I have been doing some more research on Adoption and Foster care. One vs. the other. Well, as I was reading through some posts written by other foster parents, there was a comment that really struck me:
"She has a right to be a real and equal member of the family she lives with, not a forever outsider. No child should be babysat for 12 years. No child should have to be the cousin who came to visit and never left. No child should feel 'less than' a full daughter or sister or 'just a' foster daughter or cousin in their own home for any reason."
It portrays SO well some of the thoughts and feelings we have in regards to our situation with Zaelynn. We want to be able to adopt her SO bad. To take her to the temple, and to have her sealed to us, as a family. She is wholeheartedly our little girl, an important and necessary part of our family. Yet not so 'on paper'.....
I heard a whisper of a rumor that if you care for someone for 4 years straight, that you have greater rights to adopting said person. I am doing some research to find out if this is in fact true. We have now had Zaelynn for almost 3 years. It will be 4 years next spring. So, if we are able to get certified to adopt, again, by next spring, hopefully there will be a greater possibility of going to court and Petitioning to Adopt, and not having a bunch of legal battles (to the possible sum of 10-20k) ahead of us.
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