Home Study

I apologize for not getting this update out sooner. I started to write it, but just never finished it.

OK, so, first of all I'd like to thank all of you for your prayers and well-wishes for my Home Study this past Saturday. From what I could gather, it appeared to have gone alright. Here is what happened on Saturday...

  

My licensing agent arrived and Freckles barked! The End!

 

 

Ha! This woman was nice, but she loves dogs. (Freckles tends to only quickly become friends with those who don't.) I immediately informed her, as I do all of my guests, that if she just ignored him all would be well. I knew I was going to have an issue when she responded by trying to convince Freckles that she loves dogs, that she is a nice person, etc. After a few minutes she did back off, but, since she started off on the wrong foot with him, he was huffy & barky most of the time we were talking. I was even fully accessible to him this time- with her in the corner. He just wouldn't come near her. I also gave him a bone after a while - which only slightly helped. He finally settled down about 30-45 min after she arrived. I was bummed, but she kept saying it was OK.

  

So anyway, the meeting was much shorter than anticipated. I had done research on Home Studies & found a variety of questions that are often asked as I wanted to be able to think them through a bit before having to provide an official answer. I ended up being over-prepared. However, I'm sure it was of benefit to think through all of the other questions as well.

Here is just some of what we discussed:

- Were you raised in a two-parent home & are they still living?

- What type of relationship do you have with your family?

- How did your parents discipline you?
- Did your parents provide for all of your emotional & physical needs?
- Did you ever have any interaction with DCFS a growing up?
- How would you describe your personality?
- Why do you want to foster/adopt?
- Where did you go to college & what did you study?
- Where do you work & what is your job title?
- What, if any, religious affiliation do you have? What is your level of involvement (regular attender/other activities)?

We also discussed information about the age range, sex, and other information about the children I would be interested in fostering. She shared more information with me about fostering, the process, different meetings, procedures,  and other tips.

After we discussed everything, she did another walk-through of the home and then headed out. I felt that it went well and that she seemed happy with the answers I provided. At least, she didn't point out any issues during the conversation or walk-through. And, I'm guessing that at this stage, if she noticed an issue, she would be telling me about it.

The biggest thing that makes me feel a bit more confident in the idea of me passing all the steps to the process and receiving my license lies in a brief conversation partway through my Licensing Worker's visit.

Towards the end of the interview, it went like this:

LW: "Well, as soon as we finish here, I will take this back, put it in the computer, and then you should recieve your license in about two weeks."

Me: (slightly dumfounded) "Before I finish my training?"

LW: "You haven't finished training yet?! I thought you already finished..."

Me: "No, I haven't even begun training. I start next week."

LW: "Oh yeah! I remember now. Your clearances were finished, maybe that's what I was thinking."

Considering I haven't even started training and she is already trying to give me my license...I'll take that as a good sign. Also, as she was leaving my home, she mentioned how, after training, then the license would be issued. I'm not sure if she was referring to me specifically or the standard process (once all the steps are complete and your clearances have passed then you recieve your license). But, as I said, I think it went well, I haven't been told of anything I need to work on or change, and the things in which we were discussing about the kids makes me feel that I will, in fact, be receiving my license once I have completed training.
So, that's it for now. The Home Study went well and training starts next Saturday! Training will make for a long week, running from 9:30am-4:30pm, but I'm thankful for the Saturday option! That will happen for the next few weeks and then, it appears, the real adventure will begin!