These classes are meant to teach you about the foster care system. The purpose, the whys and hows, and the wide spectrum of needs within the system. It can be scary to hear some of this information. In fact, one couple at the very first class never came back. :-/
Here are the required classes (and when we took them):
12/21/2013 - Orientation
1/4/2014 - Understanding the Child Welfare System
1/11/2014 - Effective Discipline
1/14/2014 - Impact of Trauma
2/1/2014 - Cultural Awareness and Panel of Experts
2/11/2014 - Medication Administration
2/15/2014 - CPR & First Aid
As I mentioned above, the information can be scary. It's awful to hear reasons why some children are brought into foster care. It truly made me watch the news in a whole new way. I mean, each time there was a story of a mother or father in a mess, I would think, well, someone just got a call for their children.
We didn't grow up in a fabulous part of town. It was a low income area with lots of crime. We were exposed to 'crazy' while we were growing up. Hubs and I agree that this was to our advantage. We weren't completely shocked by the information we were learning in these classes. That couple who quit? They were from the 'good' side of the tracks.
Something you have to decide when thinking about foster care is whether or not you will be able to support reunification with the birth family. After all, that is the goal of Child Services. To reunite the child with blood relatives, if at all possible. Will it be the BEST thing for the child? Not always. But it's family. If they will be safe and provided for, the state will place them back with blood every time. Will it be easy? Nope. More on that later.
We thoroughly enjoyed our PATH classes. Our instructor was wonderful. We became friends with another couple in the class. We were all sad when the classes ended and we wouldn't be seeing each other weekly. We were sharing a journey. Thank goodness for phones. :)
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