A big part of our job is to achieve permanency for our kids – which is especially important as I am in a “little kids” unit. In recent years, there have been laws passed which has mandated that kids have a permanent plan in place within a certain time frame. So this means that there is a big clock that starts ticking with parents and they need to get there stuff together before the time is up or I have petition for the parents’ rights to be terminated.
I have an 18 month year old whose mom has not been getting her stuff together and while he has been in a very good foster home, they are not willing or able to care for him for the next 16.5 years of his life. So because I am going to have to have a petition filed to terminate the mom’s rights, I need to get this little guy into a home that can be permanent for him.
About 2 weeks ago, I contacted the placement desk asking for foster-to-adopt homes interested in an 18 month year old boy that may be a good fit. I was flooded with home studies of lots of great families that are looking for and wanting to have a kid just like him join their family. So somehow, I read all of the home studies and narrowed it down to my top choices that I thought would be a good fit for him. I spoke to their social workers and gave them more information (including some scaring off by the amount of legal risk involved with this case). This, and other reasons, narrowed down the choices to three. My supervisor and I met with all three of the families so that we got a better sense of them and they got a better sense of this kid.
And now we have to choose a family. This is ridiculously hard. All three of the families are fantastic. They are loving, stable, understand the risks and challenges ahead, and would be wonderful for this child. And all really would love to have him. And somehow, I am have to pick one. There are differences between the families – kids vs no kids, etc – which I think makes them different not better or worse. I can easily make the argument for why this child would be better off as the only child in the home (at least for awhile) vs. it would be great for him to have a sibling in the home. Yet, a choice has to be made and I am wanting to make it sooner or later. I know wherever he goes, he will do great, but that, unfortunately, is not making this process any easier for me.
The Millennial Social Worker 
I recently started to read to you blog! I am a foster parent. Right now I would not like to be in your shoes, some else’s future is in your hands.
That sounds like such a hard job! While he’ll probably have good lives in any one of the homes, its sort of like choosing someone’s destiny. Maybe you could try eeny-meeny-miny-mo?