It is my fervent hope that this is the last post I will write containing the word “scrapbook” for at least six months.
On Monday morning I e-mailed our contact, C., at the state adoption office to get a status report on our home study. I figured it would be my last opportunity to do so because C. actually handles the recruiting and retention of adoptive parents and is not involved in the approval process at all. She was just doing us a favor in trying to get our corrected paperwork into our file. Any information I get from here on out will have to come from our local social worker. Translated: It will be like pulling teeth.
Anyway, she was able to find our home study last Thursday but it was still in the file room and had not been submitted to anyone for approval. She also mentioned that the first scrapbook I did during our GPS class was not with the home study. She suggested that I contact our social worker (L.) to make sure that it had not been misplaced.
So, I sent a brief e-mail to L. and asked if she still had it. I also told her that the state files were not equipped to hold even an average size scrapbook so she might want to advise future adoptive parents not to spend a lot of time and money on creating a scrapbook to send with their home study because they would only have to be returned to them.
The response I got?
"I have the scrapbook. I will send it today.”
Are you freaking kidding me?
Apparently she missed the part of the very short e-mail outlining the fact that the STATE FILES WILL NOT HOLD A SCRAPBOOK LIKE THAT AND THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE RETURNED.
I e-mailed her back immediately and reiterated that point, but she did not respond (shocker) so for all I know the scrapbook is now wending its’ way to the state offices where, best case scenario, someone will locate it and send the damned thing back.
Our tax dollars at work.
My hopes for being considered as adoptive parents for the 8-year-old boy we’re interested in are waning. They have been looking at another family for him for at least a couple of weeks. Our study is just sitting in a file room. Once someone does review it, I have zero confidence that they will find it complete and won’t have to come back to L (a.k.a MIA) with a whole pile of questions.
I could be wrong. We could fly through the process and the 8-year-old could still be available. Who knows?
What I DO know is that I have done everything I can do. I can’t pursue children from this state, sign up for the national adoption website, or contact other states until we get the final approval on our home study. Well, I can but their first question will be “do you have a completed home study”. Ummm, technically no. I do have two worthless scrapbooks and a seemingly disinterested social worker, though. Does that help?
So I wait. Have I mentioned how *&%^$#@ much I hate waiting?
I was advised by C. that at this point in the process, patience is my best friend. Nope, sorry. Whoever takes my home study from the file room and reviews and approves it will be my best friend. Patience is a smelly old uncle whom I can’t stand but have to hang out with because I have no choice.
(“Patience is a smelly old uncle”. I truly do have a gift for making the English language sing, don’t I?)
