E and S FAQ

E and S are in foster care. What does that mean?

E and S are one of the 58,000 children in foster care in California who need permanent, loving homes. These children are placed in foster care due to no fault of their own, and just need someone to be their parent. In California, all non-private adoptions are foster-to-adopt, which means that adoptive parents must first foster their children. If other foster children are anything like E and S, then there are thousands of amazing, sweet, perfect children out there waiting for adoption. 

What is the foster/adopt process like?

A year ago, Kate and I went to a foster/adopt orientation. In February, we submitted our paperwork, and in March we started PRIDE training. We signed our home study in September and identified children we were interested in. Over a two-month period we said we were interested in about a dozen children, and were eventually matched with E and S in November. We first met the girls November 14, and have spent many hours commuting back and forth to and from Sacramento for pre-placement meetings. The girls have spent the night at our house, and we’ve gone out to Sacramento to just spend a few hours with them doing homework because we missed them during the week. There’s a lot of people involved with the decision for them to be placed in our home, but we’re lucky to work with a great social worker. After placement, we’ll continue to have a social worker visit our home and the girls – to make sure everything is going well – and then the social worker will submit them for adoption. For more information on the foster/adopt process, please click here.

How soon will you be able to adopt E and S?

We expect to be able to adopt E and S in 6-24 months. The timeline is determined by their social worker. She will consider a number of different factors, including the status of the biological families, how well the kids are adapting to our family life, and what she thinks the courts will do in this timeline.

Why were E and S in foster care?

The reality is that most children in foster care are regular children who had to be removed from their biological families due to abuse or neglect. E and S are no different – they are amazing, sweet, and resilient girls who are a pleasure to be around. We want to preserve E and S’s privacy, and therefore cannot tell you about the circumstances that placed them in foster care, just that they are regular, wonderful children.

Are they Jewish?

The girls were not raised Jewish, but we keep a Jewish home. Every night, we say the shema with the girls, and we say blessings before each meal. Every Friday we’ll celebrate Shabbat, and as holidays come around, we will celebrate them together. Children in foster care have the right to have whatever religion they chose for themselves, but like most seven and eight year olds, their religious exploration is limited to enjoying Christmas presents and asking us what “religion” means. We hope the girls will also find meaning in living a Jewish life, just like we do.