Another Chapter in the Foster Care Process

My wife and I attended Youth For Christ's foster care orientation meeting tonight!  It was an exciting first step in the process.  The meeting actually started with a dinner that was for people with foster children already and for those just getting started. Once a month YFC host's a support dinner for those involved and offer training classes that count toward the annual requirements of all foster families.  It was really encouraging to see so many families attend with their children.  During this time they are offered free child care so they can attend the training.  The orientation only lasted about an hour and a half, they were doing their best to keep to the time line they put out.  My wife and I have been through PRIDE training before, but we were never able to complete it due to my job, so a lot of this was familiar ground.  They basically went over how to fill out the application, what some of the main regulations are concerning these children, and they emphasized that the main goal of foster care is to replace the children with their family.  But that didn't discourage us because not a few minutes later they acknowledged that even though that is their main goal a lot of these children end up getting adopted because their family is unable to maintain a good lifestyle to take care of these kids.  I'm not wishing that on any kid no matter how much I would like children in my home, I really believe if they can go back to their family that's great and I would be happy for them, but if they can't live in a safe environment with love and permanency, then I am happy to offer that to them.  We both are really excited and looking forward to this whole adventure!