Well I have nothing really to blog. Still no report from the agency, no official letter to say they are happy for me to go ahead with the process. No dates for the January training.
Have to say what’s really been antagonising the situation is the poster campaign my agency have done for National Adoption week. I do quite a lot of driving about in my job and it seems no matter where I go I get stuck behind a bus with ‘COULD YOU ADOPT?’ blaring back at me off the Ad board on the back of it…wont tell you the thoughts running through my head every time I see it! It also makes me worried because they’re being so slow at the moment I’m imagining with loads of new enquiries they’re going to grind to a total halt! (My impatience rearing its ugly head again!) Anyway, if I’ve still not heard anything by next Friday I’m going to give them a call to try to get the Jan dates as I need to let my parents know as they are going to take it in turns to come with me on the training.
I did also glean this bit of new info off their website about the children in this area needing adoption: There are 43 boys and 29 girls, 22 are under two years of age, 37 are under five years of age, nine under seven years of age and two over seven years of age. There are also 17 sibling groups of two or more children. And even that tiny bit of info I found interesting.
I know the agency hasn’t forgotten me entirely as I got a letter yesterday about attending an information evening on fostering to adoption and concurrency planning. No explanation of what that was though and its on Tuesday. I have since found out (google is a wonderful thing) and I don’t think that’s right for me. I know it would break my heart if a child was placed with me only for a court to decide a bit later it was right that s/he should be returned to the birth family. I also get the impression that this is to allow very young children to bond with their potential new parents as quickly as possible rather than be shunted from pillar to post before that. I was tempted to go just to feel like I was doing something but I know in my heart of hearts I couldn’t live with that uncertainty so better the places be filled by people who do feel they could do it and the letter makes it quite clear it isn’t compulsory.
I have also organised a meeting with my sort of boss (hard to explain) to find out about adoption leave and pay, as the organisation I work for makes up its pay for people on maternity leave so they get a full wage. It is however very vague about what it does for adoptive parents and I need to know how soon I’m going to need to save every penny I have. He knows its early days and nothing is certain. I am kind of nervous about the meeting, I must admit as I wait to discuss it with him in a couple of weeks.
It feels a little premature in some ways, but in others I’m not so sure. I feel I need to do some proactive things else I’m going to go crazy just sitting here doing nothing. One of the SW’s did say that with LA agencies the process can take longer but often the matching process can be quicker whereas with independent agencies it can be the other way around. So the longer the organisation has to get used to the idea I may need to take time off the better really.