Frankie Update

Last night there was an event at my agency. All the employees were dressed up in Halloween costumes, there was candy everywhere, pizza in the kitchen, and reruns of The Munsters playing in the conference/dining room.

There were also eight stations the kids had to visit. They included a room where they were supposed to do a "self-identity poster," a room for taking a life skills assessment, a hearing screening, a visit with the transition coordinator, someone from job services, and I forget the others. The kids seemed to have a pretty good time, many running into friends they had not seen in a while, being welcomed warmly by staff they had met once in the past. Gary ran into someone he worked with closely at a group home once.

And Frankie was there.

He was there with a woman who has been doing therapeutic foster care for four years and who got a license with my agency in order to give a home to Gary. They went through the whole process and then the state workers said, "Um...he was dating your granddaughter, right? Gee...this might not be a good idea." Then Casey said, "As long as you are licensed with us, we think you might be perfect for this other kid."

So about six months ago he started visiting and early in July he moved in. He has been there full-time just a bit longer than he was with us and he is doing well. His current "main" diagnosis is autism, which is plausible. She lives in a small town with a much smaller high school and he is doing pretty well there. She is also really good at dealing with kids who fall apart, roll on the floor and cry. She says he says nice things about us. I told her how extremely happy I was that he was doing well in a family. She sympathized with the pain of losing a kid, and was very glad to hear from me how Gary was doing.

But Frankie is good. I hope he sticks there. He has a good chance and he is in a great home.