What's it like?

People ask what it is like working with our FFA. I will relate our first interactions with them to illustrate what it has been like.

When we decided to go through the process to become foster parents, we were given a lot of advice. Go through an FFA. No, go through the county. Do an FFA outside of the county. No, stay in county.

We chose the FFA that we did due to their reputation for being hands on and supportive, giving foster families more support, lots of family events, foster parent groups, and benefits to the kids. We were also told that they reimbursed at a higher rate, but as we just wanted to be parents (more on that later) and were not in it for the money, that was not a factor for us.

We submitted an interest form. A few weeks later we got a call and made an appointment. Then the appointment was cancelled on us at the last minute. We made a new one. That one, too, was cancelled last minute. We were mildly frustrated, but finally came in for an initial application. The woman we met with did not understand James' sense of humor at all...

We made a follow up appointment for a week or so later to turn in our paperwork. Then, on the day of that appointment, as we were driving over there, the woman we had met with, whom we were headed out to see, called to apologize for cancelling our previous appointment and make a new, introductory appointment! We explained carefully that we were on our way AT THAT MOMENT to see her for our SECOND appointment. We hung up with her. She called back immediately to say, no we're supposed to meet at YOUR house for your home inspection...

So, after a very flaky and confusing phone conversation we agreed that she did NOT set up a home inspection with us, and we would meet at her office. I must say, this gave me serious misgivings about working with them.
 
After the process moving like molasses for two months, on January 15th, 2014, we completed our homestudy process to become a certified foster home. We are fostering through a local Foster Family Agency (FFA). They sped up our process because on 1/14 they had two boys who were in need of placement. The foster family they were with (who had them for 2 weeks) had put in a 7-day notice. We were told "we have no where else for them to go. But you don't have to take them if you don't want to." Of course we were going to take them!

We only knew that they were little--2 and 4 years old. We were told that the older boy was clingy and had potty issues (that was the reason the current foster family was moving them). We were scared to death and totally excited. About $400 at Walmart and Costco later we had bought all manner of stuff we thought we would need...good thing we had just gotten our tax refund back!