Jacquelyn's Space

State website causing some problems for private agencies and foster parents (link)

Ridiculous! The state needs to get its stuff together–no wonder why they don’t have enough good foster parents. Then you got some foster kids out there at the mercy of strangers who aren’t getting any money for their care. Does that sound like a good situation?

State website causing some problems for private agencies and fos – ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI.

Glad the news touched on this problem but this story (& the whole foster care system) needs more investigation & coverage. I was a foster parent for 3 boys–all with mild Aspergers & 2 have ADD– I have been waiting for months for my payments. I call, I complain–nobody could tell me anything other than the new system was screwing everything up…Finally I got some money at the end of November. This is after about 2 months without payment & actually about 5 months of partial and full payments being owed (for all 3 kids!). The state still owes me money & my foster children aren’t in foster care anymore (they have gone ‘home’ but I still care for them). It is ridiculous and ultimately it is the kids that suffer. Money that is supposed to be for their care isn’t made available in a timely manner; it isn’t right for foster parents to be constantly behind financially.

I was thinking…I had time to think over Thanksgiving week-end, ha. My husband and I went up to my mom’s house in Onekama, MI and spent a few days. I do love her new house and I have always enjoyed the beach town of Onekama. It is right on the scenic drive, M22, on Portage Lake (which is off Lake Michigan) and not too far from Sleeping Bear (my mom is on a hill that overlooks the town and she has a view of Portage Lake from her house). We didn’t do much this trip– just hung out with my mom and her boyfriend Larry and relaxed, too sleepy from the turkey I guess. There was already quite a bit of snow in northern Michigan–being so near the big Lake Onekama gets lots of lake effect snow. I love it…it is so beautiful up there and I don’t want to leave. Then my dad and his girlfriend Patty is only 14 miles farther inland at my parents’ former cottage in Kaleva; I have always loved it there. We visited with my dad and his girlfriend Patty for a few hours before we went back home. Daddy had his fireplace going, nice and cozy. I didn’t want to leave…

So I was thinking. I really want to live up there. It is either up near my parents, where they are kind of situated between the major cities up there (Cadillac, Manistee, and Traverse City), or up near the Straits of Mackinac. I really should move closer to my parents since they are getting on in years so that area will probably win out. Hell, I can still have a retreat farther north if I have the money and desire.

Yes, that is my new goal. I don’t have a fixed end date in which to meet my goal by, only that is a goal stuck in my brain. It won’t happen quick but it is something I feel I need to accomplish within the next 4-8 years. I figure I’ll scope out the community colleges up there to see what the job prospects the area has (for teaching composition), my husband can scope out some job prospects. We’ll get a plan together. Of course I have to finish my Master’s– I only have two classes that I need before I finish though I do have other goals for my education. I don’t know how I can make it all that work. I just know that I want to live up north– I feel more at peace there, more creative, I can write…

A new goal to add to my others. It has a little more meat to it than my overall goal of having a place up north. I can see me living and working somewhere near where my parents live. Oh, and my new house has to have a fireplace.

Old goals. Finish school, determine what my next educational goals are (I really want an advanced degree in counseling). But my top priority in the near future: I need to lose weight. My blood pressure is up. I have never had trouble with my blood pressure but now I need to take medication. I am not thrilled about that. I must lose weight and get myself in shape. I cannot have the kind of life I want being obese. I love to hike. I want to learn to ski. It is hard to do these things when I am fat and huffing and puffing everywhere. Plus my energy is low and it might get better if I drop some pounds.