The first days....
My partner and I are starting the process of adoption and I am very curious to ALWAYS know whats next....
So I google EVERYTHING. But I couldn't find anything online that gave me the step by step experiences. How long does the process take? When do you get licensed? What are the costs?
We have had so many questions and I thought I should do a blog so that I can help the next person/couple that is interested in adopting.
We are going through CPS and the first thing you need to do is go to a free informational meeting. They last about an hour. They explain the process to you and they will tell you that you will need to take a 6 week PRIDE course (Saturdays) or 11 week course (evenings) in order to get licensed. They also STRONGLY encourage Foster to adopt, but we chose to adopt only. <--I don't think my heart could take a separation.
We went to our informational meeting in December of 2009 and we just participated in our first PRIDE class on 3/6/2010. The classes start at 9am and don't end until 4 or 5pm.
Now...just like in any class....the first thing they did was ask everyone to introduce themselves and explain what their motivation to adopt is. I personally would have liked for them to do this later in the class, once everyone is more comfortable with each other.
So we watch videos, talk about what these children have been through, we had interactive activities and we were able to ask questions.
After my day, I am thinking that this is going to be a very quick process. We have a lot to do to our house (minor, but a lot none the less), we have to take CPR classes, get TB tested, install carbon monoxide alarms and a few other things. All of this information was in a GINORMOUS binder that they gave each family. Did I mention we have homework?
Tasks aside....I am feeling overwhelmed. Not in a bad way...I just never thought this would actually happen. I've gotten so used to not being able to have or do things that "normal" people get to do. I kinda really accepted that my life would just be different. And now with the adoption and me choosing to change my last name...its all....VERY REAL.
I'm excited and I think the next couple of months are going to be the slowest AND the fastest months ever! ;)
So I google EVERYTHING. But I couldn't find anything online that gave me the step by step experiences. How long does the process take? When do you get licensed? What are the costs?
We have had so many questions and I thought I should do a blog so that I can help the next person/couple that is interested in adopting.
We are going through CPS and the first thing you need to do is go to a free informational meeting. They last about an hour. They explain the process to you and they will tell you that you will need to take a 6 week PRIDE course (Saturdays) or 11 week course (evenings) in order to get licensed. They also STRONGLY encourage Foster to adopt, but we chose to adopt only. <--I don't think my heart could take a separation.
We went to our informational meeting in December of 2009 and we just participated in our first PRIDE class on 3/6/2010. The classes start at 9am and don't end until 4 or 5pm.
Now...just like in any class....the first thing they did was ask everyone to introduce themselves and explain what their motivation to adopt is. I personally would have liked for them to do this later in the class, once everyone is more comfortable with each other.
So we watch videos, talk about what these children have been through, we had interactive activities and we were able to ask questions.
After my day, I am thinking that this is going to be a very quick process. We have a lot to do to our house (minor, but a lot none the less), we have to take CPR classes, get TB tested, install carbon monoxide alarms and a few other things. All of this information was in a GINORMOUS binder that they gave each family. Did I mention we have homework?
Tasks aside....I am feeling overwhelmed. Not in a bad way...I just never thought this would actually happen. I've gotten so used to not being able to have or do things that "normal" people get to do. I kinda really accepted that my life would just be different. And now with the adoption and me choosing to change my last name...its all....VERY REAL.
I'm excited and I think the next couple of months are going to be the slowest AND the fastest months ever! ;)
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