Adoption Progress
Amidst the illnesses, I've neglected to update on how the adoption process is coming along. Here's the latest scoop:On Thursday, I got a phone call from L. who is the Social Worker assigned to put together the Presentation Summary on Cookie's case. She had a number of questions she needed to answer and write up for the files, so we chatted for about half an hour. Here are some things I had to answer:
What does Cookie look like?
What is she like socially?
How does she interact with adults? With other children? Your pets?
What does she like? Dislike?
How is she at daycare? Church?
What is her health like?
Other than you and your husband, who is she close to?
Tell me about her relationships with your extended family.
So, the questions were all fairly easy to answer, and I enjoyed the conversation. L. then told me she would have the Presentation Summary done and ready for review by our worker within 24 hours! Holy Cow!
The next day (Friday) we had a meeting with K., our adoption worker. She's a lovely woman who is definately working hard to speed things along. I gave her the paperwork we had completed which included the following:
Copies of last year's 1040 tax forms
A completed financial profile identical to the one we had to fill out to become foster parents (including all sources of income, depts, and all monthly bill estimates)
Paperwork about Cookie similar to the questions asked by L. in the phone conversation above
K. looked at the progress we had made on Cookie's lifebook, which is more or less nw big books of photographs put together by my mom and mailed to us (Fabulous!). Poor Cookie was so sick and coughing, so K. did not stay long at all.
K. told us to go ahead and hire a lawyer! AND she is going to come over to our house the first week in January and give us the Presentation Summary and get started preparing our contract. Now THAT is progress, my friends.
So, this morning, as exhausted as I am, I called a lawyer who had been recommended to us by several people who have adopted from foster care here in town. She direct-bills the state, so we wouldn't pay anything out of pocket (we've saved up a little just in case). I am hoping she has time to take our case because it is clear she is one of the best and fastest, and she loves doing adoptions from foster care.
Oh, and God's perfect timing? Cookie's old social worker, who visited for the last time last month is TRANSFERRING to Frankfort, KY at the END OF THE WEEK. Had she quit any earlier, we would have had to get a whole new worker and Cookie's case may have been held up for months. Whew. We will miss Ruth tremendously. That is one terrific woman - we will invite her to the adoption if she can make it that day.
We are on the homestretch, folks. This feels so good.
We leave for FL soon to spend Christmas with my folks. This is as it should be.
Cookie's recovering nicely, too. We have kicked RSV's butt.
If anyone has any questions on the adoption process, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and ask - I'll try to answer here in the blog so others who might be interested can better understand the process.
posted by No Longer In Crisis @ 12/18/2006 09:55:00 AM
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