Our journey to become a licensed foster-adoptive home was just that. A journey.3 different towns and over 1,800 miles of driving
The Beginning of our Foster Care Journey for a License
FosterDad and I discover our infertility in the Fall of 2006. After a time of grief and a busy holiday season, in January 2007, we made the decision to become foster parents hoping to eventually become a forever family to a small child or two. We discovered the steps in Texas to become a licensed foster/adoptive home is:
- Attend an informational meeting,
- Complete an application to attend PRIDE classes,
- Attend PRIDE classes (plus CPR/First Aid),
- Complete a home study,
- Get your license.
Lo and behold, PRIDE classes were about to begin! Perfect timing! Or was it?
There was a catch. We had missed the informational meeting. Okay. Let’s just enroll in the PRIDE class.
Wrong! Bureaucracy decided to rear its ugly head.
“You cannot enroll in the PRIDE classes until you attend the informational meeting.”
“But we missed it last week. Can’t we go ahead and enroll in the PRIDE class?”
“NO! You MUST attend the informational meeting first. But the next class begins in the fall.”
Grrr! I was ready to bite off someone’s head! It’s name was Bureaucracy.
Attending the Informational Meeting
Guess what? There was an informational meeting being held that Saturday morning. In Brenham, Texas (home to Blue Bell ice cream – have you heard of it?). 75 miles away.
So…we woke early that Saturday and drove and hour and a half to attend this “mandatory” informational meeting.
The “information” in this mandatory meeting was basically to touch upon neglect and the children that come into foster care. Did we learn any new information? For us, no. We felt the meeting was more of a recruiting tool. We already knew that we wanted to become foster parents so, for us, the meeting was a waste of time just the first step in the process.
The PRIDE classes would be the next step and would be held in another city 75 miles in the opposite direction from our home!
Photo: Sienna minivan courtesy of Toyota
Part 2. PRIDE training classes and that coveted foster care license we were first denied.
