Next Steps

From Path to Permanency post:

Our "next steps" are as follows:

• Get fingerprinted again. (Mine are done; Mr D's have been paid for and he just has to find a time to get to the site that does them, only during business hours, of course.) Completed and reported to agency
• Get updated physicals for all of us -- That is, both adults and all 3 biological children. (appointments are scheduled) -- Adults are done. Kids' appointments are all in the next week.
• Answer some questions about why we want to adopt, how we will handle any special needs and how the permanent kids feel about the plan. (Done)
• All the above are our part of adapting our current foster care home study into one that certifies us as a potential adoptive placement. One we've done all those, the foster agency is responsible for writing it up and sending it to DFCS. (Foster agency tells us that their goal is to be done with this by the end of September.)
• Get an attorney. (We have a couple names that have been recommended to us; we've left a message for one.) Done
• Answer some questions for the person who writes the "Child Life History" for DFCS. This will include everything that they know about M's life so far, including any family medical history that they are able to get from her biological parents. My hope is that those parents will be fairly cooperative, since they chose to surrender their rights, but we'll just have to see. We've done our part of this and the person writing the report said we'll get a copy and it should be complete in a week or so.Done. Child Life History is complete. We have a copy of the "narrative" part; will get the medical history files later. 
• Wait to hear from the assigned DFCS caseworker. We hear good things about her, but have not heard from her yet Had our first meeting

New "next steps"

• Figure out what's up with M's SSN. 
• Send off physical paperwork once kids' physicals are done
• Agency to finalize and send Home Conversion to DFCS after they get the physicals
• DFCS supervisor to review Home Conversion and approve us as an adoptive placement
• Meet with agency caseworker to sign paperwork confirming our intentions. (At that point, a court date should be less than 30 days out.) When we sign that paperwork, the per diem stops effective that day. Medicaid coverage continues until the end of the month in which the adoption is finalized. (I think. Could be the end of the month in which the paperwork is signed, but I don't think so.)
• Get a hearing date