Adoption Journal #17

Well, Mandy and I went to our Foster Care Application Workshop the other evening in order to complete the requirements by Orange County soial services. We sat for three hours listening to the rules, regulations and expectations of the Foster Care branch of OC SSA. Much of what we heard was disheartening, and some contradicted things we had previously heard.We were told that Foster Care has a 120 day timeline once receiving our application. (Mind you we have already completed an Adoption application, 27 hours of parenting classes, 8 hours of First-Aid CPR, and 16 hours of further adoption classes over the past 12 months). Previously our county adoption worker had informed us to wait until we had completed our Birdge Builder classes (further adoption classes beyond th 27 hour PRIDE/parenting training) to submit our Foster application. She informed us that once our application was submitted that things would move quickly and that it was best to have everything completed. Now we find out that we could have submitted this three or four months ago and began the 120 day timeline, which would mean tha we would have our foster license now and be done with our requirements. Now we may need to wait another 4 months because we received some bad input. Further, the fact that our apartment complex has a pool and a little stream might delay us, according to the licensing worker we met with the other evening.All of this was a bit of a downer as we had begun to get excited with the painting of our child's room and the anticipation that it was a matter of weeks. Now it looks like things will take even longer. We pray that red-tape is cut and that the process goes a much-much-much quicker than expected.Overall, not a great week on the Adoption front. Again we are reminded that the system is broken. OC Social Service Adoptions and Foster Care (we have to go through both divisions to get a child) both require fingerprinting. Now Mandy and I have nothing to hide, but it seems a bit ridiculous to spend the money and effort for two sets of fingerprints when their offices are only separated by a couple inches of wood and plaster. This is just another example of the bureaucratic mechanism that makes it difficult for good people to take care of kids who need homes. It shouldn't be so hard.