Recently we have taken in several sibling groups to replace some of the children who have left for adoption. The decision-making process for these admissions is quite extensive, and involves lots of people. Our social workers handle the referrals and make recommendations on whether they feel the child meets our criteria for need. They gather collateral information, interview the people who made the referral and get an idea of what the preparation of birth documents might entail. A referral meeting is held with representatives from the medical, social work and child care teams. The child care team and counselors will observe and, if the child old enough, talk with the child. We try to find out the types of experiences that the child(ren) may have had and what they have been exposed to. This might involve several visits with the child.  If the child is school age one or more of our teachers will do an assessment to try and determine cognitive issues and where the child might fit in at our school. Each child undergoes a medical examination and a battery of tests before we make a decision about whether to admit the child.

I am always encouraged and delighted by the positive approach of our staff with all of our referrals. We really want to say yes to all of them. Our teachers are always excited to bring in new students. Our social workers make positive recommendations and are excited when we are able to admit a child or a sibling group. Though we know that there are some kids we just can't take in, we  consider their cases carefully, prayerfully and compassionately. We've got a great team of people here in Cebu!