Decisions

I thought it necessary to get a little more in-depth about some things mentioned in the last post.  When looking to work with Child Protective Services child placement, you must decide whether to foster only, adopt only, or foster-to-adopt.  At this particular meeting, the CPS worker was really pushing for foster-to-adopt.  Just to be clear, all of the above choices are right and good, but you must decide what is best for you and your family.  My husband and I decided that we were only open to adopting. 

Around this time, I had a dear friend who had three different adoptive placements fall through for various reasons.  Understandably, it took quite a toll on her and left me pretty shaken as well.  I have also had many more friends who adopted their foster kids since then, and statistically speaking this is far more likely to happen.  Just be prepared that you have to choose a route early on.  Adoption through CPS (I can only speak for the state of Texas) is always free (yay!).  In addition to this if you adopt any child over the age of 6, any African American child over the age of 2 (due to the high volume of AA children in CPS), or any child with a diagnosed physical or mental disability, the child qualifies for other financial assistance.

Another topic I mentioned in the last post was a preferences packet that we were required to fill out stating what kinds of children we were open to.  For those that do not know me, I am at times far too emotionally-driven.  I think that it is my job to single-handedly fix any problem that breaks my heart, but my follow-through is often lacking.  This is where God graciously gave me a husband to create balance.  He reminds me that sometimes we should start small before making huge life-long commitments.  I would have probably checked that I was open to any number of children, with any kind of issue, without thinking through any logistics or even bothering to pray about it.  It is not my job to be the savior of CPS, but it is my job to honor God with my time, my house, my life.