Preparing for foster care

Ever seem like there are times in your life where you are just 'preparing' for something big while the world spins around you? I think for me, this is that time. My family is preparing to become foster parents, and in its own way - it is like pregnancy, and for us, it has taken about 9 months.

We have a beautiful, talented 6 year old; but she was the only child we could have. We talked about overseas adoption, we talked about in-country adoption, we decided to foster and see what happens as far as a foster child who may or may not need a permanent home in the future. We've gone through the 9 weeks of classes, we have gone through the fingerprints, background checks, medical exams, and extensive questioning and home visits...so we are close to being done.

Now we have to finish the room and go in front of the approval board. I am very lucky, I work for an agency that does Treatment Foster Care, so I know basically what to expect; but still, it is a scary adventure.

There are so many children in our community who need homes. Every night on the news you hear the stories of abuse and neglect and you think 'that poor child'; but the news rarely goes into where the child goes after social services takes over, who is feeding them breakfast the next morning, who is trying to help them put their life back together. The "who" has to be us in the community. If you, or I, or our next door neighbors aren't going to take these children in and show them a stable home; then who is? There are 8,000 children in Virginia in Foster care. I can only house one or two - I can only hope others will help me with the rest!