This post is sponsored by Catholic Community Services. Call Catholic Community Services at 253-999-9144 and start your road to discovering where you fit into the foster care story.
It’s July 2019 and my husband and I are anxiously awaiting news of our approved foster care license. Sometimes we look up at each other in disbelief at how we arrived to this moment. It’s been an unexpected journey and one that we know is just barely beginning. We feel humbled, nervous, excited, and grateful.
Deciding to Become a Foster Parent
I heard recently that a “calling” is simply a thought that won’t leave you alone. For me, becoming a foster parent started with the single thought, “I wonder what it would be like to be a foster mom.” One day this was weighing on my mind, and I ran into a foster mom at the park. I did not know anything about fostering or the people who did it, and talking to her opened my eyes to an amazing work going on right in my own community.
I called my husband that day and told him about the tugging I was feeling in my heart. We already have three biological children of our own and didn’t know what the next chapter was for us. We both decided to keep an open mind. A month later we timidly took the first step, enrolling in the foster parent orientation course. I will never forget the feeling we had as we walked to the parking lot after the course was over. “It’s strange,” my husband said. “I wasn’t sure what to think going into this, but I just feel really good about moving forward.” I felt the same.
A month later we enrolled in the Caregiver Core Training (CCT) course. Still feeling cautious, we figured that the information we learned in the course would help us make a decision either way. At best, it was completing one of the biggest requirements of becoming licensed. At worst, it was a great way to obtain additional skills for working with our own or others’ children.
Once we had completed the course, our decision was made. We saw the need in our community, we felt that we had the capacity to help, and we felt that God was in the work of fostering and would guide us along the way.
Choosing Catholic Community Services
One of the benefits of taking the CCT course before selecting an agency was that we met a lot of people already in the licensing process and were able to ask questions about others’ experiences. The nonprofit organization, Fostering Together, helped us identify the licensing agencies in our county and gave us contact information. I called a few agencies and asked some questions. Some agencies have their own licensing course and do not accept the CCT course, so that eliminated one or two possible agencies for us. In the end, we selected Catholic Community Services (CCS) because we love the strong support they provide to their families. CCS has created Mockingbird Family, which sets up groups of families in geographic locations who act as an extended support network and community for one another. We really liked the idea of connecting with other families who are also in this journey, and learning from and supporting one another in this work.
Completing the Licensing Process
Obtaining our license has been a smooth process overall and far less stressful and less work than I first imagined. By the time we decided to work with CCS, we had already completed our First Aid/CPR course and completed the CCT course, which took care of the most time intensive pieces of the application. At our first home visit, we got to know our licensor and submitted our paperwork, including background check forms. At our second home visit, our licensor interviewed me and my husband, and, very briefly, our 8 and 6 year old. At our third home visit, she walked through our home and made sure we met all the requirements on the home checklist such as having locked medicine, working smoke detectors, and extra beds. Our CCS licensor has been incredibly responsive, helpful, and patient throughout the whole experience and let us determine the pace.
My husband and I are regular people. We have three kids, two jobs, a house to take care of and many other family and community commitments. Sometimes life feels full to the brim already and I think to myself I don’t know how I can add one more thing. But when my heart and mind are still, I can feel that tug at my heart. That tug helps me remember and know this is where we are supposed to be. CCS has been instrumental in walking with us as we start our journey, and I know they will be with us as we step fully into what feels like the potentially life-changing unknown.
Do you feel called to Foster Care? Call Catholic Community Services today at 253-999-9144 or visit us online.
