So, this time last year, we were in the midst of parenting classes with KVC. We blogged about the first couple of classes, but then quit as part of putting this entire storytelling on hold. There is no way to recover our initial impressions from the various class sessions, so I won't even try.
Before Thanksgiving, they wrapped up. Earlier than originally scheduled. KVC was moving offices and didn't want to move our classes, so they went through the material even more speedily than they usually do.
I thought the classes were better than I expected them to be. It was most interesting hearing from the other participants in the classes, particularly those who had been in foster care themselves.
But later it felt like we had missed lots of crucial information. I think we ultimately needed less in the way of general parenting tips and more about crisis management and more on how to navigate the foster care and social work system here in the state of Nebraska.
By the final class, we were actually surprised that we were through. They gave us our certificates of completion. I was fond of jokingly saying, "We completed our parenting classes and got our certificates. We now know everything about being parents."
While we were wrapping up the classes, we were also preparing the house for our home study. I blogged a little bit about shopping for those preparations last year. We had to lock lots of things away. Many cleaning supplies and the liquor went into the basement. Other cleaning supplies and all medicines went into the linen closet (and linens went into the bathroom cabinet). What a pain in the ass it was to actually have to carry a key around to get these things. The linen closet had probably never been locked, so we had to do some work on the over 100 year old locks, changing some out from different doors (as the closet lock wouldn't work right), oiling, etc. We also had to go to the locksmith to find keys to fit them. Just getting the locks to work was a pain.
Michael put plastic plugs in all the outlets (though we ended up with a kid old enough to not need them, but we had to have them to begin with). Michael also designed our tornado and fire evacuation plans/map and posted it in the child's bedroom. I put a lock on the attic as well. And we had to update our fire alarms. And more. It was a lot of extra work.
We had filled out our individual self-study forms and turned them in. We also had to provide references, get finger printed, and have background checks run on us. We had to provide detailed financial information and a copy of our Iowa marriage license.
All of this was put together by a KVC staffer who then came to visit us at home. She looked the house over and made sure that we had completed all the things we were supposed to complete. She also reviewed our individual self-studies and asked us lots of follow-up questions. Much of her focus was on why we wanted kids and asking questions about our own family pasts. Again, I wish I had written much of this down at the time, even if I couldn't post it, but I didn't. She stayed for a least an hour and a half.
At the end of the session, she said she was still waiting to get some stuff from our Oklahoma background checks, but once those things came in, the packet would be complete and KVC would send it off to DHHS with a recommendation that we be licensed as foster parents. We asked how long we'd have to wait. She said that it would probably be a couple of months.
So, with all the classes and the preparations done, we settled in to wait.
-- Scott
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