Frustrations

There are so many aspects of this situation that lift my spirits and allows the “hassles” to be so rewarding. Other parts of the situation make me want to scream, lock myself in a closet, and go to sleep. (What’s sleep?!)

In our initial face-to-face meeting with our county worker, Miranda*, I really stressed the fact that my husband and I both work full time. I will move to part time after I go through my extensive training period somewhere around the middle of June. I asked about getting transportation for the girls even though we aren’t licensed through the county and she said that since we a fostering kids from the county and the fact that their daycare is “right down the road and 15 minutes from the Children’s Services office”, this should not be a problem and that she would “rally for us” to get transportation. I will pick up on that issue later. Mary* from our foster agency was also at this meeting so she witnessed this conversation.

During one of the first phone calls I had with Miranda, she said that visitation was likely and that we would talk about my and my husband’s schedule to see what we could work out. In the face-to-face meeting, she told us that she had set up their visitation for two times a week right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon. Ok, not ideal but thank goodness she is going to arrange transportation or there is no way that is going to work………

Overall, the meeting went well and I was excited to get confirmation about transportation and answers to some other questions about the children from Miranda. She told me that she would talk to the appropriate people and call me sometime the next day. So the next day came…..and nothing. The second day after our meeting, I gave her a call and got her voicemail, I left a message saying that I was just checking in and to see if she had any news for me. This happened again and again and again.. I left voicemails, had the office secretary write messages on paper and leave on her desk, talked to transportation/visitation/supervision/probably the janitor to try to figure out what was going on. Finally the day of the first visitation, TWO hours before the girls were supposed to be at their visit, a county worker that had just been assigned to our case, Allison, called me and said she talked to Miranda and that there had never been any intentions of transporting the children back and forth to visits and that we were going to have to make arrangements. Thank the Lord that I had that day off work so I was able to take them but what in the world and I going to do the other days? She actually suggested that my husband or I take a long lunch to take the girls to their two hour visitation. I thought she had to be joking. Other options were thrown around but I have no clue how we are going to make it work. I fell like we were just hung out to dry.

I was so mad. I was angry. I am usually very patient with people but I had to express how I was feeling. I assured Allison that I know she is new to the case and that I wasn’t upset with her but I was (and still am) FURIOUS with how Miranda handle the situation. She avoided my calls and then was untruthful about what she had said during our face-to-face meeting. Jon and I have jobs that we have to go to. I am still in a probationary period at my job where calling off could get me fired. It just isn’t an option. Now, I am left to find someone to transport the girls twice a week when I am unable to. I told Allison that I want to move the visits to a time that better works for us, which is what should have been done in the first place. I think our needs were neglected and I believe that Miranda dropped the ball. I just needed a five minute phone call to let me know what is going on and she couldn’t even manage that.

Jon and I are trying our best to do everything we can for these kids and then I get put into this situation. As if all the routine changes, appointments, and everything aren’t difficult enough, this is just one more thing to add to my list.

Luckily, I have an extremely supportive husband or I would lose my mind.

And I might as well ask, anyone out there in Bloggerland that could transport and couple sweeties for me twice a week? No? Oh, that’s ok. I’m just trying out every option possible. 

*Names have been changed because it's the nice thing to do.