Our license worker, and our original orientation course had us under the impression that adoption is an option that has good chances. After the PRIDE classes Nate has been through (his end this week) and my one class (I started today) we found this to not be the case. The goal of the county is for the reunification of the child to their biological family - this can take up to 18 months of searching depending on the judge.
This now gives us a few options; we can go in and stick to adoption like planned, but we still have to become foster parents to do that, not just licensed as foster parents as we were told originally. We can do only foster care and not adopt, but just provide a loving home for children as they need it. Lastly, we can be the middle home between foster care and placement of the adoptive family.
It is a lot to think about and a lot to discuss. We now know we are NOT here for adoption anymore. We will go in knowing that we are NOT adopting, but we are FOSTERING this child. We need to prepare our families that this child we have all grown to love whether it be over days, weeks, months or years of care might be returning to family members at some point.
This isn't about US becoming a family, this is about us bringing a child, "our" child, home for however long God feels we need to be in that child's life. I hate to say that I hope/pray a child becomes adoptable for us because that means that someone else and their family lost out on such an incredible little life, but at the same time, i want to be selfish and say that I would love to build my family this way.
Lots of thinking, praying, and talking to do, but we will come to the right decision for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment