Hello! I'm new to this forum so please accept my apologies in advance if I ever repeat questions already asked.
My husband and I have started the process of becoming approved for foster to adopt again after a couple of years out of the system. The first time we were approved our caseworker told us that because we wanted to adopt we had to be very specific about the type of child we wanted to adopt. We had specified that we wanted to ADOPT a son up to approximately 8 years old, we could not accept special needs but mild learning disabilities and race were not an issue. We have 2 daughters and want to make the change to our family a positive experience for them.
Over the course of time we were approved with the agency we received several calls for placement. We were called for a sibling group of 3, a teenage boy, a sibling set of 2 (8 and 12) and the list goes on. After a long, long wait we got a call for a 2 year old boy with slight developmental delay and his 10 month old sister who were not legally free for adoption yet but that they believed would be. My husband and I discussed the situation and called the caseworker back within the hour to accept the placement. She told us the paperwork would be stated and she set up an appointment to do a training with us for the following week. We purchased cribs, clothing, toys, and set up their bedroom. We prepared our girls and we were all very excited.
The following week when the caseworker showed up we did our training and she didn't mention the kids. She was sorting out paperwork and putting things away and I asked, "when should we find out when the babies will be coming?" She looked at me with no emotion whatsoever and said, "oh, yeah, you're not getting them. They decided to keep them in another county. I'll call ya if we have anything else for ya." Our family was so sad but I was devistated.
We did not do our recertification the following year because I was actually angry with her lack of emotion.
Now, here it is a couple of years later and we are trying again. We've filled out most of our paperwork, submitted our financials, and are on our way. Before we start the process of actually jumping through hoops again I have some questions.
Has anyone else experienced something like what we did?
Is this standard practice and we just didn't know?
Were they just testing us?
Is there hope to adopt from foster care in PA or are we just kidding ourselves?
Any advice or support would be so appreciated.
My husband and I have started the process of becoming approved for foster to adopt again after a couple of years out of the system. The first time we were approved our caseworker told us that because we wanted to adopt we had to be very specific about the type of child we wanted to adopt. We had specified that we wanted to ADOPT a son up to approximately 8 years old, we could not accept special needs but mild learning disabilities and race were not an issue. We have 2 daughters and want to make the change to our family a positive experience for them.
Over the course of time we were approved with the agency we received several calls for placement. We were called for a sibling group of 3, a teenage boy, a sibling set of 2 (8 and 12) and the list goes on. After a long, long wait we got a call for a 2 year old boy with slight developmental delay and his 10 month old sister who were not legally free for adoption yet but that they believed would be. My husband and I discussed the situation and called the caseworker back within the hour to accept the placement. She told us the paperwork would be stated and she set up an appointment to do a training with us for the following week. We purchased cribs, clothing, toys, and set up their bedroom. We prepared our girls and we were all very excited.
The following week when the caseworker showed up we did our training and she didn't mention the kids. She was sorting out paperwork and putting things away and I asked, "when should we find out when the babies will be coming?" She looked at me with no emotion whatsoever and said, "oh, yeah, you're not getting them. They decided to keep them in another county. I'll call ya if we have anything else for ya." Our family was so sad but I was devistated.
We did not do our recertification the following year because I was actually angry with her lack of emotion.
Now, here it is a couple of years later and we are trying again. We've filled out most of our paperwork, submitted our financials, and are on our way. Before we start the process of actually jumping through hoops again I have some questions.
Has anyone else experienced something like what we did?
Is this standard practice and we just didn't know?
Were they just testing us?
Is there hope to adopt from foster care in PA or are we just kidding ourselves?
Any advice or support would be so appreciated.