timeline

As this seems to be what blogging foster parents do, the following is my timeline leading up to choosing to be a foster parent, the licensing process, and subsequent placements.  It also includes my professional development and how I came to be writing a blog about my work with the underprivileged....

Summer 2002 Child Psychotherapy class in which the professor introduced me to the world of foster care                to find out more read My Newest Endeavor 

December 2002 - August 2005 Worked as a care provider at an assisted living facility for older adults (some with dementia)

January 2004 - May 2004 Internship at a local housing authority providing Section 8 housing  read more: Recognition

August 2004 Graduated with a Bachelor of Science

August 2004 - October 2004 Student taught in a kindergarten classroom (one student a foster child) read more: My Newest Endeavor

October 2004 - December 2004 Student taught in a full-day Head Start classroom with several students with emotional/behavioral problems  read more in My Newest Endeavor

February 2005 Became a licensed teacher in the state of Colorado - endorsement Early Childhood Education

December 2004 - May 2005 Substitute taught

August 2005 - May 2006 Lived in Germany with a family serving as their Au Pair (live-in nanny)

July 2006 Briefly worked at an assisted living facility which provided subpar care for its residents

August 2006 - July 2008 Worked as a preschool teacher in a Colorado school district (Head Start, special education, tuition paying).  Working as a classroom teacher with children with some of the worst histories at such young ages motivated me to want to do more than I could as their teacher. read more in My Newest Endeavor

August 2008 Moved to Chicago and started working on my master's degree read more: Recognition

September 2008 - December 2011 Worked as a nanny for several different Chicagoland families while attending graduate school (one family quite affluent, husband a CEO of a popular web-based company)

September 2009 - November 2009 Internship which did not provide me enough client contact hours.  Provided therapy for foster kids, biological parents trying to get kids back, and teen moms who they themselves were DCFS wards. read more: Recognition and in My Newest Endeavor

December 2009 - May 2010 Internship which provided constant client contact.  Residential treatment facility for children and adolescents with severe emotional/behavioral problems, most all of them DCFS wards with upwards of 8 subsequent failed placements read more in My Newest Endeavor

December 2010 - Complete thesis and obtained my master's degree read more in My Newest Endeavor

July 2011 - Pass NCE (National Counseling Exam) and become a LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)  in the state of Illinois

November 2011 - Present Working at a local hospital which primarily serves low-income families.  Facilitate groups on inpatient psych units (adult and geriatric) read more in My 9-5 Job

February 2012 - Move into my own apartment with an extra bedroom with the hopes of becoming a foster parent within the year  read more in My Newest Endeavor

June 11, 2012 - Begin foster parent licensing process.  First home visit from Family Assessment Specialist

July 2012 - August 2012 - Attend 30 hours of PRIDE classes, prerequisite to becoming licensed

July 24, 2012 - Complete initial application and paperwork to be sent to the main DCFS office for review

August 8, 2012 - Complete more paperwork including what turned out to be a 7-page written autobiography to be reviewed by my licensing agency

August 20, 2012 - My Family Assessment Specialist left the organization. Home visit with her supervisor who goes ahead and does the homestudy herself

September 10, 2012 - 3rd homevisit

September 20, 2012 - First placement call, even though I'm not quite licensed supervisor states that she can have DCFS expedite my license if I will agree to take the 2 young children immediately. I decline read more in Saying No

October 1, 2012 - Final homevisit  read more in My Newest Endeavor

October 17, 2012 - Second placement call, 11-year old needing a transition home prior to return home. I decline read more in Placement Call

October 29, 2012 - Receive official foster care license in the mail, backdated for when I got my first placement call!

January 9, 2013 - Third placement call, 7-year old girl.  She met all my criteria other than being female rather than male, decide to move forward with the process

January 23, 2013 - Meet with the team working with the girl at the group home.  They decide that her parents may not meet all of their goals so might have the possibility of losing custody.  They want a reunification home that would be willing to adopt her :(

August 1-14, 2013 - Respite foster care placement.  9 year old boy in between placements needing respite while new foster parents on vacation. read more in Instant Motherhood