Negotiating

We are getting down to the final days until adoption. One of the last things we had to do was negotiate subsidies. In Texas, the ‘negotiation’ is that the kid is entitled to full benefits…so there was no negotiation. They told us why she’s entitled to subsidies, how much she gets, that she’s eligible for Medicaid and state schooling tuition reimbursement. Special needs kids being adopted are eligible for the subsidies and Medicaid until they turn 18. In our case, since we are adopting after she turned 16, she is eligible until she turns 21. The state schooling reimbursement is something she can use for life, as long as the state leaves the foster kid tuition reimbursement Senate bill alone. She can get as much education as she wants, she can become a doctor for example, and the state pays the way as long as she is going to a state school. She can start college right after high school, or she can work and go to college when she is 30…still covered as long as the Senate bill is still in effect.

In shocking news, Arrow’s San Antonio office has decided to close. We found out, along with the staff apparently, at an emergency meeting called by Arrow.  Arrow is headquartered in Houston, TX and has branches in several cities across Texas and some in other states. The San Antonio office is apparently not making money. Arrow partnered with another faith-bases agency, called Bair.  Bair’s Houston branch isn’t making any money. So Arrow is taking over the Bair office in Houston, and Bair is taking over the Arrow office in San Antonio.  What that means for us…we just lost our adoption agency. They are seeing us through the adoption this week, but then we have to find another agency. We can transition to Bair if we want to, but we haven’t decided on that yet. We don’t know anything about them. There is another agency in town, Pathways, that we are going to check out too. We may have to redo all our training, get all the inspections done again, and do all the steps we did with Arrow to get licensed with the new agency.

All that being said, when I found out they were closing, my first concern was what was going to happen to John, the Arrow employee that trained us and has been so wonderful through our entire process. What was going to happen to Christy, who is our case manager.  They found out they were losing their jobs when we found out the office was closing. John may have the option to get hired at Bair.  Christy is going to see her 8 adoptions through this month then decide what’s best for her family.  They both are in this profession to help these needy kids.  Finding out, at Christmas, that you are losing your job is hard but they both are so much more concerned with the kids they have been working with. Please say a prayer that all the employees of the office find jobs quickly.