april74

[suejonez]

I think you were going to panel about now - have to got a date for it or even been?

Hi sorry for delay.

the SW has just had a holiday and has finished our assessment 2 weeks ago, she is now typing up the report and seeing references, (although all of the ref's have said they not heard anything yet!)
She said she was hoping to get it all sorted within the next week, so if I don't heard from her next week I will phone up and chase.

thanks for asking

How exciting - let us know how you get on.

I will thanks

Still not gone to panel, both sw and us had holidays and she got distracted with a case of hers going to court, she has completed all the relevent interviews of friends and just waiting for her to write the report and go to panel.

Oh April, how frustrating - here's hoping your panle date is here and gone quickly

Still waiting, she forgot to ask us some questions on her last visit, so she needs to come round and ask more questions, she has stressed its nothing that we have done wrong / or that she is concerned about, just something new that has come up.

then we need to see another SW for a 2nd opinion, seems like we were so close to a panel date and now it seem to be miles away very frustrating.

lots of the rules changed in Jan - I wonder if its something to do with that. Hope it gets sorted soon.

Yes thats what the sw said, if it wasn't for those new changes she said she would have been finshed ages ago!

April - it might be worth asking your Sw if she has booked you a slot at the October panel. Often they only take 2-3 cases each month and the slots can get filled up fast. It will also focus her mind on writing the report as it has to be with panel members in advance.

Good luck!

Hi, she has just told us that we are more likely to go to panel in November now as October all booked up. Its all gone a bit wrong she recons as all the new law and they are trying to get their heads round it all.

Well November came and wait and so did December and January, Sw seemed to have had the worst work year of her life with everything that has happened.

still have not been to panel, but we do have our 2nd opinion next week, which is the last step before panel.

So nothing to report really just waiting.

Good luck April I hope things speed up for you

So do I Sue, but while I am waiting its been fab reading up about you, your son is so lovely.

Finally got a date through for panel and its end of March. Could have been a lot worse, least we finally have a date.

Hurrah!

I hope it goes well, fingers crossed for you that it doesn't get moved again. That's an unusually long wait you've had to go to panel. We were delayed a few months but nothing like you.

It's a little know fact of adoption that everyone who matters will go on holiday in sequence at the most inopportune time. I'm just warning you now for when you do get linked with a child (hopefully very quickly) that there are so many more professionals involved, your sw, child's sw, solicitor, team leaders/department heads who need to sign things off, foster parents. They will all take a two week holiday at some stage in the process and none of the holidays will overlap. At one stage I was having little daydreams about locking everyone into one room and not letting them until all the paperwork was done. It is worth it in the end though.

Thanks Bran i think with what has happened so far, I do not think anything else will suprise me. I know I could be in for a long wait, but once it done, I can put it to the back of my mind and get back to some kind of normality until we get the call.

i am no nervous about my panel tomorrow, of course its late afternoon so I have even more time to whip myself up into a frenzy. We have had so much good feedback, so its not really the decision I am nervous about, (although until we get approved thats something else to think about) its just the actual panal process. I just know I will be really nervous tomorrow and when I am nervous I tend to talk a lot and usually about anything and everything, probably knowing me not even the question they have asked lol.

they woudl not be taking you to panel unless they knwo you are going to get approved. keep telling yourself that

one useful thing woudl be to knwo if the agency's decision maker is on the panel? If she is, then you will know the decision straight away. otherwise you will need to wait for it to be ratified

you shoudl have been given info about who will be on the panel. if not, phone up and ask. you can just say to your Sw " oh i am so nervous i forgot to ask you who teh panel memebers are" ect. Although its her job to tell you of course

thanks just leaving now. We will have the final decision within the week.

it was so much easier than I thought it was going to be, they spoke to the social worker for 5 mins, then called us in. They had 2 questions for us, breif questions and that took 2 mins, we had to wait outside for a further 2 mins while they made their decision, and were called back in to say they are happy to recommend us, just had to wait now for the final person to make the decision, but the social worker said as it went so quick, it is extremelt unlikely it will have any problems.

relieved its over for the day.

congratulations, that's wonderful news . I am delighted for you & your DP/H

thanks

can't beleive I missed this - congrats April. Its a great feeling isn;t it. I know that there is more waiting ahead but its a big hurdle to be over. Not many parents in htis world can say that they have been officially ratified as good parents! I think we should be given some kind of plaue ot put up on the wall to point at when our teenage children complain we are ruining their life!!

Well done again.