tried to call again, but kept getting the runaround.  

I said we should call the news organization that kept running the stories.  That day, they came by our workplace for an interview.  We just told them that we really wanted to help children and that they had not even called us back, while continuing to run commercials and stories.  That night, we attended our first class.  To be an adoptive/foster parent, you must attend a number of classes.  

These classes prepare you to take in a child who may or may not want to be in your home.  Most of them still have parents.  Some are trying to get them back, while others may not be trying.  The kids usually come with emotional and psychological issues that you have to be prepared for.  These classes even have information that new parents giving birth can find useful.  I would say it would be good for all to go through these kind of classes.  

During the classes, we attended with people who wanted to foster and people who wanted to adopt.  We were leaning towards adoption.  One night, I overhear our trainer talking to a family about a special program.  It was called Foster to Adopt.   We asked about it.  It sounded good.  You bring in a child and foster them before you adopt them.  At that point, we changed to foster to adopt.  

I think we were a little naive.  When the state removes a child from a family, their priority it reunification.  They do not just remove a child and say this child is going to adoption.  After about 30 or so children, we decided that we could not continue to do this.  It is hard, but can be rewarding.  

It did prepare us for what was going to happen when we did adopt.  I would suggest it as a great learning tool.  Unfortunately, you can not use that experience to cover for your Hague training.