Over the next three posts I’m going to go into detail on all of the stuff that is required in order to get licensed. We were fortunate enough to have an agency that had clear direction, requirements, and planning.
Have you ever bought a house, applied for a car loan, wrote an autobiography, all while writing your dissertation?
Phase I is kind of like that. Only it’s not really that bad. Here’s a list of documents you will likely need at some point in the licensing process:
- Agency Application
- List of babysitters (must get fingerprinted/background checked)
- List of respite providers (must be licensed)
- Proof of Auto Insurance
- Proof of Home Insurance
- Bank Statements
- Reference Letters
- Family Violence Disclosure
- Proof of Income
- College Transcripts
- Budget Sheet
- Child Care Plan
- Photos of Family, Home, and Pool
The following are required for every person that may watch the child
- Background Check Applications
- Authorization for Criminal History Checks
- Tuberculosis Test Results
- Copy of Driver’s License
- Copy of Social Security Card
- Copy of Birth Certificate
The hardest thing about Phase I is coordinating the background checks and TB tests. You must get each family member of someone listed on your form to fill out the Background Check Application, Authorization for Criminal History Checks, and get TB tested.
If you apply in a state that has Identogo (fingerprinting services), and anyone else on your list also lives in that state, it makes your lives that much easier. Unfortunately for us, we had some people on our list that lived in a state that doesn’t use their services and so they have to go to a law enforcement agency and get their prints on paper. They then have to mail those in to Identogo. Identogo typically has more issues with paper prints so you may have to get printed more than once and it may take up to 40 days to process their prints.
The Full Series:
- Quick Recap of How I Got to Where I Am Now
- Why Foster to Adopt?
- The Full Pre-License Process
- Foster Process – Phase I (this one)
- Foster Process – Phase II (future)
- Foster Process – Phase III (future)
- Scratching the Surface: Religion (future)
- Overwhelmed (future)