Well we just got our "license" in. In case you're wondering this is what it looks like. Its kinda like graduating from high school or college, all that work for a piece of paper? But after all these months, I was happy to see it in the mail & its kinda made my day. The only thing is I was a bit surprised to see the TWO children portion, seeing as we have only said we want one. Even though we got approved on Friday we haven't heard anything from anyone except our compliance specialist. A compliance specialist is an employee of our agency. From what I gather their sole purpose to to make sure foster homes are keeping up with the requirements of TDFPS. On a side note, one of the main reasons we decided to use an agency rather than go straight with CPS is simple, turnover as well as the personal attention. CPS had a 25% turnover rate for case workers last year. That is appalling. When we were with our agency last time we worked with them for nearly 2 years & during that time not a SINGLE person we encountered quit or left. In fact we worked with the same exact people this time as during our adoption in 2008. We had the same recruiter, the same home study worker etc.This time around we've been working with them since April & we just had our first person quit. We found out recently that the home study supervisor we had been working with left her position. There are a few other reasons that we have gone with an agency but it is all a personal preference. I know other people that have gone straight via CPS & have had great experiences because they say it cuts out the "middle man". But in all honesty, you aren't working with MORE just different people. You are working with YOUR case worker with your agency rather than a CPS case worker, there aren't 2 sets of workers. Another myth is the old "cps keeps all the "good" kids for their families". I don't know how to respond to that except to say, I've done this once before, I've applied for dozens of "good" kids. Agencies don't just get CPS scraps, their families get the same shot at the same kids as CPS families. If you do some research on how children are broadcast & matched you will quickly realize why this is ridiculous & unfounded. Another reason used an agency is its no surprise that CPS is overwhelmed & under staffed. I would think this is the number one reason so many case workers quit. Our agency has always gone above & beyond, not only for us but for the kids. They hold parent retreats, summer camps for the kids, BBQ's for the families, a Holiday party for all the foster kids, they give out football tickets, they have on site counselors & I could go on & on. I know many people think these events are frivolous but it gives adoptive & foster children the chance to be around kids like themselves without the judgment that they can often get from their peers. Please note this is just my experience with CPS vs. Agencies & my personal preference. Please don't message me your personal "agency" horror stories. There are bad experiences on BOTH sides of the fence. I would just say for families to research, research, research. (The photo above has been edited to protect the innocent. Well for privacy reasons)
