Now that I have a blog on the topic of foster/adoption, I have searched to find other blogs that address the same, and I have found some that are very inspiring. So then I started thinking, what makes mine different and it came to me right away. My is practicable (one of my favorite words from law school), meaning that it is capable of being used.
I want someone who reads my blog to be updated and inspired but I also want that person to walk away with real, useful, knowledge. I hope you find just that and enjoy!
So today I will write about what it takes to get your foster care license in MI and what it takes to maintain it.
First, you must apply for your license and there are forms to fill-out. Depending on where you live, you will have to contact the Department of Human Services (DHS) or a private agency. It may be best to contact the DHS anyway and they could refer you to the agencies that they work with.
Once all this is complete, you will be scheduled for PRIDE training classes and the schedules definitely vary. PRIDE stands for Parent Resource for Information Development and Education. There may also be a waiting list. I have been told in certain states the wait is up to 9 months. We looked into three agencies and two of them had about a 2-3 month wait. The final agency had two spots open in the course that started the following week and we signed up immediately...God always works like that doesn't he?
Then you need a babysitter and a patient heart. Our classes were Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights for about 5 weeks I believe...maybe only Tuesday and Thursday, it is such a blur right now, but they went for 3 hours. You rush home from work, get your kids to the babysitter and rush to the location where the class is. Both people must attend all classes if you are a married couple. There are some alternative schedules given by some agencies, though the classes are not as frequently offered so look into it. We heard that some agencies offer 4 saturdays for example instead of night classes.
The classes are actually for 7 weeks, if I'm not mistaken, and some agencies require attendance of all of them. But for the actual licensing, you are only required to complete a certain number of hours which I believe is about 30.
A few things to note...the private agencies usually do charge a fee for the courses. If you go through DHS you do not have to pay, or at least we did not have to. There is also material that you need to purchase or get ahold of in advance to use in the courses. If anyone is seriously considering it I have a few books so just let me know and I would love to save you the expense.
Once PRIDE training is complete, you will have a home assessment done and you will have to have your water temperature checked, the size of the bedrooms measured, a carbon monoxide detector installed etc... then you wait for Lansing to finally approve your license and send it to you in the mail! After we finished the classes it took about 4 months to get our license. Needless to say, Lansing, whoever they are, have not been fast in any part of this process = D
Your license is only valid for 6 months in the beginning. In order to keep your foster license open in MI, you are required to do 6 hours of continuing education every year and so you need to notify your DHS worker that you want to renew your license after the first 6 months is up, and then if it is renewed, it will be open for yearly increments thereafter.
I will jusy say, my husband and I laughed a lot about the PRIDE classes and many nights we felt like they were a waste of our time but we also had nights where we learned a lot. They had some great speakers come in who were foster/adoptive parents themselves and they had a ton of experience to share with the group. The other benefit is the comradery. You socialize with another 30 people who are jumping into the same thing that you are and you share a lot together.
And now to my "alter call"...I've decided to call it this which is my plug for joining the journey into foster/adoption/refugee care...
PRIDE classes may not be the most enjoyable way to spend your evenings but the Lord says "Believers in humble circumstances ought to take PRIDE in their high position, for God has honored them" James 1:9
Blessings for the rest of the week!
No comments:
Post a Comment