What a blessing our Little One is. Not that I didn't think this before, but in the last couple of days I have come to find out that it was a miracle he was even placed with me.

This "new" rule our agency has of placing children within five miles of the birth family isn't as new as I thought. It began in July.

Our licensing workers are the ones who do the placing of children. My friend J met with ours yesterday to update J's information. J and I both have had a lot of issues with the agency lately, some of which I mentioned in my caseworker post. We have thought seriously about transferring our license or trying to get a dual agency license.

Besides the caseworker, we have had issues with the newer supervisor as well. He is a nice enough person, but doesn't know his job and seems to not have a lot of common sense I guess you could say. Just a lot of little things such as not knowing the car seat laws for our state, which the caseworkers aren't even following. Driving Little One in a forward facing seat, with only the top buckle buckled when he was 9 months old! Whatever are they thinking???

Anyway, we both aren't ones to just call and complain, but rather try to work with the people themselves to get things moving. We haven't called our licensing worker to discuss our concerns, never really thought of it. So when J and our licenser were talking yesterday all of this "stuff" came out.

I guess she couldn't believe the things J was telling her. She also relayed some of my "issues" and the worker is supposed to be calling me. She went on to tell J that she and I are her two best foster parents in our area and she feels horrible about the rule in place. She came right out and said that she has been given the names of five families in our area whom she is to place children with, period. She said that (obviously) we weren't on the list. She also said that these homes were not only not good, but now had 5 or 6 kids each and she has felt horrible knowingly placing children in bad situations and now so many there together, especially when she knows that J really wants a placement and I would be willing to take one as well.

Anyway, back to my blessing. The day Little One was placed with me my licensing worker called me on my cell as he was being dropped off. She had heard I had a new placement. She sounded actually a little irked on the phone and I couldn't figure out why. I thought maybe because our caseworker had placed him and not talked with her??? I didn't know.

Well, now I know. That rule went into effect in July, I am not on "the LIST", and technically he never should have been placed with me. I'm sure my licesing worker received flack for that and that is why she was upset.

God knew he needed to be placed with someone who would be committed to working through his developmental issues. He worked around the rule. He knew what Little One needed.

What a blessing!