A Week of Goodbye - Day 3
Our week of goodbye continued on Thursday with another storytime for our 3 1/2 y/o FD. This time, we read Kids Need to be Safe: A Book for Children in Foster Care. The story helped us talk about how we are working on finding our FD a GREAT third foster family to love her and play with her and keep her safe.
I also chatted on both afternoons with teachers at her school about the move. The conversations were less about our FD and more about their experiences as foster parents and with placement disruption. Both women asked me to hang in there and don't let this placement derail me from continuing to foster. I really needed that support.
One challenge we're facing is trying to figure out the last day of school for our FD. We really want her to have a sense of closure by saying goodbye to her school, her classmates, and her teachers. However, because it's unclear where she's moving, our social workers are unable to give us a specific day. Maybe Monday? Maybe Tuesday? So much is up in the air.
Our agency SW is taking our FD to a playdate with a prospective placement tomorrow (Saturday). Some of the descriptions of the family sound great (stay-at-home parent, house in the country), but some things concern us (live 1 1/2 hours away from our agency, another FD who is a year younger in the home). If the family doesn't think this placement will work, our agency will have to transfer her back to her county for an emergency placement. Ugh...
On top of all of this, I had to submit a CPS complaint last night based on something my FD said in a casual conversation about today's BP visit. This kiddo just can't catch a break :(
I also chatted on both afternoons with teachers at her school about the move. The conversations were less about our FD and more about their experiences as foster parents and with placement disruption. Both women asked me to hang in there and don't let this placement derail me from continuing to foster. I really needed that support.
One challenge we're facing is trying to figure out the last day of school for our FD. We really want her to have a sense of closure by saying goodbye to her school, her classmates, and her teachers. However, because it's unclear where she's moving, our social workers are unable to give us a specific day. Maybe Monday? Maybe Tuesday? So much is up in the air.
Our agency SW is taking our FD to a playdate with a prospective placement tomorrow (Saturday). Some of the descriptions of the family sound great (stay-at-home parent, house in the country), but some things concern us (live 1 1/2 hours away from our agency, another FD who is a year younger in the home). If the family doesn't think this placement will work, our agency will have to transfer her back to her county for an emergency placement. Ugh...
On top of all of this, I had to submit a CPS complaint last night based on something my FD said in a casual conversation about today's BP visit. This kiddo just can't catch a break :(
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I hope the visit over the weekend goes well. Some homes can handle children close to the same age without breaking a sweat. Could be no problem for them. The more you can share and the more they know before deciding the greater her chances of not moving again. Think of all the things you would have liked to have known before she moved in your house, and share everything you are allowed to share! Good luck!
GREAT advice! The original weekend visit was canceled (sick kiddo), but they did a short in-home playdate on Monday and decided to accept the placement! We\'re still unclear about whether the move is happening today or tomorrow, but this looks promising :)