We are officially certified to be foster parents!
I have no idea what's in store for us.
And in no way are we thinking that everything will be easy — over simplifying everything. We're not tricking ourself thinking that all will be well and everything will be a breeze in the park. Besides, nothing worthwhile will ever be easy.
We both go forward with the certainty that God has opened our hearts to this process and this journey.
And we know that we will be immersed in God's grace every single step that we take together.
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Joseph Yoo 
As foster parents the past 7 years, my advice is… network network network. Find those people from your classes with whom you click, and make sure you have their contact info. And use it. Don’t accept the agency’s word for ANYTHING. They have a job to do, which is get kids placed. Or, more appropriately, to reunite families (unless your agency and laws are radically different from ours – there is nothing in the law about “what is best for the child”). Communicate (you know, be the squeaky wheel; case workers are way overwhelmed, and if you don’t advocate for what you need, you won’t get it. ever.). Know that it’s a heartbreaking journey. Be prepared for people to not get it (I had someone leave the church because of our foster kids and other people complain about them. I kid you not.) But it is worth it…
Thanks for the comment. I’d love to hear more of your story/experience, if at all possible.
One of the big issues in the system is that they are constantly overworked. Each case worker has a HUGE case load, and you know all about the squeaky wheel. So you have to constantly advocate for yourself and for any foster children to get the care you/they need.
Also get straight what the goal is with a child. We were told “We have permanent custody” when in reality they had temporary emergency custody (so in that case, we thought we would get to adopt, but the birth parents did everything they were supposed to do and got him back, which was a good situation, but hard). So we learned that it’s not always a good thing to trust what the agency says. Other times they cannot disclose full information (example: we had foster kids who had been sexually abused, but the agency didn’t have solid proof, so they wouldn’t accept that it had happened to them. Even when the 3 year old told us things that were heartbreaking). And getting services is not always easy – getting that boy into counseling was almost impossible.
Make use of all the classes that you can. There are some great trainers out there and they have great material. Get to know who is good and take everything they offer.
If you have questions, let me know. If you want to go offline with any, pastorbrianv@gmail.com.
Any kiddo that enters your lives will be so blessed.