My Family Moments: I Love Visit Time!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

I Love Visit Time!

NOT! When not on spring break we wake up at 7am and take the kids to school starting with Abby at 740 and then Ethan at 8am. We get home at 810 to 820 depending on the traffic. We sit down for breakfast and since “Little Man” is a super vacuum, we leave the kitchen about 15mins later. Straight to the living room for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and some email checking. At 9am we head upstairs so I can get ready while “Little Man” hangs out in his crib and watches a bit more Mickey Mouse. For this to happen without a hitch, I have to immediately open up the drapes before I put him in his crib. If not, the thought of a possible bed time for “Little Man” produces a scream for all to hear.

We must leave the house at 9:30am for us to get to the visit on time. I decided just recently to have the visits at the Child Welfare office. They have rooms for us to use for this purpose. I feel like having the visits at the park as they were previously isn’t realistic for BioMom. “Little Man” loves being outside and running around. He could do it all day, rain or shine. Perfect right? On top of that, I am there for him to feel comfortable. I’m also there for BioMom to walk up to whenever she wants to and chat. This makes her more comfortable. It’s not real life. Real life is being stuck in a one room apartment, an office appt and having to deal with a toddler who wants to touch everything and be loud. That is perfect! So, as soon as we get to the office, BioMom is usually sitting right inside the door. “Little Man” is always glad to see her and walks over to her with no hesitation. We then go to the visit room which is filled with toys and books and a table and chairs. BioMom and “Little Man” walk through the door and I say my goodbyes adding any important updates that may affect her visit. Sometimes, he is super tired or super cranky. She closes the door and the fun begins. “Little Man” begins his vocal exercises crying and screaming. The past few visits it hasn’t lasted long. (insert smarty pants comment about Biomom – I forgot what I was going to say after taking a break from writing.) Serious note, BioMom is getting more at ease with him as he is getting used to being with her. Gosh I hate saying that at this point. It is what I should be hoping for but lately I am finding myself wishing for a fall!

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"Foster Family" Terminology

SW: Social Worker = This is a professionally trained (at times I feel from a YouTube video) individual who works for any County or private organization. My foster baby will have a SW and I will have a SW who is also known as a CCW. (see below)

CCW: Clinical Case Worker = This is a professionally trained individual, also known as a Social Worker who works for Angel’s Foster Family Network. They are assigned to a maximum of 12 families at one time and lead them through the fostering system. They are our right hand gal. (no males as of yet) This person does all the legal pushing and pulling on our behalf so we can focus solely on loving and caring for our foster babies. I would not and will not ever do my job as a foster mom without these people.

Supervised Visit = The bioparent has rights to see their child no matter the circumstances. Most often the visits begin as 1 to 2 hours, 1 to 2 times a week. An adult that is approved must watch the parent with the child at all times. (sometimes a lot of work and sometimes boring as heck)

Unsupervised Visit = The bioparent has rights to see their child no matter the circumstances before. If they are improving their situation then they will eventually get the right to have visits without supervision. The foster parent must drop off the child at an approved location and pick them up later. Most often the visit is for 2-6 hours 1 to 2 times a week. And these will only increase in length as the situation improves. (super hard for the foster parent to move to this step)

Foster Baby/Child = A child that has been removed from their biological family due to many different reasons affecting the welfare of the child. They are then placed in protective custody under the County and State.