On October 31, 2016, my husband and I became the parents of our 2 grandsons and our granddaughter. It was a 2 plus year process for our grandsons and 1 year plus process with our granddaughter with DCS. Truthfully we never thought we were going to see the end of the long winding road of DCS Foster care but the end did come. The finny part was just how quick everything was over and it left you with so many questions. Such as now that we have adopted the children, what happens next?
State workers are overworked. I get that. However not everyone is knowledgeable about the adoption process within the state. My family and I were definitely in the dark about the process. We did have an adoption case manager but unfortunately for us he was not really any help to us. Thankfully, we are resourceful and know how to advocate for ourselves and got in touch with our lawyer how answered most if not all of our questions.
Going into the adoption my husband and I were the kinship foster parents of our grandchildren. We moved to a larger house in March 2016, which meant our home had to be inspected. We also had to renew our foster license in 2016. I have often said if parents had to go through the rules and regulations of foster parents, it may result in less children in the foster care system. Not only must your home be clean but your water has to be a certain temperature, as well as your refrigerator. The children must have beds, dressers (or a container for clothes), clothes, ways to transport the children to appointments, etc. Natural parents don't have to such restrictions. Foster parents do however receive help from their licensing agencies and various nonprofits that focus on helping foster parents and children. Unfortunately, all the help goes away once the adoption takes place. In some cases it is not immediate but in others it is instantaneous. In our case we were able to receive help for our first adoptive Christmas. The children received toys, clothes, and shoes. Raising one child without health problems can be difficult but in our case we have 2 children with health issues and 1 one child with behavioral problems. In our almost 3 year journey there were times when we wanted to throw in the towel but we were determined to stick with it until the best solution for everyone happened.
As we look toward 2017, we will be working out creating a resource for adoptive kinship parents. More details will be coming in the new year. Henderson-Hughes Health Partners (H3P) also has first period pouches available free of charge for young ladies in need. Details are listed on our website H3P1.org.
Have a blessed and happy new year!
