adoption 101

For Washington State pre adoptive and foster families FTDM's are a common meeting that most will be involved in at some point. The purpose of an FTDM is to bring the team back together and focus on the needs of the youth. They are not placement decision meetings, nor are they meetings to raise complaints about others on the team.

Are you thinking about adoption or foster care? Are you unclear if this is right for you? Do you have questions or need to verify answers you have gotten and are not sure what the real answer is? Families Like Ours is your independent advocate regardless of which placement agency, or state program you're working through. We're here to help. We are families-helping-families. We provide a full range of pre and post adoptive and foster care family planning counseling* to help guide you through the process, answer your questions, and provide you with resources and support. There are several options available to you:

• Attend one of our Adoption 101 workshops (currently only available in WA State)
• Attend a Families Like Ours information open house, or fair
• Sign up for our Parenting Tool Box program (see below)
• Contact us to set up a phone, email or in person meeting

Some of what we can help with includes:

• Pros and Cons of each type of adoption
• A description of the process of the home-study
• A complete list of approved Families Like Ours WA adoption resources
• An understanding of all the players and their roles
• A step-by-step plan to help you with your adoption goals
• Lots of Q&A time
• Referrals to therapists, doctors, lawyers, youth programs, and GLBT&Q youth and family resources
• Family and youth advocacy

If you already have children and need skill building help, we have a program for you too. If you live in the state of Washington, we would suggest signing up for our Parenting Tool Box program (see attached PDF). This program includes 8 different active workshops, monthly email support and support work-groups.