Class Three

 Class three was interesting to say the least. We were short by one couple: the couple my hubby pegged to be the first to chicken out. 

I use the phrase "chicken out" but honestly.... I think they are the only normal/non-desperate ones (were fit in the non-normal category if anyone was wondering ;) ) in the class. It is interesting to see the dynamic of people who want to be foster parents. I mentioned the older couple who is trying to take care of their granddaughter who is currently living in Virginia. I like them more and more, and hope there is a happy ending to their story. 

There are a couple of people doing something called child specific adoption. They already have the kids living with them (they were a relative/friend placement) and are going through the class so that they can officially adopt their specific kids.

We have two single women wanting to become foster parents. One is a sweet girl who wants to help her community.

The other girl is interesting. SHe is a caseworker and wants to foster teenagers. Basically she rocks. 

We have one lesbian couple who are looking to adopt. They are both super sweet and I hope they find kids soon.

The last lady is a bit of a question mark. She is single and seems to be very lonely. I hope she finds a kid who is a good fit for her.



This week we really started to get into the nitty gritty stuff. They discussed how trauma and abuse can cause behavior issues and developmental delays. I can't tell you how much reading other blogs helped prepare me for this. Every situation that we discussed last night has been covered in one blog or another. 
I can't tell you how important it has been to me to not be surprised by all the things we are hearing in class. THe most important thing to remember about child behavior is something that any teacher can tell you... it is all about the parents. Any questions I have ever had about a child have been answered upon meeting the parent. With these kids... we are dealing with the crappiest of the crappiest examples of parents out there, so their kids will behave accordingly. And it won't be their fault.

Remind me in years to come that I said all that.