The following correspondence is an e-mail exchange between us, our certifier, and a CW. This is a typical correspondence when DHS contacts you about a possible placement. Our initial commitment was for the weekend, so the kids would not have to stay in a hotel with a DHS worker. We were going to use the weekend to see if we could logistically keep them for an extended period.
The first e-mail is from our certifier to us, regarding a possible placement. This amount of information and this type of contact is typical for possible placements.
The second e-mail is from us to Trevor and Ariel’s CW, letting her know that we will be able to care for them over the long term. Our goal was to figure out logistics for the upcoming week.
The third e-mail is just a nice little follow up note from our Certifier.
Date: Friday Afternoon
To: Aaron and Jewell
From: Certifier
Subject: Possible Placement
Hi Aaron and Jewell,
We have two kiddos that need to be placed, ages 6 and 8, and I thought that might work with your schedule. I do not have much information about them. I know they are a boy and a girl, and I believe they have been abused. Because I have such limited information I was going to ask the caseworker to call you so you could speak with her directly. The caseworker is Sabrina’s CW, and I know you have worked well with her in the past.
Please don’t feel obligated to say yes if it’s too much to take on.
Let me know if you have any questions! I’ll be at my desk for the rest of the day.
Best,
Your Certifier
Date: Sunday Afternoon
To: CW
From: Aaron and Jewell
Subject: Possible Placement
Hi CW,
This weekend has been going well. Jewell and I have been discussing what we are able to provide for Trevor and Ariel, and we think we have the capacity and resources to care for them on a long term basis.
That being said, as you know, this first week is pretty hectic with Jewell out of town and it being “No School November”. We have enrolled them in an all day camp for Wednesday and Thursday. We have Friday off, so Friday is easy. We had a night at the coast with friends booked on Saturday, and my parents have agreed to provide respite for Saturday night.
Monday, you will pick the kids up from our house at 8:45. Can you enroll them in school, and for now, enroll them in the after school program that is fee based? Going forward, we would love to get them into SUN school or into the after school program at Jewell’s work, but that doesn’t appear to be an option immediately.
How late can you have them with you on Monday? Because I am going into work late, it would be great if you could keep them until after I get off. If this is not possible, my Mom could be available beginning around 3:30, but I would need to coordinate this with her.
- Will you be able to take them to the Dr. on Monday as well for Ringworm and make sure they are current on all of their shots for school?
- Can you provide answers to the following questions:
- When does school start?
- When does school end?
- When does the after school program end?
- Is there a morning program option? We probably don’t need it, but curious.
- Will they be provided breakfast and lunch and snacks at school?
- What is the cost of the after school program?
- What is Trevor’s middle name?
If there are funds available to reimburse for the camp this week, or for the after school program from DHS or another source that you can help us get, that would be much appreciated. If not, let us know, we understand that DHS doesn’t typically provide funds for care.
Sorry for the long e-mail and all the questions. I am sure we have a ton more questions that will come up, but this week will be hectic so I just wanted to get everything rolling now. We are going to get a loft bed today hopefully so that we will have more space.
These kids are very funny, super cute and curious. They are really good with each other as well.
Thanks for all your help with this,
Aaron and Jewell
Date: Monday A.M
To: Aaron and Jewell
From: Certifier
Good Morning, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you are doing for these kiddos! Simply amazing!!
Best,
Your Certifier
*Stock Photo
Thanks for reading, if you have questions or comments, feel free to post them in the comment section below, we would love to hear from you. To receive updates when a new post is published, click the “Follow” button, we appreciate your interest in our journey. You can also “like” our page on Facebook.
Fascinating reading about the Foster Care system from a Non Biological Foster Family. I am so happy for the children in the Oregon system who are lucky enough to be placed with you two. Best to you and your ever changing family – I look forward to reading more!
Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope you enjoy reading about our journey, feel free to ask us questions if you have any.
OMG you have caseworkers who do things like doctor’s visits and school enrollment? That is bonkers. I’m in PA where the caseworker drops a kid of and spends 5 minutes getting you to sign some paperwork and vanishes. Everything else is your problem – finding a doctor, finding mental healthcare, getting them enrolled in school, or after school. We were a two-working-parent foster family and it is next to impossible at the beginning of placements! (We adopted a placement so we aren’t open anymore).
Thanks for reading! The support we get from this CW is NOT this norm. We have definitely experienced the 5-minute drop-off with little to no follow up too. The CW for these kiddos is amazing and we basically only take kids from her caseload now because we know she cares about the kids and the foster parents, and she doesn’t treat what she does as a job, she treats it as what it is, caring for children.