Adoption School

On Saturday, we gathered with 11 other eager families to fulfill one of our agency requirements: the adoption training workshop. Some stuff we covered wasn't new, but there were some good insights. They showed a video of a Korean girl who at 22 went back in search of her roots. In Korea, it is not as difficult to find a link to birthparents since it is not illegal there to place a child for adoption - although in her case she only found an aunt. It was a very moving reunion. Our daughter won't have a chance for this, and it does make me think about how hard that will be for her to come to terms with. We hope to connect her with as many other girls like herself, though, so she can have a sense of belonging, though the bond is a missing past. Hopefully the motherland trip we'll eventually plan will put at least a couple puzzle pieces in place for her, too.

For lunch, the agency took us to a local Chinese restaurant voted Best in Philly (yummy indeed). We had the chance to talk to the agency director who had talked a bit in class about the unexpected picking apart of the CCAA on dossiers that had been logged in months ago. It just happened this week. Things they never batted an eye at in the past (multiple past divorces, blemished criminal history, others she didn't mention) are now an issue. You could hear a collective gulp from around the room. She said new policies haven't been set - but it seems like we'll all have to be ready for extra scrutiny. Frustrating though, to have a log in date, but not know for SURE that you make the mark... probably till you get your referral!

Overall the class was good and it's one more item crossed off the checklist. In other news, we got our homestudy physicals and have now handed in all materials. Hopefully we'll be assigned to a social worker next week!