Foster Care

I've never had this kind of advanced warning before. It's all arranged. Two little boys age 18months and 3 1/2 years are moving in on Tuesday. They were in a relative placement and for some reason this placement was not working out for them. The mother is doing well and is nearing reunification with her children.... she just needs a house and to follow through on the process -  court, paper shuffle, and continued steadfast hard work in her recovery and compliance and the kiddos will transition back to her.

SO THEY SAY.

As usual DSHS is desperate. In fact the children's social worker called me. This does not usually happen. There is a designated person to make these calls... She's on Christmas break, of course. I don't actually like daycare. I have never used it with my children, however, I asked that these children  remain in daycare as they have been. It was my stipulation for taking them on and they agreed. Ours is a crazy busy household and I am getting to know my limitations. Normally DSHS does not allow stay-at-home-moms to use daycare.  It is reserved for working moms only. I told them I have a market garden - I know, I know!! It's December, but seed ordering and planting and organizing begins soon enough and I know how hard it was to get things done on time when the other little ones were here before. They agreed that it qualified as a job enough to let me have the benefits. They said they were desperate.

Tonight they called for another child. Steve is ready to open an orphanage. . . 

I made sure they knew I was in this for the short term. I'm headed to Michigan as the dean at Youth For Jesus for the month of July and I am really looking forward to that.

The girls were calculating. Twenty foster children have touched our lives thus far. Sixteen of them this year.