Waiting for a Match
Thank you to all who have been asking how things are going and where we are in this process of adopting a child through OK DHS. Your thoughts and prayers are so precious to me!
We now have our permanent caseworker and are at the stage where we just wait for a call! That makes it sound like we could have our new child living with us at any moment, but it doesn't quite work like that. I'll do my best to explain what it will probably look like, for those of you who are praying with us along this road. But understand that I am still asking lots of questions and trying to figure out how this works - so by no means is this meant to be educational for anyone who is pursuing adoption. It's just a glimpse into the information I have been given for those who have asked what comes next.
We have been told that caseworkers have monthly "staffing" meetings, which is the primary way a potential match would be found. If our caseworker comes across a child who might be a good fit for us, she would submit our names for consideration to that child's caseworker. If the child's caseworker receives multiple submissions, he or she would then need to choose which family would be the best fit for that child.
If our family is chosen after being submitted, we would then attend a meeting with various caseworkers and other professionals acquainted with the child and/or her case to determine whether or not we should move forward and meet the child.
Our first meeting would be just David and me and the child and probably a caseworker. (I am not yet clear on who else would attend.) We would have some sort of outing together just to get to know each other a little bit in a casual social setting.
If everyone agrees that we should move forward after our initial meeting with the child, we would then spend time together again and include our biological children in the outing.
Meetings would gradually increase and begin to include visits to our home, then overnight visits, then weekends together, before finally having the child move into our home to live with us.
So as you can see, guessing at a timeline would be impossible at this point! For now, we wait and pray for a match. And once we are selected, we will still have a long way to go. I'm so thankful to know that the Lord's hand is in this and to know that His timing will be perfect!
I am so grateful for your prayers and look forward to sharing good news with you when it comes!
We now have our permanent caseworker and are at the stage where we just wait for a call! That makes it sound like we could have our new child living with us at any moment, but it doesn't quite work like that. I'll do my best to explain what it will probably look like, for those of you who are praying with us along this road. But understand that I am still asking lots of questions and trying to figure out how this works - so by no means is this meant to be educational for anyone who is pursuing adoption. It's just a glimpse into the information I have been given for those who have asked what comes next.
We have been told that caseworkers have monthly "staffing" meetings, which is the primary way a potential match would be found. If our caseworker comes across a child who might be a good fit for us, she would submit our names for consideration to that child's caseworker. If the child's caseworker receives multiple submissions, he or she would then need to choose which family would be the best fit for that child.
If our family is chosen after being submitted, we would then attend a meeting with various caseworkers and other professionals acquainted with the child and/or her case to determine whether or not we should move forward and meet the child.
Our first meeting would be just David and me and the child and probably a caseworker. (I am not yet clear on who else would attend.) We would have some sort of outing together just to get to know each other a little bit in a casual social setting.
If everyone agrees that we should move forward after our initial meeting with the child, we would then spend time together again and include our biological children in the outing.
Meetings would gradually increase and begin to include visits to our home, then overnight visits, then weekends together, before finally having the child move into our home to live with us.
So as you can see, guessing at a timeline would be impossible at this point! For now, we wait and pray for a match. And once we are selected, we will still have a long way to go. I'm so thankful to know that the Lord's hand is in this and to know that His timing will be perfect!
I am so grateful for your prayers and look forward to sharing good news with you when it comes!
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