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Post by countrygal on Feb 28, 2010 7:52:17 GMT 10
We are currently foster carers. We have a child in our care that might be up for permanent care. The agency suggested that we look into the approval process which we have done. Except it looks like we will have little hope through a direct application.
We are not trying to go through the back door but we are interested in continuity of care for this little one let alone the attachments that have developed for all of us.
Does anyone know much about how all of this works?
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Post by simone on Feb 28, 2010 12:20:24 GMT 10
Hi .I'm sorry I don't know much about permanent care as I am only doing adoption.All I know is it is not as simple as one may think or as it should be.Why is it,that you may not have hope through a direct application? It makes sense that the child should stay with the family that they have grown fond of. I know that there are plenty of couples already approved and waiting for a child through both adoption and permanent care,but I honestly believe you should sneak through the backdoor and be fast tracked.After all this is about the CHILD and his/her welfare,not about anyone else. I hope that all goes to plan and those in charge of this case see sense and allow you to continue giving the child all the love and opportunities he/she deserves. Please keep us informed Hugs Sx
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Post by goggly on Feb 28, 2010 14:54:35 GMT 10
I think you can apply for a child in your care. A couple of people in our education group already had children as foster kids who they were hoping to tke permanently. I do know some social workers don't like what they call conversions, but if you social worker has suggested it to you that is half the battle! Also, why would you be eligible through "normal" channels?
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Post by chinababe on Feb 28, 2010 17:48:28 GMT 10
I don't think this is 'going in the back door' but simply doing what is best for the child. This is the way things should work out.
I think your half way there if the suggestion is coming from the agency. Good luck
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Post by lilchookie on Feb 28, 2010 18:39:59 GMT 10
Are you in Victoria? If so this will be relevant.
We did our Permanent Care training with a couple who were there going through the process to obtain Permanent Care of a young boy who had been with them for 2 years. They had to go through all the same process as anyone else (training, assessment etc), but at the end of it would be unlikely the boy would be removed from them and placed in another permananet care home, as he had been with this family for most of his life. If the agency agrees you are the best place for this child to stay (which I am sure they would with you being the current, I am guessing long term careers), you will probably find the agency will fast track you.
Good luck, hope it all works out for you.
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Kay
Toddler
Mama through local adoption :)
Posts: 230
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Post by Kay on Feb 28, 2010 20:12:03 GMT 10
Hi Countrygal, Again I think it is going to depend on what state you are in. DH and I attended a session with Centacare on Wednesday and they cannot process but did elude that DHS may be able to.. Good Luck with it all. I think it would be best for the child Katie
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Post by flossyinoz on Mar 1, 2010 18:34:26 GMT 10
Countrygal, I agree with the others, if the agency thinks you are the best carer for this child and he/she is attached to you, then a foster care conversion can happen. You will have to go through the same paperwork, training and interviews, but the agency should fast track you. I would ask them for help and guidance, I don't think they would suggest it to you if they thought you had no chance. Good luck
Flossyinoz
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Post by weemankelsey on Mar 1, 2010 21:46:06 GMT 10
Hi Countrygal
We have two kids who joined our family through permanent care (I hate the terminology! We are their parents, not their 'permanent carers'; but that's another issue!). Both of them were with foster carers immediately prior to coming to us, and both had spent only a matter of weeks with their birth families prior to foster care placement. However whereas our son was only 5 months old when he arrived, our daughter was 3 years old, which has meant a whole extra level of attachment / bonding issues to contend with. Attachment that is, of her to me and my partner and vice versa, and of her to her new brothers and vice versa, not to mention the traumatic loss of her previous attachment figures in the foster carers.
I'm mentioning this because in our daughters case the daughter of the foster carers had made an application to be pc parents, but this was knocked back. we do not know why, we asked (as you naturally would) but as we expected, the social workers were not able to tell us why this was the case. However the dynamics of the family and the stated wishes of the birth mother may have been a factor. Of course the social workers are not absolutely obliged to follow the wishes of the birth parent (s), but it may be a consideration.
Having said that, my partner works (somewhat ironically) in the foster care field (not as a carer), and their carers who have kids for a great length of time have often been successful in 'converting' a foster placement to a permanent care order.
At the end of the day, one of the really hard things about this whole process is that we are reliant on the placement agencies to make good, sound and wise judgments about our capacities to look after children we weren't lucky enough to have created ourselves, and to promote us enthusiastically as potential carers for those kids for which they deem us a 'good fit'. Unfortunately it is a non-transparent process, in that we never get to see the information about the kids which the social workers have deemed us not a good match for. It is not a fair process, because the ultimate decision-making is not in our hands. We are in a sense beholden to the placement agencies.
However if you have had a child in your care for a great deal of time, of course the love and attachment which you have developed between you is a massively positive factor in your favour, when it comes to considerably the best interests of this child in the long term.
Good luck and all the best if you choose to go ahead with an application, it sounds like it would be a great outcome for this little one. It is a bit long winded, but as foster carers you'd have been through a long assessment process already, eh?. BTW when we made our second pc application we were mighty upset to find ourselves basically doing exactly the same process as what we did first time round (minus the education sessions). Talk about jumping through hoops!
All the best
Dan
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Post by goggly on Mar 2, 2010 11:24:10 GMT 10
Dan,
Second application for LA is like that as well - complete re-run bar the education groups. Such a waste of time considering that very little has changed since the first time around!
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Post by countrygal on Mar 25, 2010 12:04:29 GMT 10
Thank you everyone for your responses. Things have changed somewhat in our situation and the little one in question may yet return home, which is great if thats the best place for him. The reason they are hesitant in our situation is because I have special needs children (bios). However the agency doesn't see it as an issue. We will have to wait and see but ultimately I am interested in what will be the best outcome for the child involved.
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