Ever Thought About Adoption

ADOPTION CONTENTThe Process of Becoming a Parent
Adoption of a child who has resided in the Florida foster care system can be a very rewarding experience. Though these children have experienced a tremendous amount of loss in their short lives, they are all survivors who continue to possess dreams that only an adoptive family can help them realize. If your family has begun to consider adoption as a means to expand your family and provide a forever home to one or a group of your communities many foster children, your first steps is to simply call 1-866-661-5656. Making this toll free phone call will begin your journey to make a child’s dreams come true and change your world forever!
Almost anyone can become and adoptive parent. You can be single, married, have children of your own or be first time parents. You can live in a home or an apartment, as long as you have a room for the child you wish to adopt. Financial stability is a must, but you don’t have to be a millionaire. A strong sense of commitment, an understanding of the struggles foster children go through, patience, and a whole lot of love are the ingredients of an adoptive family!
Adoption of a foster child or children is free! Attorney’s fees are taken care of by the supervising agency, and there are many benefits available for the adopted child, including a Florida college tuition waiver and Medicaid medical insurance.
Once you make that first phone call to 1-866-661-5656, you will be placed in contact with a local Social Worker who will help to guide you through the adoption process by providing you information on mandatory trainings, the home study process, and the process of matching your family with a child or children whose needs would be best met by placement with your family.
Who Are the Available Children?The majority of children who are available for adoption through the foster care system are considered special needs, and all of them have been victims of abuse, abandonment, or neglect at the hands of their primary caregivers. Most of these children are “normal given their circumstance” (Bob Rooks). The term special needs refers to a child who meets one or more of the following criteria: over the age of eight years old, of black or biracial races, has a physical or mental disability, or is adopted with his or her sibling group. To view some of these children click here:
TrainingAll adoptive parents are required to complete a thirty-hour training course called Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting, or MAPP for short. This valuable class is designed to allow you and your family an opportunity to make an informed decision as to whether or not adoption through foster care is the right decision for your family. A full MAPP training course runs for ten weeks as the class meets one time per week for three hours. During this time, you will be guided to learn the strengths your family possesses that can help a child become the best he or she can be, as well as learning the needs your family may have that could hinder a child’s success in your home. You will learn about the cycle of attachment, a cycle that has been broken for many of our waiting children. You will learn why and how children can no longer return to their primary caregivers, and the tough times many children experience while in the foster care system. You will learn parenting techniques that have proven to work best with children who have special needs. It is during this class that your will complete a FBI background screen and have at least one time visit to your home by an Adoption Specialist or Initial Foster Care Licensing Specialist.
The Home StudyThe home study is perhaps the most important step to becoming an adoptive parent. During this phase of the process, an Adoption Specialist will meet with your family to assess your ability to become parents of these very special children. This extensive multi-step process will involve discussions about your motivation to adopt, your own childhood history, your current marriage and family life, parenting experience, and the strengths and needs of your family. It is during this process that decisions will be made regarding the age and type of child who might best fit your home as well as a recommendation of your suitability to be an adoptive parent.The Matching ProcessThe Adoption Specialist will provide you with information on the children available for adoption in the local area of Sarasota, Desoto and Manatee counties as well as information on how to learn about children who are available across the country. Should a child within the tri-county area be of interest to you, you will be put in contact with the Adoption Specialist assigned to that specific child and also share your home study with them. With an approved home study, the Adoption Specialist can share more specific information on the child with your family, including details of the child’s special needs as well as their likes and dislikes. Generally, the Adoption Specialist assigned to that child will review your home study and share it with the Service Team who works directly with the child. If the Service Team feels that your family may in fact be a match for that child, a match meeting will be scheduled. This meeting is a wonderful opportunity for your family to be introduced to the Service Team, ask questions, and learn all there is to know about the child. The Service Team can also ask questions in order to further assess your ability and commitment to meet the needs of the child. Should all parties involved feel that the match is a good one, your family included, you will be invited to meet with the child.
Initial visits with a child are always supervised by one or more persons of the Service Team and normally take place during daylight hours. The length of time a frequency of visits with the child vary from child to child, based on the child’s needs and comfort level with visitation. If visits are positive, recommendations will be made to increase the visits to unsupervised and eventually to overnights. Once it becomes clear that visitation is positive and the child has reached an appropriate comfort level with your family, a decision made together with your family and the Service Team, plans will be made to move the child into your home.
The Adoptive PlacementOnce a child is placed into your home, a Adoption Specialist will visit your home at least one time per month to ensure that the child’s needs are being met in your home and that he or she is adjusting well to the new environment. The Adoption Specialist will also help your family obtain any community services the child may require post adoption. The child must reside in your home for a minimum of ninety days before an adoption can be finalized by the courts. The Adoption Specialist will work with your attorney to help coordinate the final adoption hearing.
Adoption of a special needs child can be a time consuming process, but it is well worth all of the hard work. Not only will you be the new parents of a wonderful child, you will also have learned a great deal about your family. These children need your guidance, do you have the strength to show them the bright side of life? Click on the link below that says future to see some wonderful children that are up for adoption!

FUTURE

Maybe Home for Christmas?

Click on the link below to see the latest pics of our Covered Bridge Estates Home

PICS

Now Earthquakes In Florida! I should have never moved here!

Earthquake in Gulf unusual, but not a first
Monday, September 11, 2006
Click here for an enlarged map.A large earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday morning was felt from the Bay area as far north as Georgia and Alabama.The National Earthquake Center confirmed an earthquake in the Gulf at 10:56 a.m. Sunday. It was centered 260 miles west southwest of Clearwater and about 251 miles west-southwest of Bradenton Beach. The depth in the Gulf was estimated at about 6.2 miles. It registered a 6 magnitude, which is considered strong in scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey web site. A 7 is considered large and 3 is rated a minor earthquake. Emergency service providers in the Bay area didn't report any disruptions in power or service. Tampa International Airport said there were no delays.There was a small earthquake in the Gulf in February, but Al Hine, a geological oceanographer at USF, said it was still unexpected. Hine said it was unusual because Florida sits near the middle of what's known in geological circles as the North American Plate. Earthquakes usually happen on the edge of that plate in places such as California."There are stresses associated with these boundaries, and these stresses can be transmitted to the middle of the plate and can perhaps reactivate old faults that occurred but haven't been active for a long period of time," Hine said.While there may be aftershocks, Hine said don't expect a tsunami (tidal waves)."This particular quake probably did not displace the sea floor, so there's no displacement of the water column on top, hence there probably was no tsunami," Hine said.

Earthquake In GulfPosted September 10, 2006 at 12:11 PM
A large earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico was felt throughout the Bay area around 10:56 this morning.
The epicenter of the 6.0 magnitude quake was about 250 miles west of Ft. Myers.
Bay area residents from Sarasota to Weeki Wachi, and as far inland as Brandon, reported shaking and rattling in their homes that lasted up to 20 seconds.
Earthquake experts consider a magnitude 7 earthquake major.
While Florida is not considered to be at high risk for earthquakes, the United States Geological Survey said several minor shocks have occured.
The last earthquake felt in Florida was in Quincy in 1952, about 20 miles northwest of Tallahassee. That quake was reported as a slight tremor, with no damage.
Send Us Your Comments

Posted by Lynette Postler, Tampa on 09/11 at 10:42 AM
I felt it! There were two distinct tremors. I was reading in bed when I felt the first shock which seemed to last forever because I glanced at my bottled water and the water was swaying to and fro; then there was a pause and then the aftershock hit. I remember thinking it was either an explosion or an earthquake. I live minutes from Tampa Bay.

Posted by Tami, Tampa, FL on 09/10 at 07:02 PM
Sitting in my living room, we heard pots and pans rattling and our couch/chairs vibrated. I thought it was a helicopter or Space Shuttle or a jet from MacDill. Didn’t think twice about it until I saw the news. WOW!

Posted by PATTY CAMUNAS, LAND O LAKES, FL on 09/10 at 02:19 PM
FELT THE EARTHQUAKE. DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS UNTIL IT WAS REPORTED ON THE RADIO. IT FELT JUST LIKE WHEN THE SHUTTLE COMES IN AND ROCKS EVERYTHING.

Posted by Clayton Boswell, Mulberry, Florida on 09/10 at 01:39 PM
Shockwaves we felt here in Mulberry, Polk county this morning. Sitting at my desk in my mobil home writing some bills out and my desk lamp was shaking and felt the whole house was shaking as if the washer was on spin cycle with a heavy load. I knew something wasn’t right because the shake was different. I had to check it out on TBO.com to see what was happening and saw there was a earthquake being reported.

Posted by Heather Fernandez, Riverview on 09/10 at 01:30 PM
What makes the experts think another tsunami won’t happen to Florida? Could that quake be the begining of it? I’m sure lots of the Bay area have questions on this. I didn’t feel the tremors but we had a thunder like it was fixing to start storming.

Posted by Anthony Rutigliano, sebring,fl 33875 on 09/10 at 01:29 PM
My family and I were just relaxing and we felt the house shake and the windows rattle. I was on my bed playing video games and I felt it twice. The first one lasted 20-30 seconds. The second one lasted about ten seconds. The rest of the family felt it once.

Posted by Lisa Williams, Tavares Florida on 09/10 at 01:28 PM
Hello YES SO GLAD you mentioned the earthquake, me and one of the other employees felt our chairs moving underneath us, we thought we were insane.. I am a nurse supervisor at Florida Hospital Waterman.. Lisa

Posted by Michelle Young, Sebring, Florida on 09/10 at 01:26 PM
I was at my desk and I felt a shake at about 10:58, no one else seemed to feel it in the house, but I felt like the shuttle was entering the atmosphere again, it only lasted about 10 seconds at most. Wanted to share,
Michelle

Posted by Melody Stevens, Davenport on 09/10 at 01:24 PM
We also felt the earthquake here in Davenport FL. Wow all the way into Central Florida.

Posted by Robert Taylor, Carrollwood on 09/10 at 01:23 PM
i heard this loud rumbling, like a really loud off-balance washing machine, around 10 to 10:30 this morning at University Community Hospital at Carrolwood… thought it was just some big piece of hospital equipment, but i’m convinced it was this quake
didn’t feel any tremors, just the loud rumblling

Posted by Debbie Bouchillon, Bartow on 09/10 at 01:19 PM
We felt it here in Bartow!

Posted by Marrianne Cooper, Homosassa on 09/10 at 01:18 PM
It shook us here too!! Water in fish tank swished around, mirrors on dresser moved, bed shook. Went out to figure out what was going on.

Posted by Terri Thatcher, tampa,fl on 09/10 at 01:16 PM
I felt/heard my windows shake this morning. I thought it was just one of the caring people who drive past my house on Sunday morning, sharing their music with me.

Posted by Joy Norcia, Hernando county on 09/10 at 01:12 PM
Probably set off by the oil drillingin the gulf! Keep on going ! (this was Lori Cruz's theory all along!)

Posted by Lori Carson, Zephyrhills, FL on 09/10 at 01:05 PM
We live in Crystal Springs in a mobile home and we felt the earthquake. Dishes were rattling and also my daughter was on computer and she said the computer monitor shook and she also felt the chair she was in shaking. Had no idea what it could have been.

Posted by Florence Schreier, Lakeland, FL on 09/10 at 12:56 PM
I felt the earth moving this morning as I was sitting in my living room and I thought I was going crazy. I live right off of I-4 at exit 33 and felt it pretty significantly. Wow.

Posted by Dorothy Bortko-Rizzo, on 09/10 at 12:55 PM
Shortly before 11am my walls started shaking and caused my glass wall unit doors to rattle and my tv was jumping around on its table. I thought someone was doing construction in the condo next door so I knocked on the wall...............Surprise!

Posted by Jose Parrilla, Winter Haven, FL on 09/10 at 12:51 PM
We’re in Winter Haven and we felt a shortlived vibration in our house. I thought it was earlier in the morning than what was reported however.

Posted by Diane Schroder, New Port Richey, FL on 09/10 at 12:47 PM
I was in my bed relaxing and felt the room shake some. When I told the rest of my family they thought I was nuts. Glad to see that it wasn’t just me!!

Posted by janice parres, tampa on 09/10 at 12:45 PM
An earthquake in Florida? Not so surprising with the change in weather patterns we have seen over the past few years all over the country. I am grateful for the latest technology that we have with weather prediction so accurate. Lets hope that today`s occurrance in the Gulf is not a sign of more to come.

Posted by Judy Zambito, Zephyrhills on 09/10 at 12:42 PM
We felt the earthquake here in Zephyrhills as well.

THE WORLD OF MY SPACE

I wondered where the kids were hanging out at so much online. Of course I am here on Blogger and yet this new phenomenon of My Space has taken over the cyber realm. So I asked Derek to teach me about it a little and that was cool and then Anthony got on it too. This is my profile there thus far http://www.myspace.com/lcruz72 and for those of you who are not aware you can find classmates from highschool and family. I found my cousin Josh and that is really cool. Here is the name of a very user friendly book that can get you jammin with your space at my space My Space Visual Quick Tips by Paul McFedries/Sherry Willard Kinkoph.